San Angelo, TX Accessory Structures: Shed & Carport Rules (2026)

Sec. 402 treats a shed or other accessory building as an accessory use, subject to the same zoning-district rules as the main house unless the ordinance says otherwise. An accessory building attached to the house, or sited within ten feet of it, counts as integral to the house and must meet the house's own side and rear setbacks. A detached shed set farther than ten feet away may instead extend into the required side or rear yard: no setback is required where it backs onto a street or alley right-of-way, but it must keep at least a two-foot setback from any other side or rear lot line.

No shed or accessory building, attached or detached, may sit in the required front yard, except for carports allowed under Sec. 513. In the RS-1 and RS-2 Districts, a substantially open accessory structure, meaning at least 7-1/2 feet of unenclosed clearance above its floor with no walls beyond narrow structural posts, gets its rear setback measured from the centerline of the rear alley instead of the rear lot line, though no additional story may be added above it. Every accessory building on a residential lot is capped at 600 square feet or 50 percent of the principal building's floor area, whichever is greater.

Intermodal containers, railroad cars, motor vehicles, and truck or bus bodies cannot be used as accessory buildings in any residential district. The Ranch and Estate (R&E) District instead uses a 5-foot side and 10-foot rear setback with buildings capped at 100 percent of the house or 10 percent of the lot, and the Zero Lot Line, Twinhome and Townhome (RS-3) District allows a 0 to 1-foot side setback on one side if a permit is obtained from the Permits and Inspections Division.