Gilroy City Zoning Code

Statement of Intent. The intent of this residential use table is to clearly and precisely designate permitted uses and conditional uses within each of the following districts:

Designation of Residential Uses. The residential use table indicates whether a variety of uses are unconditionally permitted, permitted only with a conditional use permit from the planning commission, or permitted only under special conditions. The planning commission, or its designee, shall determine, upon written request, whether any use not listed in the residential use table is similar in character to a described use for the purpose of applying the district regulations and conditions.

Residential Use Table.

Accessory Dwelling Unit(s). Accessory dwelling unit(s) and/or junior accessory dwelling units are permitted subject to compliance with the regulations prescribed in Article LIV.

Emergency Shelter. Emergency shelters shall be subject to the performance standards listed in Article XLI, section 30.41.32. Emergency shelters shall be permitted by right in the R4 zone district and areas designated mixed use (MU) on the Gilroy 2040 General Plan land use diagram.

Efficiency Dwelling/Micro Unit. Pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 17958.1, there shall be no limit on the number of efficiency units, whose meaning is as specified in Part 2 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, the California Building Code, on property located within one-half (1/2) mile of public transit or where there is a car share vehicle located within one (1) block of the efficiency unit. Any requirements related to density, setbacks, lot coverage, or height restrictions are not considered a limit on the number of efficiency units.

Employee/Agricultural Worker Housing. Pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 17021.5, employee housing for six (6) or fewer persons will be treated as a single-family structure and residential use, subject to the same density requirements, regulations, and objective standards that apply to other single-family dwellings in the same zone (A1, RR, R1). Pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 17021.6, employee housing consisting of thirty-six (36) or fewer beds in group quarters, or twelve (12) or fewer units designed for use by a single family or household, will be treated as an agricultural use, subject to the same density requirements, regulations, and objective standards that apply to other agricultural activity in the same zone (R2, R3, R4, RH, ND).

Housing Element Opportunity Sites. Development projects on property identified in the Gilroy 2023-2031 Housing Element RHNA Opportunity Sites Inventory shall include replacement units, subject to the requirements of Government Code Section 65915, subdivision (c)(3). Pursuant to Government Code Section 65583.2(c), a non-vacant site that has been identified as a housing opportunity site in a prior housing element and a vacant site that has been included in two (2) or more consecutive housing element planning periods shall be allowed residential use by right (with approval of a building permit) for housing developments in which at least twenty percent (20%) of the units are affordable to lower income households. Pursuant to Government Code Section 65583.2(i), the development shall comply with the City of Gilroy’s objective development and design standards and a proposed subdivision of the property shall be subject to all laws, including, but not limited to, city ordinances implementing the Subdivision Map Act.

Duplex/Triplex/Fourplex Housing. A duplex is permitted on a corner parcel that is at least eight thousand (8,000) square feet in size in the R1 zoning district. A triplex or fourplex development is permitted on a corner parcel in the R1 and R2 zoning districts when such development is proposed in lieu of an ADU and/or JADU, the project complies with adopted objective design standards, the lot area is at least eight thousand (8,000) square feet, and the lot was created prior to May 1, 2023.

Residential Care Homes. Residential care homes (also known as group homes) are subject only to the density requirements, regulations, and objective standards that apply to other residential dwellings of the same type (e.g., single-family or multifamily) in the same zone, with no additional requirements based solely on the number of units provided, other than density requirements.

Single-Room Occupancy. Single-room occupancy (SRO) housing is subject to the same restrictions and objective standards that apply to multifamily dwellings within the same zone. “SRO housing” means a structure that provides living units that have separate sleeping areas and some combination of shared bath or toilet facilities. The structure may or may not have separate or shared cooking facilities for the residents. SRO includes structures commonly called residential hotels or rooming houses.

Supportive and Transitional Housing. Supportive and transitional housing is permitted in all residential zones subject only to those restrictions and objective standards that apply to other residential dwellings of the same type (e.g., single-family or multifamily) in the same zone, when such housing meets the criteria listed in Government Code Section 65651. Parking is not required for units occupied by supportive housing residents if the development is located within one-half (1/2) mile of a public transit stop.

Statement of Intent. The intent of the residential site and building requirements table is to clearly and precisely establish the basic site and building regulations that apply to all developments in each of the following districts:

(Site and building requirements for the RH residential hillside district shall be approved in accordance with the procedures established in section 30.50.50, PUD planned unit development approval, or by the approved architectural and site review for projects regulated by section 30.9.70, Exceptions.)

Designation of Residential Site and Building Requirements. The figures in the residential site and building requirement table establish lot, yard, and height requirements for each of the residential zoning districts. The table also indicates where additional side and building requirements, including, but not limited to, off-street parking, landscaping, signing, fences and obstructions, and performance standards, apply to residential zoning districts.

Residential Site and Building Requirement Table.