What would Monrovia's proposed citywide inclusionary housing ordinance change?

If you’re evaluating a Monrovia property for a residential development of five or more units, the proposed ordinance would change where inclusionary housing requirements apply. Ordinance No. 2026-03 would extend the existing rules citywide wherever multifamily housing is permitted, unless otherwise exempt. The city says the proposal would leave the affordability requirements and in-lieu fee provisions unchanged.

This guide is educational, not legal or tax advice.

What would the proposed ordinance change?

The proposal would expand the geographic reach of Monrovia’s existing inclusionary housing requirements.

The City of Monrovia’s Planning for Housing page describes Ordinance No. 2026-03 as an amendment extending the existing ordinance citywide. If adopted, it would apply to all new residential developments containing five or more units anywhere multifamily housing is permitted, unless otherwise exempt.

The city says the amendment would not change affordability requirements, in-lieu fee provisions, exemptions, or other principal components.

For your property review, the central questions are the proposed unit count, whether multifamily housing is permitted, and whether an exemption applies. The city’s page does not list the exemptions here.

Is Ordinance No. 2026-03 already in effect?

As of October 28, 2026, the city’s page still described the ordinance as proposed.

The page listed a Planning Commission public hearing for Wednesday, August 12, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. at Monrovia City Hall Council Chambers, 415 South Ivy Avenue. The Commission’s role was to hold the hearing and make a recommendation.

The city expressly states that the Planning Commission would not take final action. The City Council would consider the proposal at a separately noticed public hearing.

The uncertain point is what happened after that listed hearing: when read on October 28, 2026, the page did not show the hearing outcome or a Council date. It therefore does not establish adoption, a Commission recommendation, or a final vote.

The draft ordinance and staff report linked from the city’s page were not reviewed for this guide, so the details here come from the page itself; readers should consult those documents for exact wording.

Where do the existing rules apply?

The existing ordinance applies in three targeted areas and also reaches developments elsewhere in Monrovia under specified conditions.

Ordinance No. 2025-03 was introduced June 3, 2025, and adopted June 17, 2025. It created Chapter 17.42 of the Monrovia Municipal Code. The three targeted areas are:

• Station Square Transit Village Area, bordered by South Mayflower Avenue on the west, East and West Duarte Road on the south, Shamrock Avenue on the east, and East and West Evergreen Avenue on the north.
• West Huntington Drive Corridor, zoned Retail Corridor Mixed (RCM), generally enclosed by South 5th Avenue, Encino Avenue and West Huntington Drive.
• South Myrtle Avenue Corridor District Overlay (Old Town Extension District), bounded by South Primrose Avenue, East and West Maple Avenue, South Ivy Avenue, and East and West Olive Avenue.

For separate information about the Station Square area, see the guide to Monrovia’s ACTV bicycle and pedestrian projects.

Outside those areas, the existing ordinance also applies when a development is on a Housing Element Opportunity Area or Sites Inventory property; requests a General Plan and/or Zoning amendment to facilitate housing or increase permitted residential density; or is proposed pursuant to California Government Code Section 65852.24(b).

What affordable housing requirements would stay the same?

The city says the proposal would not change the current affordability requirements, including the five-unit threshold and different requirements for ownership and rental projects.

For ownership projects of five or more units, the existing requirement is one in ten units designated for moderate-income or lower-income housing.

Rental projects also start at five units. Their required share of low-income units rises across three project-size tiers: 5 to 20 units, 21 to 50 units, and 51 or more units. The proposed citywide amendment would preserve those requirements.

Keep that scope attached to the proposal. The city’s description concerns developments of five or more units where multifamily housing is permitted; it does not establish that this amendment applies to single-family zoned lots, ADUs, or a homeowner adding a unit. For a separate starting point on accessory dwelling units, see ADU rules.

How do the current in-lieu fees work?

The current fees are $29.40 per square foot of saleable area for ownership housing and $24.50 per square foot of leasable area for rental housing.

Those amounts come from Resolution 2025-43. Ownership projects may elect to pay the fee instead of building the affordable units. Rental projects of 20 or fewer units may also elect that option.

Larger rental projects generally must provide the affordable units on site unless the city approves another means of compliance. That distinction matters when you’re comparing an ownership proposal with a rental proposal.

The fee uses the gross floor area of dwelling units that can be sold or rented. Hallways, community spaces, balconies, decks and patios are excluded.

These fees are a separate subject from the California supplemental property tax bill.

What would this mean for a property review?

A property review would need to distinguish the existing geographic triggers from the proposed citywide coverage.

The existing ordinance also includes alternatives allowing affordable units off site or converting market-rate units to affordable units. The city’s page identifies those options without establishing approval for a particular proposal.

We were talking with a small developer about a Monrovia property when the proposed inclusionary housing ordinance came up. His first question was how many units would trigger the requirements because that could affect the size and financing of the project. Since the ordinance was still pending, we treated it as something to follow closely rather than a final rule he could price with certainty.

Why is the city proposing broader coverage?

The city says broader coverage would remove differences in affordable housing requirements based solely on location for otherwise similar residential developments.

The Council initially directed staff to apply the requirements to targeted areas as a measured first step. It also directed staff to return with an ordinance expanding the requirements citywide.

For you, that explains the proposal’s focus: geographic coverage. It does not provide a basis for predicting changes in home prices, rents, or the pace of construction.

To ask about a property’s coverage or the proposal’s status, contact the Planning Division at [email protected] or (626) 932-5565.

The short version

Monrovia’s proposed Ordinance No. 2026-03 would extend existing inclusionary housing requirements citywide to qualifying new developments of five or more units where multifamily housing is permitted, unless otherwise exempt.

The city says affordability requirements, fee provisions, exemptions and other principal components would remain unchanged. As of October 28, 2026, its page still described the amendment as proposed. Evaluate a property against the existing rules while keeping the proposed expansion separate.

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