What are setbacks? Front, side and rear yards explained

A setback is the smallest distance allowed between a building and a property line, set by the zoning district for the front, the sides and the rear. The open strip it keeps is called the required yard. Setbacks are measured from the property line, not from the curb.

Updated October 18, 2026. General information, not legal advice: the city’s code and its planning staff decide for your lot.

How setbacks are measured

A setback is measured square to the property line, to the nearest part of the building that counts: usually the wall, sometimes the foundation or the eave, as the code defines it. The front property line is often several feet behind the curb, because the sidewalk and the planting strip belong to the street. Measuring from the curb is the most common mistake.

The front is the side that faces the street. On a corner lot the code says which street side is the front, often the narrower one; on a lot between two streets both may count as fronts. See Corner lot setbacks.

Typical values

What may stand in a setback

Codes let some parts of a building project into a required yard, each by a limited distance: eaves and gutters, chimneys, bay windows, uncovered steps and porches, and air-conditioning units. Fences, driveways and walkways are usually allowed under their own rules. Sheds and detached garages often have smaller side and rear setbacks than the house, as long as they stand behind it.

Other lines that can push a building back

• Building lines on the plat: a subdivision plat can draw a line deeper than the zoning setback, and it binds every lot on the plat.
• Easements: utility and drainage easements, often along the rear or side lot lines, usually may not carry a permanent structure.
• Deed restrictions and HOA rules: private covenants, sometimes stricter than zoning.
• Sight triangles: at a street corner or a driveway, a triangle kept clear of anything that blocks a driver’s view.
• Fire separation: the residential building code asks for fire-rated walls and limits windows close to a property line, commonly within 5 ft, even where zoning allows a building there.

When a setback does not fit your plans

A variance lets a building into a setback when the lot’s shape or size makes the rule a real hardship. A board of adjustment or zoning board of appeals decides at a public hearing, usually after the neighbors are notified. It is the board’s judgment, and a variance only to fit a larger house is rarely granted. Some cities allow small deviations by staff decision.

How the Lot Report shows setbacks

The Lot Report draws each setback on its edge of the lot (F 25′ on the front edge, for example) and says where each number comes from: the city’s code with a checked quote, the zoning data we license where it carries a value, an AI reading we could not confirm, or a generic estimate shown as one. It finds the street sides from the street map; if it took the wrong side for the front, you click the right edge on the site plan and the envelope is drawn again.