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

90, enacted by Ordinance 2009-16 and last amended by Ordinance 2022-17, sets Vista's local procedure for California's State Density Bonus Law. 030(A) by reserving 10 percent of units for lower income households, 5 percent for very low income households, or, for a for-sale project, 10 percent for moderate income households; separate paths exist for senior housing of 35+ units, age-restricted mobile home parks, land dedications of at least one acre, 100-percent affordable projects, and units for transitional foster youth, disabled veterans, homeless persons, or low-income college students.

040(B) caps the combined density bonus, when stacked with a land-dedication bonus, at 35 percent, and the resulting unit count is rounded up. 050(A) ties the number of incentives or concessions, one, two, three, or four, to the affordability mix: a single incentive requires 5 percent very low, 10 percent low, or 10 percent moderate income units; four incentives require 100 percent of units (excluding manager's units) restricted to very low, low, and moderate incomes, with a project near a major transit stop also qualifying for a height increase of up to three stories or 33 feet.

Available incentives include reduced site development standards, mixed-use zoning not otherwise allowed, or a waiver of a development standard that would physically preclude building at the bonus density. Applicants file a preliminary application with the City Planner before the formal application, which the Planning Commission hears concurrently with other project entitlements, subject to appeal to the City Council. A regulatory agreement recording the affordability covenants, 55 years for rental units and 45 years for ownership units under the chapter's definitions, must be recorded before a building permit issues or a final map is approved. 090.