Grand Forks, ND Accessory Structures: Shed & Carport Rules (2026)

City Code Section 18-0305 governs residential accessory buildings, which include garages and sheds. Under Section 18-0305(1), an accessory building located within twelve feet of a residential building must sit at least five feet from the lot line. An accessory building set more than twelve feet from the principal building only needs three feet from the side lot line and three feet from the rear lot line, except where a drive-in door opens onto an alley or a lot line abutting a street, which requires a twenty-foot setback from that alley or street property line; that twenty-foot figure is a floor that only governs when other setback rules are less strict.

Section 18-0305(2) requires an accessory building attached to the main building to be built structurally as part of it and to meet every requirement that applies to the main building. Section 18-0305(3) bars a detached accessory building from any required front yard or side yard adjacent to a street. Section 18-0305(4) sets the size cap: lots under 10,000 square feet are allowed up to 1,000 square feet of total accessory building area, while lots of 10,000 square feet or more are allowed up to 1,400 square feet, and that combined area counts every garage, shed and other accessory building on the lot together, not each structure separately.