Tracy | Zoning districts

Tracy, California Zoning Districts: Residential Zones, Densities, the MU-1 Zone and the 2026 Housing Rezonings

Tracy's zoning rules are Chapter 10.08 of the Municipal Code. Between September 2025 and August 2026 the City added a small lot zone, raised the densities of four zones, removed minimum lot sizes in three, created a mixed use zone and rezoned 187 parcels for housing. Part of that work is in the code on Municode and part is in ordinances that are not yet in it. This page lists each zone that allows homes, how many homes it allows, and which text holds the rule. The Tracy overview has the summary.

How the Zoning Chapter Is Organized

Section 10.08.980 sets up the zones "to regulate the density of population," and lists them from (a) to (x): 24 names, starting with "Residential Estate Zone: RE" and ending with "Avenues Specific Plan Zone: ASP." Section 10.08.1000 says the boundaries are shown on the "Official Zoning Map of the City of Tracy," kept by the Community Development Director. Each zone then has its own article with the same set of sections: purpose, permitted uses, lot area, density, yards, height, lot coverage, parking and development review.

• Density. Section 10.08.256 defines it as "the number of units divided by the gross area in acres." Gross area is the whole site before streets are taken out.
• Averaging. "The density of a project may be averaged as a sole parcel or combination of adjacent touching parcels, if part of the overall project."
• Mixing home types. "The clustering of differentiating product types is allowed as long as the minimum density is maintained." Each range has a minimum as well as a maximum.
• Home types. Section 10.08.270 defines a single-family dwelling as "a detached building" for one family, a two-family dwelling as "a building designed for occupancy by two (2) families living independently of each other," and a multiple-family dwelling as a building "containing three (3) or more dwelling units."
• New city land. Under Section 10.08.970, land annexed with no zone "shall be deemed to be classified as a Low Density Residential (LDR) Zone" until the Council classifies it.

The Zones That Allow Homes

Sources: Tracy Municipal Code, Chapter 10.08, Article 6, Article 7, Article 8, Article 9, Article 9.5, Article 11, Article 14, Article 18 and Article 19 (Supplement 69); Ordinance No. 1391, Exhibit A.

House Zones: RE and LDR

The Residential Estate (RE) zone is for "open space and very low density development." It permits "Single-family use; Accessory dwelling unit." A lot needs at least 15,000 square feet, the average for a subdivision is 20,000 square feet, and "The aggregate total zoning area shall be a minimum of twenty (20) acres." A house needs at least 1,500 square feet of floor area, excluding the garage, and three off-street parking spaces.

The Low Density Residential (LDR) zone is the house zone that annexed land receives by default. Its permitted uses are "Single-family dwelling; Accessory dwelling unit," "Manufactured home on an individual lot," "Tiny homes on an individual lot," "Duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes as part of a larger subdivision," crop and tree farming, and a public park, building or school. The duplex line and the tiny home line were added by Ordinance No. 1385 on April 7, 2026. The duplex line applies "as part of a larger subdivision," so read it as a rule for new subdivisions and ask the Planning Division before relying on it for one existing house lot. A planned residential development of single-family dwellings needs a use permit.

Section 10.08.1215, also new in April 2026, gives LDR "a density range of two and no/tenths (2.0) to five and eight-tenths (5.8) dwelling units per gross acre." On a ten-acre subdivision that is 20 to 58 homes (VanPlex arithmetic: 10 times 2.0 and 10 times 5.8). Density may be averaged across the project, which is how a subdivision can mix house lots with a few duplexes or fourplexes and stay inside the range.

Medium Density: MDC, MDR and SLR

Two zones share the 5.9 to 20 range. The Medium Density Cluster (MDC) zone is "designed to provide for single- and two-family dwellings, dwelling groups, and supporting uses." The Medium Density Residential (MDR) zone is "designed to provide for apartments, multiple-family dwellings, dwelling groups, and supporting uses." Both permit a "Single-family, two-family, or multiple-family dwelling, dwelling group, or apartment house," a boarding and rooming house and an ADU. A dwelling group is "a group of two (2) or more detached dwellings located on a parcel of land in one ownership and having one yard or court in common."

• The December 2025 change. Ordinance No. 1373 of December 16, 2025 rewrote the purpose, lot area, density and lot coverage sections of both zones. The City's Draft EIR describes the change as "from 5.9-12 du/ac to 5.9-20 du/ac" for each.
• No minimum lot. Sections 10.08.1290 and 10.08.1400 now read "There shall be no minimum lot size for this district."
• Coverage. Buildings may cover 65 percent of the lot in MDR, and 65 percent "of the net lot area" in MDC.
• What the range means on a lot. On a 10,000 square foot lot, 5.9 to 20 homes per acre is 1.35 to 4.59 homes (VanPlex arithmetic: 10,000 divided by 43,560, times 5.9 and times 20). The code does not say how fractions are rounded; ask the Planning Division.
• Condominiums. In MDC a "Condominium or planned residential development of one- and two-family dwellings" needs a use permit, and in MDR a "Condominium or planned residential development" does.

The Small Lot Residential (SLR) zone is Article 9.5, added by Ordinance No. 1361 on September 2, 2025. It is "designed to provide for single-family dwellings, two-family dwellings, and multiple-family dwellings on small lots." Its density rule is written as land per home: "There shall be at least 1,400 square feet of net lot area for each dwelling unit in the SLR Zone." That equals 31.1 homes per net acre (VanPlex arithmetic: 43,560 divided by 1,400). The minimum lot is also 1,400 square feet, 25 feet wide, and "Lots may be created with access provided by a private court or lane." On the same day, Ordinance No. 1362 rezoned the Triway project site from Light Industrial to SLR, "for four parcels totaling approximately 22.6 acres in size," according to the Municode ordinance list.

High Density: HDR

The High Density Residential (HDR) zone permits the same list of homes as MDR. Section 10.08.1600 gives it "a density range of twenty (20) to thirty-five (35) dwelling units per gross acre," up from 12 to 25 before December 2025 according to the Draft EIR. There is no minimum lot size, lot coverage may reach 70 percent, and Section 10.08.1620 reads in full "There shall be no height limit in the HDR Zone." The side and rear yards increase by four feet for each story above the second, which is the only rule in the zone that responds to height.

On one acre the range is 20 to 35 homes. The lower number matters as much as the upper one: a project below 20 homes per gross acre is outside the range. HDR is also the zone the City gave to 184 of the 187 parcels it rezoned in 2026, covered below. The three or more homes page covers how apartment projects are reviewed.

Housing in Commercial and Mixed Use Zones

• Central Business District (CBD). Section 10.08.2380 permits "Single-family dwellings, two-family dwellings, and multi-family dwellings, except that there shall be no residential uses on the ground floor of buildings with elevations that face" Central Avenue between 11th Street and 6th Street, 10th Street between Central Avenue and A Street, or Front Street Plaza at 6th Street. Section 10.08.2405 sets density as land per home: "at least 700 square feet of net lot area and no more than 2,500 square feet of net lot area for each dwelling unit." That is 17.4 to 62.2 homes per net acre (VanPlex arithmetic: 43,560 divided by 2,500 and by 700). Height is "fifty (50) feet, or four (4) floors, whichever is less," and there are no parking minimums.
• General Highway Commercial (GHC). Since Ordinance No. 1373 the zone permits "Group 23 | Multi-family uses." Section 10.08.2565 says GHC areas "shall allow high density multi-family housing residential with a density range of twenty (20) to thirty-five (35) dwelling units per gross acre." There are no height or lot coverage requirements.
• Mixed Use (MU-1). Ordinance No. 1391 adds Article 18.5. "All projects in the Mixed Use Zone shall include residential development. If a project elects to include a commercial use, the project shall maintain a minimum of fifty (50%) percent residential development of the total floor area." Density is 20 to 35 homes per gross acre, "There shall be no height limit in the MU-1 Zone," front yards are "No less than 10 feet," and "A minimum of ten (10) percent of the total area shall be reserved for pedestrian malls or other open spaces." Residential condominiums need a use permit.
• Mobile homes (RMH). Article 14 permits mobile home parks. A new park needs "not less than three (3) acres," and each site "a minimum area of 2,400 square feet."

PUD and Specific Plan Zones

Some Tracy land is in zones where the rules are written for one area. The Planned Unit Development (PUD) zone "allows a single zoning district to combine a variety of uses, densities, and design characteristics." The City Council adopts each PUD by ordinance, and that ordinance lists the permitted uses and the "site development regulations," including residential density. "In case of a conflict, PUD Zone requirements supersede other zoning requirements." On a PUD lot, the ordinance for that PUD is the text to read.

Section 10.08.980 names six specific plan zones: Northeast Industrial, Cordes Ranch, Tracy Hills, Ellis, Tracy Village and Avenues. A specific plan is a detailed plan the City adopts for one area, with its own land uses and standards. The code sections are one line each, for example Section 10.08.3024: "The zoning within the Tracy Hills Specific Plan Zone is governed by the Tracy Hills Specific Plan." Section 10.20.030 adds that if a specific plan and the zoning ordinance disagree, "the standards and regulations of the specific plan shall prevail." The plans are City documents that were not read for this guide.

The 2026 Housing Element Rezonings

The Housing Element is the part of a city's General Plan that shows where the homes the state assigns to the city can be built. Tracy's assignment for 2023 to 2031 is 8,830 homes. Ordinance No. 1399 says a carryover from the earlier period makes "a total obligation of 9,330 units, including 5,373 lower-income units," and that the Housing Element "identified a shortfall of sites." The rezone program addresses that shortfall. The ordinance "was introduced at a regular meeting of the Tracy City Council held on the 7th day of July, 2026, and finally adopted on the 18th day of August, 2026." The City filed its Notice of Determination with the State Clearinghouse on July 10, 2026, giving July 7, 2026 as the approval date.

Source: Tracy Ordinance No. 1399, Exhibit 1, Opportunity Site Inventory (Zoning). Counts and sums are VanPlex arithmetic from the 187 rows of the exhibit.

• Where the sites are. The exhibit lists each parcel by Assessor's Parcel Number and address. Of the 39 Medium Density Cluster parcels, 27 are on West Clover Road. The three MU-1 parcels are on South Tracy Boulevard and were zoned M-1, light industrial.
• Specific plan sites. Seventeen of the parcels lie in the Industrial Areas, I-205 Corridor and Tracy Hills specific plans. For these the ordinance says "Where any provision of a Specific Plan conflicts with the General Plan or Tracy Municipal Code as applied to Housing Element Opportunity Sites, the General Plan and Tracy Municipal Code shall control."
• By-right approval. A site rezoned to meet the lower-income need is subject to approval with no discretionary review "if the project includes twenty (20%) percent of the units as housing affordable to lower income households," under Section 10.10.192.
• Effective date. "This Ordinance shall take effect 30 days after its final passage and adoption," which is September 17, 2026 (VanPlex arithmetic: August 18 plus 30 days).

Where the Documents Differ

• The list of zones. Section 10.08.980 names 24 zones. It does not name the Small Lot Residential zone that Article 9.5 created in September 2025, the Park zone of Article 15, the Community Recreation Support Services zone of Article 17.5, or MU-1.
• Acres rezoned. Ordinance No. 1399 says the rezoning "applies to approximately 239 acres of Opportunity Sites." The acreage column of its Exhibit 1 adds up to 300.92 acres. Section 10.10.194 of the code says the Housing Element's count "does not utilize the entirety of each large site possible," which may explain the gap; the ordinance does not say.
• Homes on the rezoned sites. The ordinance and the project description of the Draft EIR give a capacity of 6,588 homes. Another passage of the Draft EIR says the rezoned sites would accommodate "6,616 new housing units."
• Which zones the sites came from. The Draft EIR's table of January 2026 lists sites zoned NS and in two I-205 commercial designations. The adopted Exhibit 1 has no row with those zones.
• Cross-references. The density sections of LDR and MDC point to "Section 10.08.1380 - Permitted uses," but Section 10.08.1380 is the purpose section of MDR. Section 10.08.2565 points to "Section 10.08.2580, Permitted uses," which is the height section of GHC.
• A repealed section. MDC, MDR, SLR and HDR permit an emergency homeless shelter "subject to TMC Section 10.08.3197." The code shows Section 10.08.3197 as "(Repealed)." Chapter 10.10 now holds the shelter standards.
• LDR label. The purpose section of LDR calls the General Plan designation "low-medium density residential." Section 10.08.1215 calls it "low density residential." The range, 2.0 to 5.8, is the same in both.

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 PDFs in the Municode ordinance bank. The City's website answered a script with an access denied page, so the Official Zoning Map, the General Plan land use map, the Housing Element, the six specific plans and the individual PUD ordinances were not read. This page cannot tell you the zone of a given address. The earlier density ranges come from the City's Draft EIR; the repealed code text was not read. The maps of Exhibit 2 of Ordinance No. 1399 are images and were not read. Ask the Planning Division at 333 Civic Center Plaza for the zone of your parcel and whether a newer ordinance is in force.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Tracy overview, the growth management page and the lot eligibility page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)