Cities | Killeen
Killeen Multiplex Rules 2026: Duplexes, Fourplexes, Apartments and Small Lots
Killeen zones the land inside its city limits, so the first question for any project is the lot's zoning district. The rules sit in Chapter 31 of the Killeen Code of Ordinances, with subdivision rules in Chapter 26 and impact fees in Chapter 33. In August 2025 the City Council changed Chapter 31 for the 2025 state housing laws: it added a small lot rule, homes on business land and the new protest rules. The city sits beside Fort Cavazos, and that changes where those state laws reach. This page gives the main numbers, with the section for each, and links to seven detailed pages.
Killeen in six facts
- Killeen's zoning rules are Chapter 31 of its Code of Ordinances, read here in Supplement 38 Update 1, codified through Ordinance No. 26-003 of January 6, 2026. Source: Municode, Killeen Code of Ordinances
- R-2 allows duplexes on 7,000 sq ft lots, R-3F allows buildings of three or four homes on 10,000 sq ft lots, and R-3A allows apartment complexes. Source: Killeen Code, Secs. 31-231 to 31-256.9
- R-1 names no second home, and the guest houses allowed in A-R1 and SR-2 may not be rented. Source: Killeen Code, Secs. 31-172, 31-185.2, 31-186
- Since September 1, 2025, a lot on land that SB 15 covers may be 3,000 sq ft, 30 feet wide and 75 feet deep, with alley parking when it is under 40 feet wide. Source: Killeen Code, Sec. 31-475
- Since the same date, the business districts allow multifamily buildings of three or more homes outside 3,000 feet of an airport or military base. Source: Killeen Code, Sec. 31-276; Ord. No. 25-046
- Killeen had 153,095 people in the 2020 Census, in Bell County with 370,647, which passes the SB 15 and SB 840 size test by VanPlex count. Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census
Killeen Guide Pages
Where the Current Code Is
Killeen publishes its Code of Ordinances on municode, the online code library the City uses. The version read for this guide is Supplement 38 Update 1, "Codified through Ordinance of 26-003, enacted January 6, 2026." The supplement history table lists Ordinance No. 25-046, the August 2025 zoning changes, as included in Supplement 37. The City's own site, killeentexas.gov, answered every VanPlex request, and its Finance page posts the fee schedules.
To find changes adopted after January 6, 2026, VanPlex read municode's ordinance bank, which holds adopted ordinances, and the City Council records on the City's Legistar agenda system through September 24, 2026. Those records show rezonings of single sites, a flood ordinance (No. 26-029 of August 4, 2026, which made the City Engineer the floodplain administrator), Council talks on ADUs and tiny homes in April 2026 and on data centers and short term rentals in September 2026, and a proposed update of water and wastewater impact fees with a hearing asked for November 17, 2026. They show no adopted change to the text of Chapter 31 or Chapter 26 in 2026.
State Law in Killeen, in Brief
Killeen had 153,095 people in the 2020 Census, and Bell County had 370,647. So Killeen passes the size test in the 2025 laws, a city of more than 150,000 in a county of more than 300,000, by VanPlex count from 2020 Census figures, as the more Texas cities page also lists. The City answered each law in Ordinance No. 25-046, passed August 19, 2025:
- SB 15 became Sec. 31-475: on single-family tracts of five acres or more with no recorded plat, lots of 3,000 square feet, 30 feet wide and 75 feet deep, with 15, 5 and 10-foot yards, one parking space per home, and alley access for lots under 40 feet wide.
- SB 840 became two items in the B-1 use list, carried through B-2 to B-5: multifamily residential that "provides for at least three (3) dwelling units per building" and vertical mixed-use residential, both barred within 1,000 feet of heavy industry or 3,000 feet of an airport or military base. M-1 excludes them.
- HB 24 became the protest rule in Sec. 31-39(f), which now points to Local Government Code 211.0061, plus a 24 by 48 inch sign on the land 10 days before the Planning and Zoning hearing.
The state protest rule is Local Government Code 211.0061, in force since September 1, 2025. It keeps two protests. Under 211.0061(b)(1), owners of "at least 20 percent of the area of the lots or land covered by the proposed change" can still force a vote of "three-fourths of all members of the governing body," for any change. Under 211.0061(b)(3), for a change that "has the effect of allowing more residential development" and adds no commercial or industrial use beyond a limited first floor, a protest by owners of the adjoining land within 200 feet needs "at least 60 percent" of that land, and the change then needs "a majority of all members of the governing body." Section 211.0061(b)(2) keeps a 20 percent protest by adjoining owners for other changes.
How a Lot Reaches Two, Three or More Homes
| Homes | Where | Main rule | Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| House plus a guest house | A-R1 and SR-2 only | Detached; up to 25% of the house floor area; one more parking space; no rental | Secs. 31-172, 31-185.2 |
| 2 (duplex) | R-2, R-3F, R-3A | 7,000 sq ft, 60 ft wide; 7 ft side yards; 2 spaces per home | Secs. 31-231, 31-233, 31-489 |
| 3 or 4 in one building | R-3F | 10,000 sq ft, 70 ft wide; 35 ft tall; 4 to 10 spaces per building | Secs. 31-255.1 to 31-255.7 |
| Townhouses (groups of 3 to 5) | RT-1 | Each on its own 2,500 sq ft lot, 24 ft wide; at least 2 stories | Secs. 31-216 to 31-221 |
| 5 or more on one lot (apartments) | R-3A | Half an acre; 2,500 sq ft of land per home above that | Secs. 31-256.1 to 31-256.9 |
| 3 or more per building on business land | B-1 to B-5, NBD, B-C-1, UD, CD | Not within 1,000 ft of heavy industry or 3,000 ft of an airport or military base | Secs. 31-276, 31-449 |
| Small lots (SB 15) | Unplatted single-family tracts of 5 acres or more | 3,000 sq ft, 30 ft wide, 75 ft deep; alley parking under 40 ft wide | Sec. 31-475 |
Source: Killeen Code of Ordinances on municode, Supplement 38 Update 1 (Chapter 31, Article IV, Sec. 31-489 and Sec. 31-475).
Zoning Districts
Sec. 31-121 divides the city into 29 districts, five of them marked inactive, including the R-3 multifamily district. A rezoning goes to a Planning and Zoning Commission hearing and a City Council vote, with mailed notice to owners within 400 feet and a sign on the land, and must match the Future Land Use Map of the comprehensive plan. The FY 2027 fee is $500, and a planned unit development, required for R-3F or R-3A requests over 5 acres, is $1,000. The zoning districts page has the list and the protest rules.
Guest Houses and Duplexes
Killeen has no ADU rule. A-R1 and SR-2 allow "One guest home per lot," detached, up to 25 percent of the house floor area, and "The rental or lease of a guest house shall be prohibited." R-2 allows "Two-family dwellings" on lots of 7,000 square feet and 60 feet wide, with two parking spaces per home and at least four of 15 design elements. City staff proposed an ADU and tiny home overlay for North Killeen in April 2026. The guest houses and duplexes page covers both.
Triplexes, Fourplexes and Apartments
R-3F allows "Multifamily structures containing three (3) or four (4) separate dwelling units" on 10,000 square foot lots, and R-3A allows apartment complexes at 2,500 square feet of land per home. RT-1 allows townhouses in groups of three to five on 2,500 square foot lots. Apartments and fourplexes need a site development permit since September 2025, and the parking schedule asks for 1-2/3 spaces per apartment, more than the one space SB 840 allows a city to require on the commercial land it covers. The triplexes, fourplexes and apartments page has the details.
Lots, Yards, Height and Parking
Minimum lots run from 3 acres in A and 1 acre in A-R1 to 6,000 square feet in R-1 and 5,000 in SF-2, and 3,000 on small lots that SB 15 covers. R-1 and R-2 need a 20-foot front yard and a 25-foot rear yard, and houses may be 35 feet or 2.5 stories. Each house lot needs two parking spaces. No off-street parking is required in special parking district A, and the Director of Development Services may reduce parking in North Killeen. The lot size page and the parking, setbacks and height page have the numbers.
Fort Cavazos and the Airports
City Council records describe the northern edge of Killeen as running "from the border of Fort Cavazos," and show the City runs Killeen Regional Airport and Skylark Field. SB 15 and SB 840 leave out land within 3,000 feet of an airport or military base, and Killeen copied that limit into its code. Chapter 7 sets height zones around Skylark Field, Chapter 8 requires noise insulation in the 65 LDN and louder aircraft noise zones, and Chapter 26 puts an avigation release on plats in runway protection zones. The airport, military and noise page explains each.
What the Numbers Show
Killeen had 161,883 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimate, up from 153,095 in the 2020 Census. The Vintage 2025 file lists one county part for Killeen, Bell County, with the same number of residents. The Census Bureau's 2025 Building Permits Survey file shows Killeen reported all 12 months, with these counts:
| Killeen, 2025 permits | Buildings (homes) |
|---|---|
| 1-unit buildings | 490 (490) |
| 2-unit buildings | 68 (136) |
| 3 to 4 unit buildings | 0 |
| 5+ unit buildings | 20 (284) |
Source: Census Bureau Building Permits Survey, South Region places, 2025 annual. Killeen's Texas row (place code 39148) shows 12 months reported, so the estimate and reported columns are the same.
The Census counts a building by the number of homes it holds, so a fourplex is one building of three to four units. By VanPlex count from this file, two-unit buildings held 136 of the 910 homes permitted in Killeen in 2025. The file gives counts only, with no reasons behind them.
Plats, Permits and Fees
The Executive Director of Development Services decides plats within 30 days of filing, matching Local Government Code 212.009, and the land must already be zoned for the project. A plat costs $500 plus $25 per lot under the FY 2027 Fee Schedule. New subdivisions owe a park development fee of $450 per house or duplex home and $250 per multifamily home. Water and wastewater impact fees are $1,161 and $418 for a 3/4-inch meter, collected with the building permit, and building permits for houses, duplexes and townhouses cost $0.20 per square foot. The plats, permits and fees page has the full lists and the flood rules.
Where the City's Documents Disagree
VanPlex found these while reading the code and the 2025 and 2026 records:
- Chapter 26 requires 50 feet of street frontage for new lots (Sec. 26-91), while the small lot rule allows 30-foot lots and SB 15 bars requiring a lot wider than 30 feet.
- R-1 limits houses to 2.5 stories, while SB 15 bars requiring fewer than three full stories on a small lot.
- The parking schedule asks for 1-2/3 spaces per apartment and up to 10 per fourplex, while SB 840 caps parking at one space per home on the land it covers.
- B-1 lists multifamily under "Uses customarily incidental to the primary use," which the same section caps at 15 percent of a building's floor area.
- The replat rule counts a protest by 20 percent "of the owners," while Local Government Code 212.015 counts 20 percent of the land area.
- Sec. 26-72 has the Planning and Zoning Commission approve replats, while Sec. 26-23 gives plat decisions to the Executive Director.
- Sec. 7-52 sets a five-member board of adjustment for airport zoning, while the 2025 merger set one nine-member board.
- Municode still names the building official as floodplain administrator; Ordinance No. 26-029 of August 4, 2026 names the City Engineer.
- Sec. 31-456 points CUP protests to Sec. 31-39(d), while the protest rule is now Sec. 31-39(f).
- The FY 2027 Fee Schedule the City posts is headed "PROPOSED FEE SCHEDULE," though the Council approved it on June 16, 2026.
Where a City text conflicts with state law, the statute controls. Where two City texts conflict, ask Development Services in writing which one it applies to your lot.
Best For
- ✓ An R-2 lot of 7,000 sq ft for a duplex with four parking spaces.
- ✓ An R-3F lot of 10,000 sq ft for a triplex or fourplex.
- ✓ An unplatted single-family tract of 5 acres or more, well away from Fort Cavazos and both airports, for 3,000 sq ft small lots.
Usually Fails When
- ✕ The plan puts a rental second unit on an R-1 lot.
- ✕ The site is within 3,000 feet of an airport or military base and relies on SB 15 or SB 840.
- ✕ The budget leaves out impact fees, parkland fees and the site development permit.
What To Verify Before Spending Money
- → The district on the official zoning map and the Future Land Use Map designation.
- → The City's written measurement of the distance to the base and both airports.
- → The flood zone, noise zone and any runway protection zone on the lot.
Where to Go Next
Related on VanPlex: financing 2 to 4 units, Texas property tax and the Texas multiplex guide overview.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the rules for building more than one home on a lot in Killeen?
How many people live in Killeen?
How many homes did Killeen permit in 2025?
Did Killeen change its code for the 2025 Texas housing laws?
Does Killeen allow accessory dwelling units?
Is the Killeen zoning code on municode?
How does Fort Cavazos affect building in Killeen?
Can I build a triplex on an R-1 lot in Killeen?
Who approves plats in Killeen?
Where does Killeen list its development fees?
Official sources (checked October 2026)
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