Victorville | Zoning Districts

Victorville Zoning Districts: Where Houses, Duplexes and Apartments Are Allowed

A zoning district is an area on the City's zoning map where one set of rules decides what may be built and how big it may be. Victorville writes its districts into Title 16 of the Municipal Code, the Development Code, which the City calls its zoning ordinance. Chapter 3 of that title holds the district list, the land use table and the development standards. This page explains the eight residential districts, the two mixed use districts, the overlays and the special districts, and says which of them let you build more than one home. The Victorville overview gives the short version.

The District List

Section 16-3.06.010 says "The City is divided into the following zoning districts." It names eight residential districts (AE, S-R, R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-MPD and MDR), two mixed use districts (MU-1 and MU-2), four commercial districts (C-1, C-2/C-4, C-A and C-M), three industrial districts (I.P.D., M-1 and M-2), and a group of other districts: FP, GUC, S-P, P-C and P.U.D. Two overlays close the list, the Low Density Residential Infill Overlay (LDRIO) and the Health and Wellness Overlay (HWO). An overlay is a second layer of rules placed on top of the base district; the land keeps its base zone and gains extra options. The current list comes from Ordinance No. 2448, adopted February 6, 2024, which the code history calls an update for the "Recently adopted Land Use Element" and new "zone districts and overlay districts."

Each base district ties to a land use designation in the Victorville General Plan, the City's long-range plan. Section 16-3.06.030 says land annexed to the City is zoned to match its General Plan designation. Boundaries come from the Zoning Map, which Section 16-3.06.020 makes part of the code; where a street is the line, the line runs down the center of the street, and where the map is unclear the Zoning Administrator decides in writing.

The Eight Residential Districts

Sources: Victorville Municipal Code Sec. 16-3.06.010, Table 8-2 in Sec. 16-3.08.020 and Table 7-1 in Sec. 16-3.07.010.

Density here means the number of homes allowed per acre of land. Victorville counts it per "gross" acre, which is the whole site before streets are taken out. Section 16-3.08.010 gives the purpose of each district:

• AE protects farm areas "from urban development or residential subdivision" and serves as open space around the city.
• S-R is for "large residential lots that have the combined attributes of a rural and urban environment," with a half acre minimum lot.
• R-1 protects single-family neighborhoods and matches the General Plan low-density designation "which allows up to five dwelling units per gross residential acre."
• R-2 is for "multiple-family dwellings at low-medium densities," up to twelve homes per gross acre.
• R-3 is for "garden apartments, townhouses, duplexes and similar dwellings, including condominium developments," up to twenty per gross acre.
• R-4 lists the same housing types and follows the General Plan category that "provides up to thirty dwelling units per gross residential acre."
• R-MPD is for subdivisions "to be occupied primarily by residential mobile homes," at up to five per gross acre.
• MDR protects mixed-density neighborhoods and allows single-family infill where "a lack of required sewer infrastructure" makes the higher densities impractical, up to fifteen per gross acre.

Which Home Types Each District Allows

Table 7-1 in Section 16-3.07.010 is the land use table. "P" means permitted if all other rules are met; "C" means a conditional use permit (CUP) is needed first, which is a discretionary permit that the Zoning Administrator or Planning Commission may grant with conditions or deny; a dash means the use is not permitted.

Sources: Victorville Municipal Code Table 7-1; the junior ADU row is from Ordinance No. 2469, in force October 1, 2026.

Three points stand out. First, a house on its own is not a permitted use in R-2, R-3 or R-4; those districts permit multiple-family homes inside a set density band, 5.1 to 12 homes per acre in R-2, 12.1 to 20 in R-3 and 20.1 to 30 in R-4. MDR is the one district that permits both houses and multiple-family homes, at 2 to 15 per acre. Second, the table permits "Urban Dwelling Unit(s)" in all eight residential districts. The code defines an urban dwelling unit as a home approved under the state two-unit law (SB 9) or the state small-lot law (SB 684 and SB 1123), "subject to ministerial approval," which means staff check the plans against fixed rules with no hearing. Third, condominiums need a CUP in R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4 and MDR.

Uses that the table does not list "are prohibited unless a determination is made by the Zoning Administrator that the proposed use is similar to one of the uses listed." The section also says every use must be consistent with the General Plan, and that uses must be conducted inside a building unless the nature of the use requires otherwise.

Mixed Use Districts

Article 9 sets up MU-1 (Medium Density Mixed Use) and MU-2 (High Density Mixed Use). Their stated purposes include "Encourage mixed-use development as a strategy to revitalize underutilized or under-performing commercial areas and corridors in the city, such as the 7th Street Corridor." Table 9-2 sets the numbers:

• MU-1: up to 15.0 homes per gross acre, a 10,000 square foot minimum lot, 40 percent lot coverage and a 45 foot height limit. A stand-alone apartment project follows the R-3 rules except for the density cap.
• MU-2: up to 30.0 homes per gross acre, a 5 acre minimum lot, 50 percent coverage for residential development and a 55 foot height limit. A stand-alone apartment project follows the R-4 rules.
• Housing Element sites: Ordinance No. 2462, adopted February 3, 2026, added a note that any MU-2 project on a site listed in Appendix C, Table B of the 2021-2029 Housing Element "shall include a minimum of 50 percent of the total floor area dedicated to residential use."

In both districts, "No principal building shall exceed a height of one story when located within one hundred feet of an existing single-family residence." That rule also applies in R-2, R-3 and R-4, and the parking, setbacks and height page covers it.

The Two Overlays

Article 18 says the LDRIO is meant "to encourage infill development, promote the efficient use of existing infrastructure, and provide additional housing opportunities in the core area of the city." It applies only to R-1 land, and only to property "Not part of a previous residential subdivision," except contiguous property earlier split by a parcel map. Table 18-1 gives two levels: 7 homes per gross acre on lots of at least 5,000 square feet with a 2.5 acre minimum project, and 9 homes per acre on lots of at least 4,000 square feet with a 10 acre minimum project and a planned unit development. Section 16-3.18.060 requires the planned unit development "when density exceeds 7 dwelling units per gross acre." The lot size and subdivisions page has the full LDRIO lot table.

The HWO applies to all C-2 and MU-2 land. Its purpose is to mix health care and wellness uses with "associated multi-family housing development with a density of up to 30 units per acre for health care workers, seniors, and others who would benefit." On a site of 10 acres or more with a planned unit development and a hospital or other health use as the main use, housing may be an accessory use in C-2.

Special Districts

• Specific Plan (S-P). Section 16-3.14.010 says the district "shall only apply to property containing forty or more gross acres." The specific plan document sets the rules, and the Municipal Code applies where the plan is silent.
• Planned Unit Development (P.U.D.). A district adopted by ordinance for a single project, with its own standards. Section 16-3.16.030 says the procedure does not apply to a site under ten acres. The three or more homes page explains it.
• Transitional (T). A combining district that adds special standards to a base zone, written as a suffix: a lot zoned C-2-T follows both the C-2 rules and the T rules. Where the two differ, the T standards govern.
• Historic (H). A combining district that must include at least one registered historic landmark or point of interest. Uses allowed before the designation continue if they fit its purpose.
• Conservancy and Flood Plain (FP). Table 7-1 says "All areas of the City zoned FP are within the Mojave River," with no permanent development except flood control structures. The desert design and site rules page covers it.
• Greenway Utility Corridor (GUC). Land along major utility corridors, where new permanent development is not permitted except utility towers and some open space uses.

Where the Code Disagrees With Itself

• District names. Section 16-3.06.010 calls R-2 "Low-Medium Density," R-3 "Medium Density" and R-4 "High Density." The legend of Table 7-1 calls them "Medium-Density," "High-Density" and "Very-High-Density." The density caps in Table 8-2 are the same either way; the names differ only in the labels.
• An extra column. Table 8-2 has a column headed "A" between AE and S-R, with no values, and no "A" district appears in the district list.
• Junior ADUs in apartment districts. Ordinance No. 2469 makes a junior ADU a permitted use in all eight residential districts in Table 7-1, while its own Table 8-3 allows 0 junior ADUs in R-2, R-3 and R-4. A junior ADU must sit inside a single-family home, so on an apartment lot Table 8-3 decides; on a house lot in those districts, ask the Planning Division.

Changing a Zone

An owner, the City Manager, the Planning Commission or the City Council may start a zone change. If the property has more than one owner, "all of the property owners or authorized agents shall join." The Planning Commission holds at least one public hearing and "shall act only to make recommendations to the City Council." The Council holds its own hearing and may approve, change or deny the request; an approved change takes effect thirty days later. After a denial, "no new application for the same or substantially the same change shall be filed within one (1) year." The permits and fees page lists who decides every other application.

State Laws That Sit on Top

Four state laws apply in every Victorville residential district whatever the local table says: ADU law, SB 9, SB 684 and SB 1123, and the density bonus law. Victorville writes the first three into Sections 16-3.07.030 and 16-3.08.050, covered on the ADUs and SB 9 page. SB 79, the 2025 law that raises zoning near rail stops, is not in force here: HCD's advisory lists the seven counties where it took effect on July 1, 2026, and San Bernardino County is not among them. See the SB 79 page for how a county can qualify later.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Victorville overview, the SB 9 page and the SB 684 and SB 1123 page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)