Vallejo | Three or More Homes

Vallejo Three or More Homes: Triplexes, Apartments, Density Bonuses and Transit Bonuses

Vallejo's Zoning Code calls three or more homes on a lot multi-unit residential: "three or more dwelling units within a single building or within two or more buildings on a site or lot(s), including a triplex or fourplex." This page sets out where such projects are permitted, the standards they meet in the RMD and RHD districts, who approves them, and the bonuses that add homes: the state density bonus, Vallejo's transit-oriented development bonus and Planned Development bonuses. It also covers the rules the City is now writing. The Vallejo overview has the summary.

Where Multi-Unit Homes Are Permitted

Table 16.301-A marks multi-unit residential as permitted ("P") in RMD, RHD, NMX, DMX, WMX, NC and CC. It needs a minor use permit in RC, the Office (O) district and the Medical (M) district. RR and RLD do not list it, so a third home on a lot there comes only through the ADU rules on the ADUs and SB 9 page. Every multi-unit entry carries Note 1, which sets who approves the project by its number of homes.

RMD is the district most owners of older house lots will meet. Section 16.202.01 says its purpose in established neighborhoods is "to maintain the existing pattern of single-family residences, including attached units and duplexes," while in undeveloped areas it is "to encourage the creation of multi-unit residential neighborhoods with a variety of housing types." RMD allows "small apartment buildings." RHD is the high density district, at up to 40 homes per acre, with mixed-use buildings allowed.

RMD and RHD Standards

Source: Vallejo Municipal Code Section 16.202.03, Table 16.202-B. Total parking follows Table 16.508-B; see the parking, setbacks and height page.

Here is how the numbers play out. A 10,000 square foot RHD lot allows 10,000 divided by 1,100, or 9.09 homes, which Section 16.104.02 rounds down to nine. A 7,500 square foot RMD lot allows 7,500 divided by 1,740, or 4.31, which rounds to four (VanPlex arithmetic for both). ADUs come on top. The open space rules then shape the site: private open space on the ground needs "no dimension less than ten feet," balconies "no dimension less than six feet," and common open space a minimum dimension of 15 feet, with a usable surface whose slope does not exceed 10 percent.

The table limits how much of the upper floors can be built. The second story may cover 100 percent of the ground floor footprint, and the third story and above 60 percent, which "may be articulated through bays, relief, and architectural articulation." In RHD, "The fourth story of a street-facing building frontage shall be stepped back a minimum of ten feet from the stories below," unless the Director grants an exception for a 20-foot-deep entry courtyard with landscaping and seating.

Next to a Low-Density Neighbor

Section 16.202.03.A.1 adds transitional standards where an RMD or RHD lot adjoins an RLD district, unless a street or other physical barrier separates them. The building setback from the RLD line is 10 feet for interior side yards and 20 feet for rear yards, compared with 5 and 10 feet elsewhere. A planting strip at least 5 feet wide runs along the RLD boundary, with "trees planted at maximum interval of fifteen feet." Surface parking stays at least 40 feet from the street-facing lot line unless a minor use permit finds, among other things, that the site is "small and constrained." At least half of each required interior side and rear setback must be planting area.

Who Approves a Multi-Unit Project

Two reviews apply to new homes. Development review under Chapter 16.605 covers "all permits for new construction," and the chapter calls it "a discretionary process that may also include design review." Design review under Chapter 16.604 applies to "New residential development that consists of two or more units." Its responsibility list:

• 2 to 10 units: Director decision.
• 11 to 49 units: Design Review Board recommendation to the Director.
• 50 or more units: Design Review Board recommendation to the Planning Commission.

Section 16.604.01 also says design review is meant to "Ensure that decisions on housing development projects are based on objective design standards as required by the State Housing Accountability Act (Government Code Section 65589.5)." Objective standards are rules a person can check without judgment, such as a height in feet. Note 1 to Table 16.301-A adds that a project complying with Government Code 65589.4 "is exempt from Design Review Board and Planning Commission review." A Director decision needs no public hearing under Table 16.601-A; a Planning Commission decision does. The fee schedule lists "Development Review - Major (Staff Level)" at $6,164 and "Design Review (DRB)" at $8,911.

Mixed-Use Districts

Table 16.203-A sets both a minimum and a maximum density in the mixed-use districts, so a project must build enough homes as well as not too many. NMX allows 16 to 30 homes per net acre where the General Plan says Neighborhood Commercial and 25 to 50 where it says Business/Limited Residential. DMX and WMX allow 30 to 90 where the General Plan says District-Downtown/Waterfront and 16 to 50 in the Central Corridor. Each home needs 60 square feet of private and 150 square feet of common open space, and ground-floor homes in DMX and WMX need a ground floor at least 12 feet tall. The zoning districts page covers the frontage rules.

The State Density Bonus

A density bonus lets a project build more homes than the zoning allows in return for affordable homes. Chapter 16.214 carries out the state law. Its Section 16.214.03 still reads that a developer providing 20 percent lower-income or 10 percent very low-income homes "shall be granted an increase of five to thirty-five percent over the maximum residential density," but it ties the amount to the statute: "Such Density Bonus shall be as set forth in California Government Code Section 65915." The chapter applies to projects of five or more homes.

Government Code 65915 now goes further. Its table gives a 50 percent bonus when 15 percent of homes are for very low-income households, and for qualifying projects that are fully affordable "the density bonus shall be 80 percent of the number of units for lower income households." Within one-half mile of a major transit stop such a project has no maximum density. The statute controls, as the code's own wording says. The City's Density Bonus page points applicants to a Solano County Density Bonus Guide for the thresholds. The fee for "Development Review - SB 35 and/or Density Bonus" is $5,861.

Section 16.214.14 adds the state's streamlined path. A project that "includes at least fifty percent affordable units" and meets Government Code 65913.4 is approved ministerially, exempt from CEQA review, with no use permit, no development review and no public hearing. The site may not be in a FEMA flood plain, a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone or an earthquake fault zone without meeting seismic standards, or on land with housing "occupied by tenants during the past ten years," among other limits.

Vallejo's Transit-Oriented Development Bonus

Chapter 16.215 is Vallejo's own transit bonus. It applies to land "generally within a twenty-five hundred foot radius of a park and ride lot or major transit stop," including the Curtola Park & Ride, the Sereno Transit Center, the Downtown Vallejo Transit Center and the Vallejo Waterfront Ferry Terminal. Where the base district conflicts with it, "the TOD standards shall control within the district."

• Density: the district maximum "may be increased up to a maximum of twenty-five percent for residential projects."
• Permit: a minor use permit, granted only if the project includes one of five features: public seating in common open space, a grocery store of at least 1,500 square feet, a limited-service restaurant with seating, a direct walking and bicycle path to the transit center, or public art.
• Parking: "there shall be no minimum number of parking spaces" for an eligible project.
• Stacking: the incentives apply "in addition to any incentive or concession" available elsewhere in the code.

On a 10,000 square foot RHD lot near the ferry, that could turn nine homes into 11 (9 times 1.25 is 11.25, rounded down; VanPlex arithmetic). Ask the Planning Division how it rounds the bonus.

Planned Developments and By-Right Sites

In a Planned Development district, Table 16.209-A lets the Planning Commission add homes beyond the General Plan range for public benefits: two homes per acre of open space or per 10,000 square feet of recreation facilities, one home per 1,000 feet of paved trail, and "One dwelling unit per every 2 units provided" of senior housing. Separately, Section 16.301.01.B, added in January 2025, permits multifamily homes "by right (without discretionary action)" on Housing Element sites 41, 42 and 55 when at least 20 percent of units are affordable to lower-income households.

SB 79 and Other State Laws

SB 79 allows taller and denser buildings near qualifying rail and bus stops. HCD's SB 79 advisory says its upzoning provisions "will take effect on July 1, 2026, in Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Diego Counties." Solano County is not on the list, so SB 79 does not change zoning in Vallejo today; HCD adds that its scope "is dynamic and will modify over time." The SB 684 small-lot map law does apply on lots zoned for multifamily homes.

Rules the City Is Writing Now

• Inclusionary housing. The City's project page says that on September 9, 2026 the Planning Commission voted 7-0 to recommend an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance "with revisions lowering the applicability threshold from 20 to 10 residential units and modifying the affordability requirements." The Council hearing is October 27, 2026. A Commercial Linkage Fee would follow.
• Renter protections. On September 29, 2026 the Council held a study session and directed staff to proceed with a study of rent stabilization, just cause eviction, anti-harassment and right to counsel rules, and to report every 30 days. The City's page describes the study and its next steps; the California rent and tenant rules page covers state law.
• Parking near the ferry. The May 2026 project list says the Council adopted a parking action plan on March 24, 2026 that proposes zoning changes to "eliminate parking minimums within one-half mile of the Vallejo Ferry Terminal and Mare Island Ferry Terminal." The zoning text had not been adopted as of that list.

The Municode copy is current through December 16, 2025. Ask the Planning Division which of these rules is in force when you apply.

Where to Go Next

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)