Journal ·
Splitting a Burbank Lot Under SB 9: What the City Requires
Burbank allows SB 9 urban lot splits, in the R-1 zone only, under standards the City Council adopted in February 2024. A split must clear a lot area test, a width test, a depth test and a frontage test at once. On an interior lot the frontage test quietly kills the split owners picture, because it rules out cutting a parcel off the back of the yard. Below 2,400 square feet of original lot area no division works at all.
Does Burbank allow SB 9 urban lot splits?
It does, and it wrote its own standards. Ordinance No. 24-4,010 was passed and adopted on 27 February 2024 and took effect 29 March 2024. It amended Burbank Municipal Code section 10-1-602 and added 10-1-608.1 for what the code calls an SB 9 second single-family dwelling and 10-1-608.2 for urban lot splits.
Both apply in R-1 and both are prohibited in the R-1-H horsekeeping zone, which the city rests on Government Code section 66499.41(h)(2). That statute disapplies SB 9 where two conditions hold together: the site sits in a horsekeeping zone designated in a master plan adopted before 1 January 1994 regulating horsekeeping, commercial, commercial-recreational and existing industrial land in the plan area, and the local government has an adopted housing element compliant with applicable law. HCD found Burbank's sixth-cycle element compliant on 7 October 2022 while reserving the right to revoke it, so current status is worth confirming. The Rancho side sits in R-1-H horsekeeping rules.
Which Burbank lots are eligible for an urban lot split
Section 10-1-608.2(C) sets seven conditions, and all seven have to hold. The lot is zoned R-1 and was not created by an earlier urban lot split. Neither the owner nor anyone acting in concert with the owner has split an adjacent parcel this way. The project would not require demolition or alteration of housing under a recorded affordability covenant, housing under public rent or price control, or housing tenanted in the last three years. The owner has not used the Ellis Act within fifteen years. The site is not in a historic district, not on the State Historic Resources Inventory, and not designated a city or county landmark, historic property or historic district under a local ordinance. And it does not meet the criteria in Government Code section 65913.4(a)(6)(B) through (K).
The tenancy condition is narrower than it looks and wider than owners expect. Under 10-1-608.2(C)(4)(c) the three years run backwards from the application date, so a split that would demolish or alter a house tenanted in that window is disqualified, while one leaving that housing untouched is not caught. A local historic listing disqualifies a parcel outright, so check historic resource designation early.
How small can the two new Burbank lots be?
Government Code section 66411.7(a)(1) allows two new parcels "of approximately equal lot area provided that one parcel shall not be smaller than 40 percent of the lot area of the original parcel", and (a)(2)(A) requires both to be no smaller than 1,200 square feet. Burbank, at 10-1-608.2(D)(1)(b)(i), turns the 40 percent floor into a requirement on both parcels, fixing the outer bound at a 40/60 division rather than leaving it to a judgment about what is approximately equal.
Each parcel has to clear whichever is larger, 40 percent of the parent lot or 1,200 square feet. Doubling that gives the test.
| Original lot area | Minimum per parcel | Which rule binds | Division possible |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7,500 sq ft | 3,000 sq ft | the 40 percent rule | yes |
| 6,000 sq ft | 2,400 sq ft | the 40 percent rule | yes |
| 3,000 sq ft | 1,200 sq ft | the two coincide | yes |
| 2,800 sq ft | 1,200 sq ft | the 1,200 sq ft floor | yes, close to even |
| 2,400 sq ft | 1,200 sq ft | the 1,200 sq ft floor | yes, at the limit |
| 2,200 sq ft | 1,200 sq ft | the 1,200 sq ft floor | no |
Above 3,000 square feet anything from 40/60 to 50/50 works. Between 2,400 and 3,000 the division has to sit close to even. Below 2,400 there is none. Both floors are choices as much as arithmetic: the 40 percent test on both parcels is Burbank's own, and section 66411.7(a)(2)(B) lets a city adopt a minimum below 1,200 square feet.
The frontage rule on an interior lot
Section 10-1-608.2(D)(1)(c) requires each new parcel to be no narrower than 40 percent of the original width or 25 feet, whichever is greater, and no less than 50 feet deep. Section 10-1-608.2(D)(3)(a) applies the same formula to public right-of-way frontage for each new parcel, and each has to take vehicle access from the right of way. Section 10-1-608.2(D)(2) prohibits creating a flag lot as defined in BMC 10-1-203, a definition reaching "a lot which allows a house to be built behind an existing house", and requires straight lot lines.
On an interior lot that removes the split most owners picture. A parcel carved off the rear has no street frontage, and the driveway strip that would give it frontage is the flag lot the code forbids. The split runs side by side instead, and since 40 percent of the width is always less than the width, the 25-foot minimum governs and the parent lot needs at least 50 feet of frontage for two parcels of 25 feet. A corner or through lot is the exception, because frontage is required on the public right of way rather than the original front street, and 10-1-608.2(D)(2)(b) allows a line from one side lot line to another.
What you can build on a lot created by a split
Section 10-1-608.2(E) caps units at two on a parcel created through a split, and 10-1-608.2(B) counts accessory dwelling units in that total. The second dwelling under 10-1-608.1 follows the floor area ratio and lot coverage of the underlying R-1 zone, covered in maximum house size, except that objective standards cannot preclude an 800 square foot unit.
The concessions and the constraints both sit in 10-1-608.1(D). First floor setbacks to the street-facing side, interior side and rear lines drop to 4 feet, with a 15-foot second-storey rear stepback, under (D)(3). A detached unit sits 6 feet from other structures, under (D)(5). One parking space unless exempt, under (D)(6). Private open space runs to 70 square feet in one area, under (D)(7). A converted garage loses its garage door, under (D)(8).
Because ADUs count, a house with an existing ADU has filled the ceiling on whichever resulting lot the two sit on, while the other keeps its own two. Where an ADU can go is in Burbank ADU rules.
The occupancy affidavit and the deed restriction
Section 10-1-608.2(O)(4) requires a signed affidavit that the applicant intends to occupy a unit on one of the resulting lots as a principal residence for at least three years from approval, and 10-1-608.2(F) states that occupancy as a requirement on the owner of record. State law authorises only the affidavit of intent, at section 66411.7(g)(1), and section 66411.7(g)(3) bars a city from imposing additional owner-occupancy standards, so how far the city's stronger wording binds is a question for counsel. Community land trusts and qualified nonprofit corporations are exempted.
A deed restriction is recorded under 10-1-608.2(H). It notices the split and any site limitations, and prohibits development inconsistent with adopted standards, rental of any unit for less than 30 days, non-residential use and separate conveyance of the first dwelling.
Marketing language about SB 9 potential most often goes wrong here. Under 10-1-608.2(I) the two resulting lots may be sold separately, while the dwelling units on any one of those lots may not be owned or conveyed separately from each other, and condominium airspace divisions are barred. Each new lot also needs independent sewer, water and electric connections under 10-1-608.2(K).
What to check before paying for SB 9 potential
Screen in this order: zoning, lot area against the table, width and depth under 10-1-608.2(D)(1)(c), the tenancy and Ellis Act windows, historic status, any earlier split, and where an existing ADU would land. What the answer does to price shows up on the home valuation page, and the sequence for either side sits under buying and selling.
Q: Is an urban lot split discretionary in Burbank? No. Section 66411.7(b)(1)(A) requires the city to approve or deny a qualifying parcel map ministerially, and (b)(1)(B) deems it approved if not decided within 60 days. Burbank's section does not restate that and relies on its savings clause at 10-1-608.2(A)(5), under which state law controls. The city may still deny under 10-1-608.2(J), on a written finding from the Building Official based on a preponderance of the evidence, of a specific adverse impact with no feasible mitigation.
Q: Can I split a lot in the Rancho? Not if the parcel is zoned R-1-H, where both SB 9 sections are prohibited. A Rancho address is not the test, because the neighbourhood contains other zones too.
This is general information about Burbank's adopted standards, not legal advice, and code sections are amended. Verify the current text and your parcel's status with the Community Development Department before relying on any of it. Call Alla at (818) 699-5367 or use the enquiry form.
More on the city's zoning, utilities and resale rules in the Burbank area guide.