Menifee Zoning Code Ch. 9.296 Urban Lot Split & Two-Unit Development

Contents:

9.05.010 Purpose

9.05.020 Applicability

9.296.030 Approving Authority

9.296.040 Requirements

9.05.030 Urban Lot Split Development Standards

9.296.060 Two-Unit Development Standards

9.296.070 Specific Adverse Impacts

(2024-384, 02/07/2024; 2025-417, 07/16/2025)

The purpose of this section is to appropriately regulate urban lot splits and two-unit developments in accordance with Government Code Section 66411.7 and 65852.21.

(2024-384, 02/07/2024)

Effective on: 3/8/2024

Only individual property owners may apply for an urban lot split and a two-unit development. "Individual property owner" means a person holding fee title individually or jointly in the person's own name or a beneficiary of a trust that holds fee title. "Individual property owner" does not include any corporation or corporate person of any kind (partnership, LP, LLC, C Corp, S Corp, etc.) except for a community land trust (as defined by Revenue and Taxation Code § 402.1(a)(11)(C)(ii)) or a qualified nonprofit corporation (as defined by Revenue and Taxation Code § 214.15).

(2024-384, 02/07/2024)

Effective on: 3/8/2024

An application for housing development with two units on a single lot within a single-family residential zone shall be considered and approved ministerially, without discretionary review or a hearing. Applications for Senate Bill 9 (SB 9) urban lot splits and two-unit developments shall be reviewed and approved by the designated authority as specified in Table 9.30.090-1 (Designated Authority for Permits and Approvals). The designated approving authority is authorized to approve, alter, or deny an application for SB 9 urban lot splits and two-unit developments.

(2024-384, 02/07/2024)

Effective on: 3/8/2024

The standards set forth below shall apply to all urban lot splits and two-unit developments. For any development standard not explicitly identified below, the requirements of the underlying zone shall apply, unless superseded by State Law.

1. Application and Processing.

2. Application Review Shot-Clock. The City shall either approve or deny the application for an urban lot split or two-unit development within 60 days from the date of receiving a completed application. If the application is not approved or denied within 60 days, the application shall be deemed approved.

3. Objective Standards. Urban lot split and two-unit development applications are exempt from objective zoning standards, objective subdivision standards, and objective design standards that do not apply uniformly to the development under the zone.

4. Application Denial. If the application for an urban lot split or two-unit development is denied, the City shall provide a full set of comments to the applicant with a list of items that are defective or deficient and a description of how the application can be remedied by the applicant.

5. Map Act Compliance. The lot must conform to all applicable objective requirements of the Subdivision Map Act (Government Code § 66410 et seq., "SMA"), including implementing requirements in this Code, except as otherwise expressly provided in this section.

6. Location and Zoning. An urban lot split or two-unit development project shall only be allowed in a single-family residential zone. For the purposes of this section, a single-family residential zone is a zone where the only residential use that is allowed as a primary use is a single residential dwelling on a lot, subject to the exceptions set forth below and in Government Code § 65913.4(a)(6)(B)—(K). (See Government Code § 66411.7(a)(3)(C).) Not on properties that are:

7. Prime farmland of statewide importance, or land that is zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation by the voters.

8. A wetland.

9. Within a very high fire hazard severity zone, unless the site complies with all fire-hazard mitigation measures required by applicable building code standards.

10. A hazardous waste site that has not been cleared for residential use.

11. Within a delineated earthquake fault zone, unless the development complies with applicable seismic protection building code standards.

12. Within a 100-year flood hazard area, unless the site has either:

13. Been subject to a letter of map revision prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and issued to the local jurisdiction, or

14. Meets Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements necessary to meet minimum flood plain management criteria of the National Flood Insurance Program.

15. Within a regulatory floodway unless all development on the site has received no-rise certification.

16. Land identified for conservation in an adopted natural community conservation plan, habitat conservation plan, or other adopted natural resource protection plan. Properties within the Hillside Overlay are subject to Hillside Development Standards pursuant to Chapter 9.195.

17. Habitat for protected species.

18. Land under conservation easement.

19. Must not be a historic property or within an historic district that is included in the State Historic Resources Inventory. Nor may the lot be or be within a site that is designated by ordinance as a city or county landmark or as a historic property or district.

20. Restrictions Related to Existing Affordable Housing and Rentals. A parcel is not eligible to do an urban lot split or a two-unit development if the project would require demolition or alteration of:

21. Housing that is income-restricted for households of moderate, low, or very low income;

22. Housing that is subject to any form of rent or price control;

23. Housing, or a lot that used to have housing, that has been withdrawn from rental or lease under the Ellis Act (Government Code §§ 7060—7060.7) at any time in the 15 years prior to submission of the urban lot split application; and

24. Housing that has been occupied by a tenant in the last three years.

25. Regulation of Uses.

26. Nonresidential Uses. Except for permitted home occupations pursuant to Chapter 9.255, non-residential uses shall be prohibited.

27. Short Term Rentals Prohibited. Units created pursuant to this Chapter shall be rented or leased for a term equal to or longer than 30 days.

28. Owner Occupancy.

29. Urban Lot Split – the applicant/property owner for an urban lot split must sign an affidavit stating that the applicant intends to occupy one of the dwelling units on one of the resulting lots as the applicant’s principal residence for a minimum of three years after the urban lot split is approved.

30. Two-Unit Development – Unless the lot on which a two-unit development is constructed was established through an urban lot split, the property owner of the property shall reside in one of the units as their principal residence.

31. Deed Restriction. The owner must record a deed restriction, acceptable to the City, that does each of the following:

32. Expressly prohibits any rental of any dwelling on the property for a period of less than 30 days.

33. Expressly prohibits any non-residential use of the lots created by the urban lot split.

34. Expressly prohibits any separate conveyance of a primary dwelling on the property, any separate fee interest, and any common interest development within the lot.

35. States that the property is formed by an urban lot split and therefore subject to the city’s urban lot split regulations, including all applicable limits on dwelling size and development.

36. States that the deed restriction runs with the land and each provision therein may be enforced against future owners of the property.

(2024-384, 02/07/2024; 2025-417, 07/16/2025)

Effective on: 8/16/2025

The following development standards shall apply to urban lot splits.

1. Parcel Size.

2. Each resulting lot shall be of approximately equal size. In no instance shall a parcel be smaller than 40 percent of the lot area of the original parcel proposed for subdivision, or smaller than 1,200 square feet, whichever is greater.

3. Lots created from an SB 9 urban lot split may not be further subdivided.

4. Lot Lines. Lot lines shall be depicted on the parcel map submitted as part of urban lot split application and prepared by a registered civil engineer or licensed land surveyor in accordance with Government Code Section 66444-66450. Lot lines shall include a reference basis, distance, measurement, and bearings.

5. Access.

6. Each resulting parcel shall provide at least a 24-foot lot frontage along a public or private street.

7. Additional access requirements, including but not limited to a wider access corridor or easement, may be required where necessary to provide adequate access for fire safety equipment as determined by the Fire Marshal.

8. Setbacks. The proposed property line dividing an existing lot into two lots with a proposed urban lot split shall be setback a minimum of 5 feet from an existing primary dwelling or any existing accessory structure located on the lot intended to be subdivided.

9. Dedications and Easements. Easements may be required to convey public utilities, access, and other services. Right-of-way dedication and offsite improvements shall not be required through an urban lot split.

10. No Prior Lot Split. A lot shall not be eligible for an urban lot split if it was previously established through a parcel map for an urban lot split.

11. Adjacent Parcels. A lot shall not be eligible for an urban lot split if the owner of the lot being subdivided, or any person acting in concert with the owner, has previously subdivided an adjacent lot via an urban lot split.

12. Legal Nonconforming Conditions. An urban lot split may be approved without requiring a legal nonconforming zoning condition to be corrected.

13. Utilities. Parcels created through an urban lot split shall have separate sewer, water, gas, and electrical utility services and have the ability to connect prior to approval of the urban lot split.

14. Unit Quantity. No more than two dwelling units of any kind may be built on a lot that results from an urban lot split. For the purposes of this subdivision, the two-unit limitation applies to any combination of primary dwelling units, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), or Junior Accessory Dwelling Units (JADUs).

15. Two-Units. Parcels created through an urban lot split shall be subject to Section 9.296.060 Two-Unit Development Standards.

(2024-384, 02/07/2024)

Effective on: 3/8/2024

The following development standards shall apply to two-unit developments.

1. Legal Lot. The proposed development must be located on a legally created lot or a proposed urban lot split.

2. Unit Quantity. A lot that is not created by an urban lot split may have a two-unit project under this section. No more than two dwelling units of any kind may be built on a lot that results from an urban lot split. For purposes of this paragraph, “unit” means any dwelling unit, including, but not limited to, a primary unit, a unit created under this section of the code, an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), or a Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit (JADU).

3. Unit Size.

4. The total floor area of each primary dwelling unit that is developed as a two-unit project must be between 500 to 800 square feet.

5. A primary dwelling that was legally established on the lot prior to the two-unit project and that is larger than 800 square feet is limited to the lawful floor area at the time of the two-unit project. The unit may not be expanded.

6. A primary dwelling that was legally established prior to the two-unit project and that is smaller than 800 square feet may be expanded to 800 square feet after or as part of the two-unit project.

7. Lot Coverage. The lot coverage standard per the existing zone will only be enforced to the extent that it does not prevent two primary dwelling units on the lot of 800 square feet each.

8. Open Space. The open space standard per the existing zone will only be enforced to the extent that it does not prevent two primary dwelling units on the lot of 800 square feet each.

9. Setbacks.

10. Generally. All setbacks must conform to those objective setbacks that are imposed by the underlying zoning.

11. Separation. Each unit shall be located 10 feet from each other and at least 5 feet from an accessory structure, patio cover, or carport.

12. Exceptions.

13. Existing Structures. No setback is required for an existing structure, or a structure constructed in the same location and to the same dimensions as an existing structure.

14. 800 Square Foot Dwelling. The setbacks imposed by the underlying zone must yield to the degree necessary to avoid physically precluding the construction of up to two units on the lot or either of the two units from being at least 800 square feet in floor area; but in no event may any structure be less than four feet from a side or rear property line.

15. Parking Spaces Required.

16. Each primary dwelling unit must have at least one off-street parking space.

17. Required parking for each dwelling unit may be exempt if one of the following applies:

18. The lot is located within one-half mile walking distance of either of the following:

19. A corridor with fixed route bus service with service intervals no longer than 15 minutes during peak commute hours.

20. A site that contains an existing rail or bus rapid transit station, or the intersection of two or more major bus routes with a frequency of service interval of 15 minutes or less during the morning and afternoon peak commute periods.

21. The site is located within one block of a car-share vehicle location.

22. Architecture. Two-unit developments shall be compatible with the architectural style of the primary dwelling. No bare metal, unpainted or unfinished structures are allowed. To determine architectural compatibility, two-unit developments must possess at least three of the following traits in common with the primary dwelling on-site:

23. Wall covering materials.

24. Roofing material.

25. Roofing pitch.

26. Structural eaves.

27. Mass and scale of structure relative to structural height.

28. Window characteristics.

29. Decorative treatments.

30. Utilities.

31. Each existing and newly constructed unit shall maintain separate and independent public services and utilities, including separate utility connections and meters. All electric utility connections shall be underground.

32. Two-unit developments shall be required to connect to sewer and shall not be permitted where sewer is not available.

33. Fire-Hazard Mitigation Measures. A lot in a very high fire hazard severity zone must comply with each of the following fire-hazard mitigation measures:

34. Emergency access and water supply requirements shall comply with the California Code of Regulations, Title 14 and Title 24, Part 9.

35. All new structures on the site must comply with current building code standards for dwellings in a very high fire hazard severity zone.

36. Separate Conveyance.

37. Dwelling units on the lot may not be owned or conveyed separately from each other.

38. Condominium airspace divisions and common interest developments are not permitted within the lot.

39. All fee interest in a lot must be held equally and undivided by all individual property owners.

40. Certificate of Occupancy. No certificate of occupancy for a two-unit development shall be issued before the issuance of certificate of occupancy for the first primary dwelling.

41. Applicable Chapters. Site requirements of the following Chapters, but not limited to, shall apply to two-unit developments:

42. Chapter 9.160 – General Development Standards

43. Chapter 9.165 – Accessory Structures

44. Chapter 9.185 – Fences, walls and screening

45. Chapter 9.190 – Hillside Development Standards

46. Chapter 9.195 – Landscaping Standards

47. Chapter 9.200 – Tree Preservation

48. Chapter 9.230 – Utilities

(2024-384, 02/07/2024)

Effective on: 3/8/2024

Notwithstanding anything else in this section, the city shall not deny a proposed development project based on a written finding that the proposed housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact upon the physical environment. The City may deny an application for an urban lot split or two-unit development if the building official makes a written finding, based on a preponderance of the evidence, that the project would have a “specific adverse impact” on the public health and safety for which there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific adverse impact. The building official may consult with and be assisted by the Community Development Director and others as necessary in making a finding of specific adverse impact.

(2024-384, 02/07/2024; 2025-417, 07/16/2025)

Effective on: 8/16/2025