Tracy | Three or more homes

Tracy, California Three or More Homes: Apartments, By-Right Approval, Objective Design Standards, Streamlined Review and the Density Bonus

Between December 2025 and August 2026 Tracy rewrote most of its rules for buildings with three or more homes. Seven ordinances adopted on December 16, 2025, Nos. 1368 to 1373 and 1375, amended Title 10. Among other changes they raised densities, added design standards written as measurable rules, and set up a review with fixed deadlines for projects that qualify under state law. Later ordinances rewrote the density bonus, created the MU-1 zone and rezoned 187 parcels. This page explains where such buildings are allowed, who approves them, what the design standards ask for, and how the density bonus and the growth limit apply. The Tracy overview has the summary.

Where Three or More Homes Are Allowed

The code defines a multiple-family dwelling as "a building designed for occupancy by three (3) or more families living independently of each other and containing three (3) or more dwelling units." A triplex is therefore a multiple-family dwelling. The zones that permit one are listed on the zoning districts page; in short:

• MDC and MDR. 5.9 to 20 homes per gross acre, no minimum lot size, 35 feet.
• SLR. One home for each 1,400 square feet of net lot area, three stories or 40 feet.
• HDR. 20 to 35 homes per gross acre, no height limit.
• GHC. Multi-family uses at 20 to 35 homes per gross acre since December 2025.
• CBD. Multi-family dwellings downtown at one home for each 700 to 2,500 square feet of net lot area, up to 50 feet or four floors, with no parking minimum.
• MU-1. 20 to 35 homes per gross acre under Ordinance No. 1391, with housing required in every project.
• LDR. Section 10.08.1200 permits "Duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes as part of a larger subdivision," inside the zone's range of 2.0 to 5.8 homes per gross acre.
• PUD and specific plan zones. The ordinance or plan for that area sets the housing types.

The density numbers are ranges with a lower end. Section 10.08.256 lets a project average its density over "adjacent touching parcels, if part of the overall project," and mix home types "as long as the minimum density is maintained." On a half-acre MDR site the range is 2.95 to 10 homes, and on a half-acre HDR site it is 10 to 17.5 homes (VanPlex arithmetic: 0.5 times 5.9, 20 and 35).

Who Approves the Project

The City's design permit is the development review permit of Article 30. Section 10.08.3930 requires it for any improvement that needs a building permit or changes the outside of a building, except "new construction of or an improvement to a single-family home or residential duplex or a project consisting of four or fewer single-family homes," work that leaves the exterior unchanged, and "an accessory dwelling unit or residential accessory structure." The zone articles for MDR and HDR repeat the point: the permit is needed for everything "except a single- or two-family residence and accessory structures on a single lot."

Sources: Tracy Municipal Code 10.08.1470, 10.08.1660, 10.08.3930, 10.08.3950, 10.10.040 and 10.12.060 (Supplement 69).

• Three tiers. Section 10.08.3950 sends an application to the City Council (Tier 1), the Planning Commission (Tier 2) or the Director (Tier 3). Tier 2 covers a project "paired with another application being reviewed by the Planning Commission" and one "for a site located within 500 feet of a freeway."
• The Director's hearing. "The Director will consider a development review permit application after notice and a public hearing, unless the application qualifies for a streamlined ministerial approval without discretionary review."
• Findings. Under Section 10.08.3960 the reviewing body must find that "The proposal increases the quality of the project site" and that it conforms to the chapter, the General Plan, "the Design Goals and Standards," and other City rules. "Qualifying projects subject to streamlined review shall only be subject to objective design standards."
• Downtown. In the CBD zone "any new residential development" is subject to development review, "including any new single-family dwellings, two-family dwellings, or multi-family dwellings, regardless of the number of units," unless it qualifies for streamlined review.
• SLR and MDC. Section 10.08.1479 requires development approval "of all uses, buildings, and site development in the SLR Zone." Section 10.08.1350 requires it for all uses in MDC "requiring a building permit," each "as provided in Article 30." Article 30 itself exempts a house and a duplex, so ask the Planning Division which rule it applies to a duplex in these two zones.

Five or More Homes: By Right or Staff Review

Ordinance No. 1373 of December 16, 2025 added the same three sentences to the development review section of MDC, MDR, HDR and GHC. Section 10.08.1660 reads "Multifamily Residential or High Density Residential projects of five (5) or more units that include a minimum twenty percent (20%) of units affordable to lower-income households (in accordance with Government Code Section 65583.2(c)) shall be a permitted use by right; however, projects must comply with the Multiple-Unit and Mixed-Use Housing Objective Design Standards in Section 10.10.050." It continues "Residential projects of five (5) or more units not containing a minimum of twenty percent (20%) of affordable units shall require staff level review," and "Projects that include an entitlement that requires Planning Commission approval, will have the development review approved by the Planning Commission."

Use by right means the City may not require a use permit or other review that involves judgment; the code says the term "has the same meaning as provided in Government Code Section 65583.2(i)." Ordinance No. 1391 carries the by-right sentence into the MU-1 zone. The text does not name projects of three or four homes, which stay under the general rule of Article 30.

• Housing Element sites. Section 10.10.192, added in April 2026, lists three kinds of site that get "by-right approval without discretionary review if the project includes twenty (20%) percent of the units as housing affordable to lower income households": vacant sites used for the lower-income need in the City's 4th and 5th housing cycles, nonvacant sites used in the 5th cycle, and "Sites to be rezoned to meet the 6th cycle RHNA for lower income units." Ordinance No. 1399 rezoned those sites in August 2026.
• Large sites. For the ten Housing Element sites larger than ten acres, Section 10.10.194 commits the City to help divide them into parcels of 0.5 to 10 acres and to offer incentives that "can include but not limited to the density bonus Section 10.08.4650 and cluster development Section 10.10.200."
• Water and sewer priority. Section 10.10.235: "The City shall prioritize water and wastewater services to projects that include twenty (20%) percent of the units as affordable housing to lower income households."
• Condominiums. A "Condominium or planned residential development" is a conditional use in MDR and HDR, so homes built for separate sale need a use permit from the Planning Commission as well as a subdivision map.

The Objective Design Standards

An objective standard is one that can be checked with no personal judgment, such as a number of feet. Article 2 of Chapter 10.10, added by Ordinance No. 1369 on December 16, 2025, applies "to multiple-unit residential and mixed-use development in all zone districts." A project may ask to set a standard aside through the density bonus. Where two objective standards conflict, "the more restrictive objective standard shall apply."

• Base, middle and top. "Buildings that are three (3) stories or more in height shall be designed to differentiate between a defined base; a middle or body; and a top, cornice, or parapet cap."
• Long walls. "Building façades visible from the primary street shall not extend more than fifty (50) feet in length without either an architectural element or a two-foot variation in depth in the wall plane."
• Roofs. Roof lines change at least every 50 feet, and on buildings of three or more stories "sloped roofs shall have a minimum pitch of 4:12."
• Entrances. Buildings within 20 feet of the primary street "shall have a ground-level primary building entrance facing the primary street." Each unit entrance has a projection or recess with "a minimum depth of twenty-four (24) inches."
• Windows. A window within ten feet of a window on another building is screened or offset "at least twelve (12) inches."
• Materials. "The use of exposed plywood or glass curtain walls is prohibited." Affordable and market rate units use "the same exterior materials and details."
• Garages. "Garage doors shall be recessed a minimum of five (5) feet from the surrounding wall plane when facing a public right-of-way."
• Driveways. On an interior lot, "A maximum of one vehicle access point from the street is permitted per 100 feet of street frontage." "Parking areas shall not be located within any front or street side setback."
• Next to houses. A building of three or more stories beside a single-family zone uses "parking areas, common open space, landscaping, and/or other site features to provide a buffer."
• Open space. "100 square feet for each of the first ten (10) dwelling units, fifty (50) square feet for each of the second ten units, and twenty-five (25) square feet for each unit in excess of twenty (20)." "Rooftops may be used to satisfy up to seventy-five (75%) percent of the common open space requirements." A 30-unit project needs 1,750 square feet (VanPlex arithmetic: 1,000 plus 500 plus 250).
• Planting. "A minimum of two (2) twenty-four (24) inch box trees or three (3) fifteen (15) gallon trees shall be planted per every 1,000 square feet of landscaped area," and walkway trees shade "at least forty (40%) percent of the overall walkway length at maturity."
• Mixed use. "The ground floor of a mixed-use building shall have a minimum floor height of twelve (12) feet," with windows and doors on at least 50 percent of the street wall between three and seven feet above the sidewalk.

Streamlined Review Under State Law

Article 1 of Chapter 10.10, added by Ordinance No. 1368 on December 16, 2025, sets the City's steps for a "qualifying streamlined housing project," which it defines as one that meets "all of the standards set forth in Government Code Section 65913.4(a)." That statute sets a ministerial approval process, one with no judgment call, for housing projects that meet its tests. The article covers "applications deemed complete before January 1, 2036." VanPlex explains the statute on the CEQA and permit streamlining page.

• First step. The applicant files "a notice of intent in the form of a preliminary application," and the City consults California Native American tribes tied to the area.
• Consistency notice. If the project conflicts with an objective standard, the Director says so in writing "within sixty (60) days of a complete application submittal if the development contains 150 or fewer housing units or within ninety (90) days" if it contains more, and within 30 days on a resubmittal.
• Approval. Section 10.10.040: "The Director must approve a project that meets all the requirements of state law and this section, and complies with all applicable objective standards within ninety (90) days of a complete application submittal if the development contains 150 or fewer housing units, or within 180 days" if it contains more.
• No exceptions. Such a project may not ask for "a variance, modification, exception, waiver, or other discretionary approval," other than changes granted through the density bonus.
• How long approval lasts. Three years from final action, or with no expiry where the project has public funding beyond tax credits and at least 50 percent of its units are affordable at 80 percent of the area median income.
• When the article does not apply. It "shall not apply if the state has determined that the City is not subject to the streamlined ministerial approval process based on its housing element annual progress report." Whether Tracy is subject to it in 2026 was not checked for this guide.

The Density Bonus

A density bonus lets a project build more homes than the zone allows in return for affordable homes. Ordinance No. 1378 of January 20, 2026 repealed and readopted Article 36.5, "under the authority of Government Code sections 65915 through 65917.5." A bonus needs no separate discretionary approval: it "shall not be interpreted, in and of itself, to require a general plan amendment, zoning change or other discretionary approval by the City."

Sources: Tracy Municipal Code 10.08.4659 and 10.08.4677 (Supplement 69).

• Incentives. Section 10.08.4677 gives one, two or three incentives by affordable share, four for "at least sixteen (16%) percent of the units for very low-income households," and five for a project where all units are for lower income households. A fully affordable project within one-half mile of a major transit stop also gets "a height increase of up to three (3) additional stories, or thirty-three (33) feet."
• What one incentive covers. Section 10.08.4680 says how each change is counted. A lot size reduction: "Each reduction of ten (10%) percent is considered one incentive." Lot coverage: "Each increase of ten (10%) percent is considered one incentive." Height: "Each additional story in height is considered one incentive, except when the total building height exceeds four stories." Front and rear yards may be cut as one incentive if five feet remain in each.
• Parking. On request the City applies one space for a home with zero to one bedroom, two spaces for two to three bedrooms and two and one-half spaces for four or more, "inclusive of handicapped and guest parking."
• Application. It is filed "with the first application for approval of a housing development and processed concurrently," with a development pro forma, and "The applicant shall pay the cost of peer review."
• Agreement. The applicant signs a density bonus housing agreement that is "recorded as a restriction on any parcel on which the target units or density bonus units will be constructed."
• Timing. "No building permits will be issued for market-rate units until permits for all affordable units have been obtained," unless the City approves a phasing plan.

Three parts of the article do not agree with each other or with the statute. Section 10.08.4656 lists the qualifying shares as "Ten (10%) percent of the total dwelling units for very low-income households" and "Twenty (20%) percent of the total dwelling units for low-income households." Section 10.08.4659, three sections later, starts the tables at 5 percent very low income and 10 percent low income, which matches Government Code 65915: "Ten percent of the total units of a housing development" for lower income households or "Five percent of the total units" for very low income households. Second, Section 10.08.4653 defines a density bonus as "no more than thirty-five (35%) percent," while the tables go to 50 percent. Third, the article gives a term only for donated land, "at least thirty (30) years," and the statute requires rental units to stay affordable for "55 years or a longer period of time." State law sets the minimum a city must grant, so use the statute where the article gives less.

The Growth Limit and Larger Projects

The Growth Management Ordinance requires one residential growth allotment (RGA) for each home before its building permit. Section 10.12.060 exempts "a four-plex or lesser number of dwelling units on a single existing lot," up to four such homes per subdivider per calendar year. A project of five or more homes needs RGAs. The City may allocate an average of 600 and a maximum of 750 a year, with up to 150 of them for affordable housing project exceptions, and Section 10.12.065 lets permits continue past those numbers where they are needed to reach the regional housing goal for an income group. Ask how many RGAs are available before buying a site for more than four homes.

Tracy's Housing Numbers

The City's Draft EIR of January 2026 gives the numbers behind these changes. The Regional Housing Needs Allocation for 2023 to 2031 is 8,830 homes. "With the 500 unit carryover lower-income units from the 5th Cycle, the City has a RHNA obligation of 9,330 units (5,373 lower-income)." Under the zoning of that time the City had "realistic capacity for 1,126 lower income units and 655 moderate income units, creating a lower income shortfall of 3,747 units and a moderate-income shortfall of 520 units." The rezoned sites "total approximately 239 acres and would accommodate 6,588 units." The report counts 29,653 housing units in its 2024 baseline and projects up to 51,008 by 2045.

SB 79 and Transit

SB 79 is the 2025 state law that allows taller and denser housing near qualifying rail and bus stops. The state housing department's SB 79 advisory says the law's upzoning provisions "will take effect on July 1, 2026, in Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Diego Counties." San Joaquin County is not named. The Draft EIR describes Tracy's rail service: the Altamont Commuter Express station is "on the northeast corner of the intersection of West Linne Road and Tracy Boulevard," and "ACE offers three trains in the AM peak period" and "three trains during the PM period." The advisory says the law's reach "will modify over time." Tracy's own code gives one transit benefit now: under Section 10.08.3470, "For a development project located within a one-half mile of a major transit stop per AB 2097, the minimum parking requirement for a new development will be removed."

Limits of This Page

The code comes from Municode's Supplement 69, which lists ordinances through No. 1390 as included. Ordinance Nos. 1391 and 1399 were read from the Municode ordinance bank. The City's website answered a script with an access denied page, so the Housing Element and its site tables, the "Design Goals and Standards" named in Section 10.08.3960, the development review application and the fee schedule were not read. The code does not define "staff level review," and this page does not say whether it includes a hearing. Whether any Tracy stop is a major transit stop under state law was not checked. Ask the Planning Division at 333 Civic Center Plaza which review applies to your project and whether a newer ordinance is in force.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Tracy overview, the SB 79 page and the duplex to fourplex page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)