What does the Bellflower zoning code allow on an R-3 lot?
Ike Mbelu, Principal Partner · Last checked
On this page: The short answer · What the city code requires · What state law adds · What it means on your lot
The short answer
-
BMC 17.32
One unit per 1,980 square feet
Bellflower's multifamily zone is R-3, Chapter 17.32 of Title 17. In this LA County city it allows 14 to 22 units a net acre, capped at one unit for each 1,980 square feet of net land. Height is three stories or 40 feet, whichever is less. Apartments and condominiums are permitted uses. BMC §17.32.050 and §17.32.070.
Have a lot in LA County? Send us the address and we'll tell you what it holds.
What the city code requires
-
01
Setbacks
Front 10 feet for one story, 15 for two. Side yards follow the wall: 8 feet off living room and bedroom walls, 5 feet off kitchen, bath and blank walls. BMC §17.32.080.
-
02
Lot size and bulk
Minimum lot is 6,000 square feet. A smaller lot recorded on or before September 3, 1957 holds one unit. On a new two-story building, the top floor can be no more than two thirds of the bottom floor. BMC §17.32.060 and §17.32.100.
-
03
Parking
Two enclosed spaces for the first two bedrooms of each unit, one more per added bedroom, and one uncovered guest space per unit. BMC §17.32.130.
-
04
Open space and separation
A private patio or balcony of 150 square feet per unit, and 15 feet between buildings. BMC §17.32.110 and §17.32.090.
What state law adds
-
01
ADUs on a multifamily lot
New building: up to two detached ADUs. Existing building: up to eight detached, capped at the unit count, plus conversions up to 25 percent of units. Gov. Code §66323. See Bellflower ADU requirements.
-
02
No parking minimum near transit
Within half a mile of public transit, the city can't impose a minimum parking count. Gov. Code §65863.2(a). More in AB 2097 in Los Angeles.
What it means on your lot
-
01
R-3, 50 by 120, 6,000 sf
About three units. At two bedrooms each, roughly nine spaces, six of them enclosed. With living-room walls on both sides, about 34 feet of building width.
-
02
R-3, 10,000 sf
About five units, before a density bonus. At two bedrooms each, roughly fifteen spaces unless the lot is near transit.
Approximate arithmetic on gross lot area, not legal advice. Compare Carson and Gardena. More on building in Bellflower.
Buy the site knowing what goes on it.
Office
14623 Hawthorne Bl #306
Lawndale, CA 90260
Region
South Bay and
greater Los Angeles