How do I sell my house in Monterey Park?

If you are clearing out a long-held home, the City allows two yard sales per address each calendar year, each for two consecutive days from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, with a permit under Ordinance 1848, and only your own goods may be sold. Plan sales before photos so rooms show well. Gather permits for additions and remodels, and on hillside lots note any retaining walls or drainage work. Order a pre-listing inspection on an older home so you know what buyers will find, then prepare disclosures, make repairs and schedule photos. Keep receipts for recent repairs and upgrades together for buyers to review.

• Source: City of Monterey Park: Yard Sale Permit (Ordinance 1848)

Monterey Park's Land Use Element has been put to the voters. The City Council adopted a 2040 Land Use Element on December 5, 2019, and sent it to the March 3, 2020 ballot as Measure II, which voters did not approve. A revised 2040 Land Use Element, adopted on June 17, 2020, went to the November 3, 2020 ballot as Measure JJ and was approved, implemented by Ordinance No. 2198. The City Clerk has also posted draft Resolution No. 2026-R64, adopting land use policy maps for a new HOME (Housing Overlay, Mixed Environments) designation, to be ratified by voters on November 3, 2026; check the City for the outcome. Beyond land use, the General Plan includes Circulation, Housing, Resource, Safety, Economic Development, Sustainable Community, Environmental Justice and Healthy Community elements. The State Department of Housing and Community Development approved the City's 2021-2029 Housing Element on March 30, 2023. For an owner, the voter-approved land use map is what sets the long-term use of a parcel.

• Source: City of Monterey Park: General Plan
• Source: City of Monterey Park: 2040 Land Use Element (Measure II, not approved)
• Source: City of Monterey Park: Revised 2040 Land Use Element (Measure JJ)
• Source: City of Monterey Park: Amending Land Use Element (Resolution No. 2026-R64)
• Source: City of Monterey Park: Housing Element 2021-2029

Accessory dwelling units are allowed in all of Monterey Park's residential zones. An ADU may be attached, detached or converted from existing space; a junior ADU must be converted from within the main house, which includes an attached garage. A converted garage may be expanded by up to 150 square feet for entry and exit. How many ADUs and junior ADUs a lot can have depends on how many primary dwelling units it already has, and the City offers a lookup for that. To shorten design and permitting, the City runs a designer-owned pre-approved ADU program with plan sets that are roughly 70% complete for permitting; as of June 2026, four plan sets had been approved. For a seller, a permitted ADU with final sign-off adds documented space; one without permits belongs in the disclosures.

• Source: City of Monterey Park: Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU)
• Source: City of Monterey Park: Pre-Approved ADU Plans

Residents voted the city into being on May 29, 1916, by 455 to 33, after Pasadena, South Pasadena and Alhambra proposed a large sewage treatment plant in the area; the new board promptly outlawed sewage plants and took the name Monterey Park from an old government map that showed the oak-covered Monterey Hills. The first subdivision, Ramona Acres, was laid out in 1906 north of Garvey and east of Garfield Avenues, and in 1920 an area on the south edge broke away to become Montebello. In the 1920s, Peter N. Snyder planned Midwick View Estates as a garden community; its centerpiece, El Encanto, still stands at 700 El Mercado Avenue, and the stepped fountain below it survives as Heritage Falls Park, known as the Cascades. Garvey Ranch Park sits where Richard Garvey once dammed Garvey Lake. For buyers, these landmarks are neighborhood context; price still comes from comparable sales.

• Source: City of Monterey Park: History of Monterey Park
• Source: City of Monterey Park: Historical Sites