Mountain View, CA Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Density Bonus Law (2026)

Division 8 of Article XVI (Sec. 95) implements California's State Density Bonus Law inside the zoning code. A developer proposing five or more base units qualifies for one density bonus, incentives or concessions, development-standard waivers and reduced parking maximums by including very low-income units (5% of base units, Health & Safety Code Sec. 50105), lower-income units (10%, Sec. 5), moderate-income for-sale units in a common-interest development (10%, Sec. 50093), senior housing of 35 or more units, or other categories listed in Government Code Sec. 65915(b) such as transitional foster youth or 100% lower-income projects.

Base units are calculated per Sec. j depending on whether the zoning district measures density in dwelling units per acre or floor area ratio, and any fractional unit rounds up. Applicants may accept a lesser bonus, and granting a bonus alone never triggers a general plan amendment or rezoning study. Affordable units qualifying for the bonus must be dispersed throughout the project and built to the same design and finish standard as market-rate units. Rental units must stay affordable for at least 55 years under Sec.

85, with rents set at the affordable rent defined in Health & Safety Code Sec. 50053; for-sale units carry recorded resale restrictions in perpetuity. Applications go to the community development department with a project summary table, tentative map or site plan, and, for sites with existing tenants, a five-year replacement-unit history under Sec. d. The community development director may adopt administrative guidelines to implement the division. Bonus FAR under a precise plan can substitute for the state bonus, but the two cannot be combined on the same project.