Where is an emergency shelter allowed in National City?

Find your lot's zone on the city zoning map, then read its row. Every status below was read from the National City Municipal Code use tables (read October 2026). Base zones only. General information, not legal advice — check with the city before you apply.

National City's code calls this use “Emergency shelter”. Each row links to the use table it comes from. A zone marked “see note” has a condition in the code, for example upper floors only or a larger lot.

IM, IH.

• Standards for this use: Section 18.30.110 (Emergency shelters).
• Low Barrier Navigation Center (mixed-use zones P, Section 18.30.400) and Transitional/supportive housing are separate rows, not used. 18.30.110.C.1: 'A new facility shall be a permitted use in the light industrial (IL) zone only.' Limits: no more than 50 beds and 50 persons; 300 ft from another shelter.
• State law: State law (Gov. Code § 65583, SB 2) requires every city to allow emergency shelters by right in at least one zone.
• Not covered here: RS-4, CL, MCR-1, MCR-2 zones: uses are in Appendix A of the Westside Specific Plan (S1, S3, S5), not in the packet; Glossary definitions (dwelling unit multiple, public assembly, animal husbandry) and Municipal Code 8.32 are not in the packet; No explicit rule that blank or unlisted uses are prohibited appears in the packet; blank cells are left out. Overlay zones and specific plans can also change the answer.

• Single-family home
• Bed and breakfast
• Child care center