Multifamily and Duplex Properties for Sale in East Garrison: Zoning and Rent Rules

What multifamily in East Garrison looks like

East Garrison is a master-planned neighborhood on former Fort Ord land, so its rental housing looks different from an older town. Instead of scattered duplexes, investors find townhomes and rowhouses, single-family homes with a detached carriage unit, live/work units in the Town Center, and affordable apartment projects built by nonprofit partners under recorded agreements. Very little here is a classic two-to-four-unit building, but a home with a permitted carriage unit can be financed much like a small income property; see financing 2-4 unit properties. Larger apartment buildings in the community are mostly income-restricted; for market-rate buildings elsewhere, see apartment building loans.

Where the zoning allows it

East Garrison is in the County’s Specific Plan (SP) district under Title 21, Chapter 21.41. The specific plan and its development agreement set the housing types; ordinary County residential districts such as HDR do not apply unless the plan is silent. The table below comes from the County’s 2005 Planning Commission staff report.

The pending amendment. The County’s PLN030204-AMD2 page, resubmitted September 8, 2023 and still listed as in process, would place the Artspace affordable units above Town Center commercial space, allow compact single-family homes on the former Artspace parcels and add 254 two- and three-story compact homes and rowhouses in the Town Center. Treat these as proposals until the Board acts.

ADUs. Because the specific plan prevails over Title 21, ask the County whether an additional ADU or JADU can be added to a lot that already has a carriage unit, and check the CC&Rs. State ADU law limits how far local rules can restrict them. See our ADU investment guide.

SB 9. Whether SB 9 lot splits apply to East Garrison lots depends on the parcel’s zoning, its location in an urbanized area and recorded restrictions, and many lots are already small. Confirm with the County before relying on it.

Rent rules: state law only

Rent caps. The Attorney General’s rent cap page, updated July 16, 2026, puts Monterey County under All Other Counties: increases of up to 7.7% from August 1, 2025, and up to 8.6% from August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027, for covered units. Salinas is the only Monterey County city on the AG’s local ordinance chart, and its rules do not reach unincorporated East Garrison. See our AB 1482 guide.

Just cause. We found no County tenant protection ordinance covering East Garrison, so covered tenancies follow state just cause rules. See our just cause eviction guide.

Income-restricted homes override market rent. The County’s East Garrison project library lists a 2007 inclusionary agreement for the master developer’s moderate-income units, a 2011 implementation agreement for MidPen Housing’s first phase, a 2016 workforce housing agreement for Phases 2 and 3, and a 2022 regulatory agreement and declaration of restrictive covenants tied to a CHISPA project. If a home is one of the 280 inclusionary or 140 Workforce II units, resale price, buyer income and rent limits may be recorded against it. Pull title before you write an offer.

East Garrison rental property rules

• Short-term rentals. The County’s short-term rental page defines them as 30 consecutive days or less and allows them only with a discretionary permit in designated districts. Check whether the SP district and the CC&Rs permit them at all.
• Lodging tax. Any short stay owes the County’s 10.5% transient occupancy tax.
• HOA and CC&Rs. The County’s records include a 2007 agreement on drainage, flood control and CC&Rs, amended in 2013. Leasing limits, if any, will be in the recorded CC&Rs.

Taxes, districts and building issues

Mello-Roos. A community facilities district formed in 2006 levies a special tax under Ordinance 05035, amended by Ordinance 5224 in 2013, and bonds were issued in 2016 and 2019. The special tax is a real carrying cost that does not drop when the house is reassessed; get the current figure from the tax bill.

Community services district. The East Garrison Community Services District, created by LAFCO in October 2005, owns and maintains neighborhood parks, Lincoln Park and open space parcels deeded by the County. Its charges may appear on the tax bill.

Water. Service comes from the Marina Coast Water District, which adopted the project’s water supply assessment in 2004. The 2005 staff report recommended allocating 470 acre-feet a year of the County’s Fort Ord water to the project, so added units depend on that allocation.

Newer construction. County records show lot sales and vertical construction phases from the 2010s, so for most homes soft-story retrofit programs are less of a concern than with older stock, but any building of three or more units with elevated balconies or walkways still needs SB 721 inspections. For the few older Army-era buildings in the Arts District, a seismic retrofit review is prudent.

Underwriting an East Garrison multifamily purchase

1. Identify the lot’s phase and plan area, and whether the home is market-rate, inclusionary or Workforce II.
2. Confirm that any carriage unit was permitted under the specific plan and is separately metered or billed.
3. Get Mello-Roos special tax, CSD charges and HOA dues in writing.
4. Read the CC&Rs for leasing limits and short-stay rules.
5. Classify units under AB 1482, model increases at or below 8.6%, and gather leases and estoppel certificates.
6. Rebuild the operating budget with reassessed property tax and special taxes in our rental property analysis.

Questions people ask

Sources & notes

1. Planning Commission staff report, East Garrison, July 13, 2005
2. Monterey County HCD, East Garrison project library
3. Monterey County HCD, PLN030204-AMD2
4. Monterey County Title 21, Chapter 21.41 SP districts
5. County HCD, short-term rentals
6. County Treasurer-Tax Collector, TOT
7. California Attorney General, rent caps

Note: Unit counts and affordability shares are from the 2005 staff report; later phase approvals and agreements may have changed them. We did not open the specific plan, the CC&Rs or the CFD rate schedule. Construction-era statements are general and should be checked against permit records.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.

Related: East Garrison real estate guide · Commercial real estate in East Garrison · Multifamily investing guide · Investor services