San Jose, CA Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Density Bonus Law (2026)

Gov Code §65915 (most recently expanded by AB-1287 in 2024) requires every California city to grant density bonuses when developers reserve units for very low, lower, or moderate income households. Bonuses scale up to 80 percent additional units for 100-percent affordable projects and 50 percent for mixed-income, plus four to five concessions, height waivers, and parking ratios as low as 0.5 spaces per unit near transit. San Jose's Title 20 zoning and Title 18.27 Inclusionary Housing Ordinance implement and stack atop the state floor, with the Housing Department processing applications. Projects can also use AB-2011 (commercial-zone-to-housing) and SB-423 streamlining for additional approval certainty in San Jose's transit-rich corridors.