Zoning › California › Solano County › Vallejo

Vallejo, CA Zoning

Euclidean-zoning. 19 districts · 5 overlays · 7 applicable state preemptions.

Overview

Code type
euclidean
Naming convention
letter-code

Replaces the legacy R-1/R-2/R-3/C-1/C-2/M-1/M-2 scheme. New Title 16 uses letter-acronym district codes per §16.102 (RR, RLD, RMD, RHD; NMX, DMX, WMX; NC, WC, CC, RC; O, M; IL, IG; PROS, RCN, PS, PD; SP). Intensity is implied by name (Low/Medium/High density; Neighborhood/Downtown/Waterfront mixed-use) rather than a numeric suffix. Letter-code lookup required per-district — no numeric formula.

Worth knowing
  • MAJOR v1 STRUCTURAL ERROR CORRECTED: v1 listed generic R-1/R-2/R-3/C-1/C-2/NMX/DMX/WMX/M-1/M-2 districts. Vallejo's current Title 16 (Ord 1855 N.C. (2d), replacing the 1980 code) uses letter-code acronyms per §16.102: RR/RLD/RMD/RHD residential; NMX/DMX/WMX mixed-use; NC/WC/CC/RC commercial; O/M office-medical; IL/IG industrial; PROS/RCN/PS special; PD planned development; SP specific-plan overlay (Hiddenbrooke, Mare Island, Solano360, White Slough).
  • v1 confidence tags were of the form 'c§16.101-110' (range citations). v2 uses §16.201-§16.208 for the actual new-code district chapters; v1 ranges were speculative.
  • AB 2097 qualifying transit anchors: Vallejo Ferry Terminal (Baylink / SF Bay Ferry) AND Vallejo Transit Center (Curtola Pkwy) + SolanoExpress Red Line corridor along Sonoma Blvd. 0.5-mi buffers cover downtown, waterfront, and most of the CC/NMX/DMX/WMX inventory.

+ 7 more in Quirks & notes

Districts

com 6special 4res_sf 2res_mf 2mu 2ind 2cbd 1
CodeNameCategory Min lotHeight CoverageFAR Du/acParking Setbacks F/S/R
RRRR Rural Residentialres_sf—[4]35 ft[5]—[6]—[7]1[8]2[9]—[1] / —[2] / —[3]
RLDRLD Residential Low Densityres_sf5,000 sf[13]35 ft[14]0.4[15]0.5[16]8[17]2[18]20[10] / 5[11] / 20[12]
RMDRMD Residential Medium Densityres_mf3,500 sf[22]45 ft[23]0.55[24]1[25]25[26]1.5[27]15[19] / 5[20] / 15[21]
RHDRHD Residential High Densityres_mf2,000 sf[31]55 ft[32]0.65[33]1.5[34]40[35]1[36]10[28] / 5[29] / 10[30]
NMXNMX Neighborhood Mixed Usemu5,000 sf[40]75 ft[41]0.75[42]2[43]30[44]1[45]0[37] / 0[38] / —[39]
DMXDMX Downtown Mixed Usecbd—[48]102 ft[49]0.85[50]6[51]90[52]0.75[53]0[46] / 5[47] / —
WMXWMX Waterfront Mixed Usemu—[56]—[57]0.85[58]6[59]90[60]0.5[61]0[54] / 5[55] / —
NCNC Neighborhood Commercialcom5,000 sf[63]45 ft[64]0.7[65]1.5[66]——[67]10[62] / — / —
WCWC Waterfront Commercialcom—[69]—[70]—2[71]——0[68] / — / —
CCCC Central Corridor Commercialcom7,500 sf[73]55 ft[74]0.75[75]2[76]——[77]10[72] / — / —
RCRC Regional Commercialcom10,000 sf[79]60 ft[80]0.7[81]2.5[82]——15[78] / — / —
OO Officecom6,000 sf[84]55 ft[85]0.7[86]2[87]——10[83] / — / —
MM Medicalcom10,000 sf[91]75 ft[92]0.7[93]3[94]——15[88] / 10[89] / 10[90]
ILIL Limited Industrialind10,000 sf[98]45 ft[99]0.6[100]1[101]——20[95] / 10[96] / 10[97]
IGIG General Industrialind20,000 sf[105]55 ft[106]0.5[107]0.8[108]——25[102] / 15[103] / 15[104]
PROSPROS Parks, Recreation, Open Spacespecial—35 ft[109]0.1[110]———— / — / —
RCNRCN Resource Conservationspecial—25 ft[111]0.05[112]———— / — / —
PSPS Public and Semi-Publicspecial—55 ft[113]————— / — / —
PDPD Planned Developmentspecial174,240 sf[114]—————— / — / —

Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found

Overlays

SP-MI
Mare Island Specific Plan / Historic District (SP-MI)
HP
Title 16 SP (Specific Plans) — Mare Island Specific Plan reference · p§16.SP
WMX
Waterfront Mixed-Use District (WMX)
DT
Title 16 §16.202 (Mixed-Use Districts) · c§16.202
DMX
Downtown Mixed-Use District (DMX)
DT
Title 16 §16.202 (Mixed-Use Districts) · c§16.202
SP
Solano360 / White Slough / Hiddenbrooke Specific Plans (SP)
ENV
Title 16 §16.102 and referenced Specific Plans · p§16.102
RCN
Resource Conservation / Open Space (RCN / PROS)
ENV
Title 16 §16.102 and §16.203 (Open Space & Public Districts) · p§16.203

State preemptions

CA-ADU-GC§§66411.7-66411.8applies
Qualifying condition
All CA cities. Vallejo's RR/RLD/RMD/RHD + NMX/DMX/WMX (residential component) districts must permit ADUs by-right. Title 16 implements via ADU provisions; §16.104 rules were identified in TOC (MEHEFEWA = Manufactured-Home / ADU adjacent).
Source
CA Government Code §§66411.7-66411.8 (state statute, no city-specific qualifier)
Effect
Ministerial approval with 60-day shot clock; up to 1,200 sf detached ADUs; up to 500 sf JADUs; no owner-occupancy requirement; no parking within 0.5 mi of transit, historic district, or in existing structure; up to 8 ADUs on qualifying multifamily lots under SB 1211 (effective 2025-01-01).
CA-SB9-GC§65852.21applies
Qualifying condition
Vallejo is a CA city with RLD (and RR) single-family districts. SB 9 applies per-parcel with meaningful exclusions: CalFire VHFHSZ covers Hiddenbrooke-area hillside parcels in NE Vallejo; FEMA SFHA covers White Slough / Napa River tidal marsh / Mare Island Strait floodplain parcels; Mare Island National Register Historic District excludes contributing-structure parcels; BCDC Suisun Bay / San Pablo Bay jurisdiction covers tidal-influenced waterfront parcels under the McAteer-Petris Act (state-agency layer, not a direct SB 9 exclusion but adds permit); no coastal zone (San Francisco Bay jurisdiction is BCDC, not CCC).
Source
CalFire VHFHSZ 2024 map; FEMA FIRM panels for Vallejo; National Register Mare Island Historic District designation; BCDC McAteer-Petris Act jurisdiction map
Effect
Ministerial up-to-4-units on qualifying RLD parcels (lot split + duplex on each resulting lot). City cannot require lot size <40% of original, setback >4 ft side/rear, or FAR <0.8 on resulting lots. SB 450 (2024) strengthens procedural limits.
CA-DensityBonus-GC§65915applies
Qualifying condition
Statewide. Applies to any Vallejo project meeting affordability thresholds (5% VLI / 10% LI / 10% moderate for-sale / 100% affordable). AB 1287 allows stacking up to 100% density bonus.
Source
CA Government Code §65915; AB 1287 (2023)
Effect
Up to 100% density bonus on RMD/RHD/NMX/DMX/WMX residential components. Base du/ac maxima (25-90 du/ac), max_height_ft (within reason), and base setbacks can be waived as concessions/incentives (1 per 10% VLI, 2 per 20%, 3 per 30%). State §65915(p) parking ratios (0.5 studios/1BR; 1.0 for 2-3BR; 1.5 for 4+BR) preempt city parking on affordable components.
CA-AB2097applies
Qualifying condition
Vallejo has multiple qualifying major transit stops: (1) Vallejo Ferry Terminal / Baylink Ferry (San Francisco Bay Ferry) — qualifies as 'ferry terminal' under PRC §21064.3; (2) Vallejo Transit Center (Curtola Pkwy) with SolanoExpress Red Line and several VINE routes converging — qualifies as 'bus intersection with ≤15-min peak-period headway'; (3) SolanoExpress Red Line + Yellow Line corridor along Sonoma Blvd intersections may add additional buffers.
Source
Baylink Ferry schedule (SF Bay Ferry); SolanoExpress Red Line schedule (STA); VINE / SolanoExpress route maps
Effect
No minimum parking may be required for residential, commercial, or mixed-use parcels within 0.5 mi of Baylink Ferry Terminal OR Vallejo Transit Center OR SolanoExpress Red Line qualifying intersections. Preempts Title 16 parking ratios within buffer. Stacks with §65915(p) affordable-component caps.
CA-SB423-GC§65913.4applies
Qualifying condition
Population 121,253 (CA DOF E-1 2024 estimate carried from v1). SB 423 tier eligibility (Exempt / 10% / 50%) depends on HCD Annual Progress Report determination; HCD's SMAP Dashboard (data.ca.gov/dataset/sb-35-data) is the primary source and was not fetched live this pass. Vallejo is under ABAG 6th-cycle RHNA 2023-2031; its 6th-cycle Housing Element was drafted 2024-09 per solhousingelements.com. Applies to RMD/RHD + NMX/DMX/WMX + AB 2011-eligible corridors. CalFire VHFHSZ (NE hillside), BCDC jurisdictional tidal-marsh parcels, and Mare Island Historic District parcels excluded.
Source
CA HCD SMAP Dashboard (not fetched live this pass); Vallejo 2023-2031 Housing Element (solhousingelements.com, 2024-09-03 draft)
Effect
If 10%-tier: ministerial by-right approval for qualifying multifamily ≥10% affordable. If 50%-tier: ≥50% affordability trigger. 50%+ affordable bypasses design review. Prevailing wage / skilled-and-trained workforce required for 10+ unit projects.
Retrieval issue
HCD SMAP Dashboard is JS-rendered; not fetchable within budget. Tier pending browser-assisted pass.
CA-AB2011-GC§65912.100applies
Qualifying condition
Vallejo has commercially-zoned parcels (NC/CC/RC) along defined corridors including Sonoma Blvd (SR-29), Tennessee St, Springs Rd, Magazine St, Tuolumne St, and Mare Island Way. These qualify as 'commercial corridors' under AB 2011.
Source
CA Government Code §65912.100 et seq.; Vallejo major commercial corridors identified on zoning map + GP 2040 Land Use Element
Effect
Ministerial approval for qualifying multifamily on NC/CC/RC corridor sites. 100% affordable bypasses discretionary review on any commercial site. Mixed-income by-right on corridor sites. Prevailing wage required.
CA-BuildersRemedy-GC§65589.5(d)(5)applies
Qualifying condition
Vallejo's 6th-cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) was still in HCD review per 2024-09-03 revised draft on solhousingelements.com. HCD certification status as of 2026-04-19 not verified live this pass — if non-certified, Builder's Remedy is live; if certified, Builder's Remedy is dormant for this cycle. Until HCD Housing Element Compliance Report is fetched live, status is under_review.
Source
CA HCD Housing Element Compliance Report (data.ca.gov/dataset/housing-element-compliance-report); Vallejo revised-draft 2023-2031 HE on solhousingelements.com
Effect
Contingent. If HE non-certified: projects with ≥20% LI affordable or 100% moderate-income bypass all local zoning (height, density, FAR, use, setbacks). City may only deny based on preponderance-of-evidence health/safety findings. AB 1893 (2024) codifies procedural requirements.
Retrieval issue
HCD compliance dashboard is JS-rendered; not fetched live this pass. Treat as under_review pending browser-assisted pass.
Non-applicable laws (1)
CA-SB10does_not_apply
Qualifying condition
SB 10 is permissive — authorizes but does not require cities to zone up to 10 units/parcel near transit/urban infill via simple resolution (CEQA-exempt). No evidence Vallejo has adopted an SB 10 resolution; Title 16 §16.102 enumeration makes no SB 10 reference.
Source
CA Government Code §65913.5; Vallejo Title 16 §16.102 enumeration (no SB 10 reference)
Effect
None unless/until Vallejo adopts an SB 10 resolution.

Adopted building codes

Statewide mandatory minimum

IBC
2024 CBC
IRC
2024 CRC
NEC
2023
IFC
2024
IECC (Residential)
2024 CALGreen
IECC (Commercial)
2024 CALGreen

Click a code label to open its state-by-state adoption atlas.

Amendment history

DateKindCitation
codification start
adoption
supplement effective

Quirks & notes

  • MAJOR v1 STRUCTURAL ERROR CORRECTED: v1 listed generic R-1/R-2/R-3/C-1/C-2/NMX/DMX/WMX/M-1/M-2 districts. Vallejo's current Title 16 (Ord 1855 N.C. (2d), replacing the 1980 code) uses letter-code acronyms per §16.102: RR/RLD/RMD/RHD residential; NMX/DMX/WMX mixed-use; NC/WC/CC/RC commercial; O/M office-medical; IL/IG industrial; PROS/RCN/PS special; PD planned development; SP specific-plan overlay (Hiddenbrooke, Mare Island, Solano360, White Slough).
  • v1 confidence tags were of the form 'c§16.101-110' (range citations). v2 uses §16.201-§16.208 for the actual new-code district chapters; v1 ranges were speculative.
  • AB 2097 qualifying transit anchors: Vallejo Ferry Terminal (Baylink / SF Bay Ferry) AND Vallejo Transit Center (Curtola Pkwy) + SolanoExpress Red Line corridor along Sonoma Blvd. 0.5-mi buffers cover downtown, waterfront, and most of the CC/NMX/DMX/WMX inventory.
  • SB 9 per-parcel exclusion profile: CalFire VHFHSZ (Hiddenbrooke / NE hills), FEMA SFHA (White Slough / Napa River / Mare Island Strait tidal), Mare Island National Register Historic District (contributing-structure parcels), BCDC McAteer-Petris Act jurisdiction (adds state-agency layer on tidal-influenced parcels).
  • Mare Island is a Specific Plan area (SP-MI) with national-register historic-district overlay AND Navy deed restrictions that apply outside Vallejo Title 16. Development of former shipyard parcels requires parallel Navy / LRA compliance.
  • BCDC Bay Plan jurisdiction covers San Pablo Bay, Mare Island Strait, Napa River frontage; this is a STATE-agency overlay under McAteer-Petris Act (not federal CZMA, not CA Coastal Commission). BCDC permits are additional to city entitlement for WMX / WC / waterfront-RCN parcels.
  • WMX height is explicitly deferred to an external Waterfront Planned Development Master Plan in §16.202 — Title 16 itself does not state a WMX height cap. FAR and density (30-90 du/ac, 6.0 FAR) are in §16.202.
  • DMX allows 102 ft / 8 stories / 6.0 FAR / 30-90 du/ac — among the densest base-district envelopes in Solano County. Build-to line is 0-10 ft; 5 ft max visible podium height from street; 12 ft non-residential ground-floor ceiling; 15 ft residential ground-floor ceiling (WMX only).
  • Title 16 Flood Damage Prevention is separately codified (not in §16) — federal NFIP Chapter implemented outside zoning code; spec 06 should not flag this as a missing zoning overlay.
  • library.municode.com SPA returns empty shell to scripted WebFetch — blocks live chapter-level parameter retrieval. Systemic blocker; elaws.us mirror also rate-limits. Full standards confirmation requires browser-assisted pass.

Formulas

Definitions

height
Grade to highest point of structure (California standard).
lot_coverage
Building footprint / lot area. Principal + accessory structures.
far
Gross floor area / lot area.
du_ac
Dwelling units per net acre (density range expressed as min/max, e.g. '30/90' = 30 min, 90 max).
impervious_cover
setback_front
Front (street-frontage) property line to nearest building face.
setback_side
Side property line to nearest building face.
setback_rear
Rear property line to nearest building face.
parking
Spaces per dwelling unit unless noted.
sb9_duplex
SB 9 allows duplex conversion by-right on single-family parcels (subject to CalFire VHFHSZ + FEMA SFHA + historic-district + coastal-zone + BCDC per-parcel exclusions).
sb9_adu
SB 9 / statewide ADU rules allow ADU by-right on residential parcels.
ab2097_transit_reduction
Within 0.5 mi of a major transit stop (SolanoExpress Red Line / Baylink Ferry Terminal / qualifying VINE stops), parking mandate is eliminated.
density_bonus
State Density Bonus Law §65915; AB 1287 (2023) stacking up to 100% bonus.

Capacity calculations

max_footprint_sf
lot_area_sf * lot_coverage
max_gfa_sf
lot_area_sf * far
max_units_from_density
lot_area_net_sf * du_ac / 43560
parking_required_transit
0 (AB 2097 if within 0.5 mi qualifying major transit stop); otherwise units * parking
parking_required_standard
units * parking

Massing explorer

Interactive 3D comparison across every district. Drag to orbit, scroll to zoom, use the slider to walk districts, and toggle applicable overlays in the right-side panel.

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Max height
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Floor area ratio
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Lot coverage
—%
——
Setbacks (F / S / R)
— ft
——
Parking
— /unit
——
Max density
— du/ac
——
Min lot size
— sf
——
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District Category Height FAR Coverage Setbacks Parking Density Min lot Overlays

Sources & references

Primary source
Vallejo Municipal Code Title 16 — Zoning
under_review (Municode SPA blocks scripted retrieval of 'current through' supplement) · retrieved 2026-04-19
Citations
  1. [1] n§16.201
  2. [2] n§16.201
  3. [3] n§16.201
  4. [4] n§16.201
  5. [5] i§16.201
  6. [6] n§16.201
  7. [7] n§16.201
  8. [8] §16.201
  9. [9] i§16.201
  10. [10] §16.201
  11. [11] §16.201
  12. [12] §16.201
  13. [13] §16.201
  14. [14] §16.201
  15. [15] i§16.201
  16. [16] i§16.201
  17. [17] §16.201
  18. [18] §16.201
  19. [19] §16.201
  20. [20] §16.201
  21. [21] §16.201
  22. [22] §16.201
  23. [23] §16.201
  24. [24] i§16.201
  25. [25] i§16.201
  26. [26] §16.201
  27. [27] §16.201
  28. [28] §16.201
  29. [29] §16.201
  30. [30] §16.201
  31. [31] i§16.201
  32. [32] §16.201
  33. [33] i§16.201
  34. [34] i§16.201
  35. [35] §16.201
  36. [36] §16.201
  37. [37] §16.202
  38. [38] §16.202
  39. [39] §16.202
  40. [40] §16.202
  41. [41] §16.202
  42. [42] i§16.202
  43. [43] §16.202
  44. [44] §16.202
  45. [45] i§16.202
  46. [46] §16.202
  47. [47] §16.202
  48. [48] §16.202
  49. [49] §16.202
  50. [50] i§16.202
  51. [51] §16.202
  52. [52] §16.202
  53. [53] i§16.202
  54. [54] §16.202
  55. [55] i§16.202
  56. [56] §16.202
  57. [57] §16.202
  58. [58] i§16.202
  59. [59] §16.202
  60. [60] §16.202
  61. [61] i§16.202
  62. [62] §16.202
  63. [63] §16.202
  64. [64] §16.202
  65. [65] i§16.202
  66. [66] i§16.202
  67. [67] §16.202
  68. [68] i§16.202
  69. [69] n§16.202
  70. [70] §16.202
  71. [71] i§16.202
  72. [72] §16.202
  73. [73] §16.202
  74. [74] §16.202
  75. [75] i§16.202
  76. [76] i§16.202
  77. [77] §16.202
  78. [78] §16.202
  79. [79] §16.202
  80. [80] §16.202
  81. [81] i§16.202
  82. [82] i§16.202
  83. [83] §16.202
  84. [84] §16.202
  85. [85] §16.202
  86. [86] i§16.202
  87. [87] i§16.202
  88. [88] §16.202
  89. [89] §16.202
  90. [90] §16.202
  91. [91] §16.202
  92. [92] §16.202
  93. [93] i§16.202
  94. [94] i§16.202
  95. [95] §16.203
  96. [96] §16.203
  97. [97] §16.203
  98. [98] §16.203
  99. [99] §16.203
  100. [100] i§16.203
  101. [101] i§16.203
  102. [102] §16.203
  103. [103] §16.203
  104. [104] §16.203
  105. [105] §16.203
  106. [106] §16.203
  107. [107] i§16.203
  108. [108] i§16.203
  109. [109] i§16.203
  110. [110] i§16.203
  111. [111] i§16.203
  112. [112] i§16.203
  113. [113] i§16.203
  114. [114] §16.208

Research status

Publication gates

primary url presentpassed
no aggregator citedpassed
confidence tags full formpassed
overlays have parameters trigger confidencepassed
preempt section city specificpassed

Data quality

55%completeness21 confirmed40 partial52 inferred8 not found
Documented gaps
  • Exact Municode 'current through' ordinance / supplement number (SPA blocks scripted retrieval).
  • §16.201 chapter-level residential dimensional table (RR/RLD/RMD/RHD lot/setback/FAR caps) — fallback to GP + CA-standard inference used this pass.
  • §16.202 commercial-district sub-table (NC/WC/CC/RC/O/M) — only MU sub-table (NMX/DMX/WMX) retrieved from issuu draft.
  • §16.203 industrial + special-district sub-tables (IL/IG/PROS/RCN/PS).
  • Mare Island Specific Plan full parameter set (separate adopted document).
  • Waterfront PD Master Plan height/form detail (referenced from §16.202 WMX).
  • HCD Housing Element certification status for 6th-cycle (Builder's Remedy gating) — dashboard is JS-rendered, not fetched live.
  • HCD SMAP / SB 423 tier determination (Exempt / 10% / 50%) — dashboard not fetched live.
  • Adoption date of Ord 1855 N.C. (2d) — Municode SPA blocks ordinance metadata.

Known issues

cohort:needs-dom-retrievalfreshness:volatileblocker:municodedata:gaps-present

Verification

last_verified_at2026-04-19T00:00:00Z
verifier_specialistverification-pass
verifier_version1.0
verification_resultpartial
atomic_claims_checked38
atomic_claims_passed33
atomic_claims_failed0
atomic_claims_partial5
failed_claims
partial_claims_notes5 atoms dropped to partial due to Municode SPA blocking chapter-level confirmation for §16.201 residential dimensional table, §16.202 commercial/NC sub-table, §16.203 industrial, HCD SMAP tier, and HCD HE compliance. Structural corrections (district code set) verified against the issuu-hosted draft + §16.102 search result.
narrative_refnarratives/vallejo-ca/64cfbebd-3da7-44ab-90b1-8357d3130187.json

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