Victorville | ADUs and SB 9

Victorville ADUs and SB 9: The 2026 ADU Ordinance and Urban Dwelling Units

An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is a second home on a lot with a house or an apartment building, with its own kitchen, bathroom and entrance. A junior ADU is a unit of 500 square feet or less built inside a house. Victorville rewrote its ADU rules in Ordinance No. 2469, in force since October 1, 2026, and it writes SB 9, the state law that allows two homes on a single-family lot, into Section 16-3.08.050 under the name "urban dwelling units." This page sets out both, and where they differ from state law. The Victorville overview gives the short version.

The 2026 Ordinance

The Planning Commission held a public hearing on July 8, 2026. The City Council heard the item on August 18, 2026 and adopted Ordinance No. 2469 on September 1, 2026, with five votes in favor and none against. The ordinance states: "THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BE IN FULL FORCE AND EFFECT ON OCTOBER 1, 2026." It amends Section 16-3.07.030 (ADUs), Table 7-1 (the land use table) and Table 8-3 (ADU standards). In its recitals the Council found that "many current State requirements have already been incorporated" and that the changes "primarily consist of updated statutory references, revisions relating to multifamily ADUs, and technical and administrative amendments."

The online code, Supplement 57, still prints the 2023 version of the section; its preface says it is current through Ordinance No. 2465, adopted April 7, 2026. That older text cites Government Code 65852.2 and 65852.22, which are no longer in the Legislature's code table. The 2026 text cites "California Government Code Sections 66310 through 66342" instead and calls them "State ADU Law." Read the ordinance, linked above, until Municode adds it. One new line matters most: an ADU "proposed in accordance with the allowances provided by California Government Code Section 66323 shall only be subject to those provisions of this Chapter allowed by State ADU law."

Size, Height and Setbacks

Sources: Victorville Municipal Code Sec. 16-3.07.030 and Table 8-3 as amended by Ordinance No. 2469; Table 21-1.

The size limits match the floor in Government Code 66321, which bars a city from setting a maximum "less than either of" 850 square feet, or 1,000 square feet "for an accessory dwelling unit that provides more than one bedroom." A detached ADU taller than 16 feet is also allowed "as otherwise allowed for a single-story primary dwelling" in the zone, but never taller than the main house. The state also requires 18 feet for a detached ADU within one-half mile walking distance of a major transit stop or a high-quality transit corridor; the Victorville text covers that through its phrase "as otherwise permitted by State ADU Law."

Converted space is the simplest case. No setback is required for "an existing living or garage area within the primary dwelling that is converted," and no setback for an existing accessory structure that is converted, if it already sits at least four feet from the lot line. A new ADU needs "no more than four feet from the side and rear lot lines."

How Many ADUs

• House lots. "No more than one accessory dwelling unit and one junior accessory dwelling unit shall be permitted on any parcel or lot zoned for single-family residential use, unless otherwise allowed by State ADU Law." Government Code 66323 requires a city to approve "any combination" of a converted ADU or junior ADU inside the house and "One detached, new construction, accessory dwelling unit" with 4 foot setbacks, which the City may cap at 800 square feet.
• Apartment lots, inside the building. At least one ADU within an existing multi-family building, and no more than 25 percent of the existing homes.
• Apartment lots, detached. The 2026 text raised the cap from two to eight detached ADUs on a lot with an existing multi-family building, "provided that the number of detached accessory dwelling units shall not exceed the number of existing dwelling units on the lot." A fourplex can add four.
• Junior ADUs by district. Table 8-3 sets the number per lot, shown below.

Source: Victorville Municipal Code Table 8-3 as amended by Ordinance No. 2469.

The same ordinance adds "Dwelling unit, junior accessory" to Table 7-1 as permitted in all eight residential districts, including R-2, R-3 and R-4, where Table 8-3 allows zero. A junior ADU must sit inside a single-family home, so the zero reads as a limit for apartment lots. If you own a house on R-2, R-3 or R-4 land, ask the Planning Division which table it applies.

Design, Occupancy and Renting

• Matching design. An attached or detached ADU "shall be architecturally compatible with the design of the main dwelling and shall match with the same colors and materials of the primary unit."
• Separate entrance. An attached ADU needs independent access that "shall not be located on the same wall plane elevation as the access to the primary dwelling." In plain terms, the ADU door may not sit on the same face of the building as the main front door.
• Driveway and meters. A detached ADU uses the main driveway "whenever feasible" and may have its own gas, electric and water and sewer meters.
• Sewer. The lot "must be connected to sewer, unless sewer is unavailable or unfeasible as determined by the city engineer."
• Owner occupancy. None for an ADU. For a junior ADU, only when it "shares sanitation facilities with the primary dwelling." A covenant recorded with the San Bernardino County Recorder before the building permit states the junior ADU limits.
• Renting and selling. Rentals may not be shorter than thirty days, and neither unit may be sold apart from the main home, except a unit built by a qualified nonprofit corporation as state law allows.
• Fire sprinklers. Required only "if required for the primary residential structure."
• Small units. An efficiency unit of at least 150 square feet "with a partial kitchen or bathroom" counts as an ADU on any lot with a house.

A junior ADU must stay "within the existing walls and space of the primary dwelling or proposed single-family residence" and "not exceed five hundred (500) square feet of interior livable space," with its own outside door and an efficiency kitchen: a cooking appliance, a counter and cabinets. Ordinance No. 2469 struck the 2023 rule that a junior ADU in an attached garage needed replacement parking "within an enclosed garage elsewhere on the property." Government Code 66334 says a junior ADU ordinance "shall not require additional parking."

Deadlines and Fees

Applications "shall be deemed complete or incomplete within fifteen (15) business days following receipt," and the City decides a complete application "within sixty (60) days." An incomplete or denied application gets written comments that list the problems and how to fix them. There is no hearing.

Government Code 66311.5 bars "any impact fee upon the development of an accessory dwelling unit that has 750 square feet of interior livable space or less," and any impact fee on a junior ADU of 500 square feet or less. A larger ADU pays fees "proportionately in relation to the square footage of the primary dwelling unit." Victorville sets its impact fees by City Council resolution, and that schedule could not be read for this guide; see the permits and fees page.

SB 9 Homes: Urban Dwelling Units

SB 9 is the state law in Government Code 65852.21 that lets an owner build two primary homes on a lot in a single-family zone with staff approval. Victorville carries it out in Section 16-3.08.050, added by Ordinance No. 2461 on November 18, 2025. A project is filed as an "Urban Dwelling Unit Application" on the City's Application for Zoning Administrator Action form, and is "subject to ministerial review" with no public hearing and no review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the state law that requires an environmental study for many projects.

Sources: Victorville Municipal Code Sec. 16-3.08.050, Table 8-4, Table 21-1 and Sec. 16-3.21.050.

The section allows "only the objective standards associated with the specific project type and underlying zone district," except where they would physically prevent the project. Table 8-4 repeats the state rule: standards may not preclude "two units of at least 800 sq. ft. in size." If a site cannot meet every standard, the owner submits proof such as a survey or site plan, and the City decides which standards to waive. Government Code 65852.21 allows a city to require "Offstreet parking of up to one space per unit" and 4 foot side and rear setbacks, which is what Victorville asks.

Two rental rules apply. Each home "may be rented separately, however rental terms must be for a minimum of 31 consecutive days," and "No tenancy may be terminated prior to the completion of at least one 31-day occupancy period by the same tenant." A project may not demolish or alter housing rented within the past three years, housing under rent or price control, or housing restricted by covenant to moderate, low or very low income households. The lot must also be free of the listed site constraints, including any Western Joshua Tree. A lot that already used the section may not use it again.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Victorville overview, the California ADU law page and the SB 9 page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)