Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Santa Fe Springs, California

At a glance

Zoning

Santa Fe Springs administers its own zoning (city code Chapter 155)¹

Building permits

City Building Department; call City Hall at 562-868-0511²

Septic permits

Not confirmed for the city; ask LA County Public Health⁴

Minimum lot (R-1)

5,000 sq ft⁵

Minimum home size (R-1, A-1)

900 sq ft, excluding garage and porch⁶⁷

Accessory dwelling units

Allowed on lots zoned single-family, multifamily or mixed use with a residence⁸

RV living

Street parking limited to two hours without a permit; private-lot living not confirmed⁹

Property tax

Los Angeles County effective rate 0.7%¹⁰

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 16, 2026.

Does Santa Fe Springs, CA have zoning, and what does it mean for lots, homes and setbacks?

Santa Fe Springs administers its own zoning under Chapter 155 of the city code, so a parcel inside city limits follows the city's zoning districts, not Los Angeles County's¹. The city also reports a recent rewrite of its zoning code, its first in 68 years¹¹.

District matters. In the R-1 Single-Family Residential district, each lot must have at least 5,000 square feet⁵, and a dwelling must have at least 900 square feet, exclusive of garage and porch⁶. The A-1 Light Agricultural district uses the same 900 square foot minimum for a dwelling⁷. R-1 front yards must be at least 20 feet, with adjustments for block averages and key lots¹². We did not review side and rear yards, building height, lot coverage or A-1 lot sizes, so confirm those with the Community Development Department before you buy¹³.

Do you need a building permit in Santa Fe Springs, and who issues it?

Inside Santa Fe Springs, the city's own Building Department handles building permits, and its Permits & Fees page links a Building Permit Process guide and a list of building permits and forms². Planning permits run through the Community Development Department, reachable through City Hall at 562-868-0511¹³.

Los Angeles County Public Works issues building permits only for unincorporated land¹⁴, so the county's permit counter is the wrong office for a city address. We could not confirm the city's list of work that needs a permit versus work that is exempt, or its fee schedule for building permits; ask the Building Department for both².

How do septic permits work in Santa Fe Springs?

We could not confirm who issues septic permits inside Santa Fe Springs city limits. The LA County Department of Public Health reviews and approves onsite wastewater systems for unincorporated Los Angeles County and for contracted cities¹⁵, and we could not confirm whether Santa Fe Springs is one of them. Call the Onsite Wastewater Treatment Program at (626) 430-5380 to ask⁴.

Where an address is unincorporated, the county requires plan approval from the Director of Public Health before any septic work begins¹⁶. The county will not issue a permit for a new septic system if a public sewer is available within 200 feet of the building¹⁷. That rule is stated for unincorporated land, so ask whether it applies to your city lot. For wells, California leaves permitting to local enforcing agencies such as a county environmental health department¹⁸.

Can you build an accessory dwelling unit in Santa Fe Springs?

Santa Fe Springs allows accessory dwelling units on lots zoned single-family, multifamily or mixed use that have an existing or proposed residence⁸. The city approves them ministerially within 60 days of a complete application, allows one ADU and one junior ADU per single-family lot, and sets a detached ADU height limit of 16 feet (18 feet near major transit)⁸. Floor area caps are 850 square feet for a one-bedroom or smaller unit and 1,200 square feet for larger units, and a junior ADU is capped at 500 square feet and requires owner occupancy⁸. Application, permit and inspection fees apply⁸.

Can you live in an RV or tiny home in Santa Fe Springs?

RV living on a private lot is not something we could confirm for Santa Fe Springs. What the city code does state is that no one may park a recreational vehicle on any street or alley longer than two hours without a temporary RV parking permit, which lasts 72 hours with a limit of three per month per resident⁹. Connecting an RV to the public sewer is prohibited, and trailer parks need a conditional use permit⁹. Camping is banned on public property and railroad property¹⁹.

California's baseline is that, unless a local ordinance allows otherwise, RVs generally may be occupied only in mobilehome parks or special occupancy parks²⁰. We could not confirm how the city treats tiny homes; a tiny home occupied as a dwelling must meet one of the state's recognized classifications²¹. Ask the Community Development Department before you plan to live in either¹³.

Building a home in Santa Fe Springs: the steps, in order

1. Confirm the parcel's zoning district with the Community Development Department, since lot size and dwelling minimums differ by district¹³.
2. Check the district's standards, such as the 5,000 square foot R-1 lot minimum and 20 foot R-1 front yard⁵¹².
3. Ask the Building Department for the Building Permit Process guide and permit forms².
4. Ask LA County Public Health whether your address needs septic approval or must connect to sewer⁴.
5. If the lot is in a mapped flood hazard area, manufactured homes must be elevated to or above base flood elevation²².
6. If you act as your own builder, California's owner-builder exemption still leaves you responsible for obtaining building permits and passing inspections²³.

What stays with Los Angeles County, and what to check before you buy

Los Angeles County's Title 22 zoning applies to the unincorporated area, not to land inside Santa Fe Springs³. For land outside the city, see the Los Angeles County page. Septic, and possibly wells, are the pieces that can still involve county health offices¹⁵.

Costs are county-level figures. Los Angeles County's effective property tax rate is 0.7%¹⁰, and the median property tax bill is $5,438 a year²⁴. The typical home value is about $888,000²⁵.

Watch-outs

• County rules for unincorporated land, including the county's ban on living in an RV for any length of time, do not automatically apply inside Santa Fe Springs; the city's own code governs there²⁶.
• We could not confirm the city's building code adoption, permit exemptions, fees or inspection rules; call the Building Department at 562-868-0511 before you start work².
• The city recently rewrote its zoning code, so check the current district standards with the Community Development Department rather than relying on older handouts¹¹.

Sources

1. Santa Fe Springs Code § 155.065 Lot area, width and depth (R-1) (Santa Fe Springs), quoted and re-checked
2. City of Santa Fe Springs Building Department (santafesprings.gov)
3. Los Angeles County Code Title 22: Planning and Zoning, quoted and re-checked
4. LA County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health – Onsite Wastewater Treatment Program (admin.publichealth.lacounty.gov)
5. Santa Fe Springs Code § 155.065 Lot area, width and depth (R-1) (Santa Fe Springs), quoted and re-checked
6. Santa Fe Springs Code § 155.073 Minimum area of buildings (R-1) (Santa Fe Springs), quoted and re-checked
7. Santa Fe Springs Code § 155.046 Minimum area of buildings (A-1) (Santa Fe Springs), quoted and re-checked
8. Santa Fe Springs Code § 155.644 Accessory dwelling units (Santa Fe Springs), quoted and re-checked
9. Santa Fe Springs Code § 72.26 Parking recreational vehicles is prohibited on any city street (Santa Fe Springs), quoted and re-checked
10. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
11. Santa Fe Springs Planning & Zoning page (santafesprings.gov)
12. Santa Fe Springs Code § 155.068 Front yard (R-1) (Santa Fe Springs), quoted and re-checked
13. City of Santa Fe Springs Community Development Department (Planning) (santafesprings.gov)
14. Building and Safety - LA County Public Works Permits, quoted and re-checked
15. Local Agency Management Program (LAMP), quoted and re-checked
16. admin.publichealth.lacounty.gov, quoted and re-checked
17. New Ordinance Adopted - Local Agency Management Program, quoted and re-checked
18. Well Standards (California statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
19. Santa Fe Springs Code § 136.02 Prohibited uses of public property (Santa Fe Springs), quoted and re-checked
20. hcd.ca.gov (California statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
21. Information Bulletin 2016-01: Tiny Homes (California statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
22. Santa Fe Springs Code § 151.23 Standards for manufactured homes (Santa Fe Springs), quoted and re-checked
23. Building Officials - Owner-Builder Overview, quoted and re-checked
24. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data
25. Typical home value (Zillow): Bolthole Index county data
26. Common Zoning Violations - LA County Planning, quoted and re-checked

Written October 16, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.