Bayonne, NJ Building Setbacks & Zoning: Lot Coverage Limits (2026)

The City of Bayonne's Division of Zoning, inside the Department of Planning, Zoning and Development, measures every zoning permit application against the Percent Coverage column of Schedule I, the bulk table printed under § 35-5.26. For the R-1 District's detached single-family lot, an interior lot of 3,000 square feet with 30 feet of frontage carries a 70% coverage cap alongside a 20-foot front yard, a 20-foot rear yard, and a 2 1/2-story/35-foot principal building height; the R-2 double-family and townhouse rows and the R-3 low-rise apartment row repeat the same 70% ceiling.

Coverage drops for commercial lots: the C-1 and C-2 Districts, including C-2's Conventional Development category, are held to 60%. The HC District is tighter still at 65%. Industrial zoning allows the most ground coverage: the IL-A, IL-B, I-H, I-H-O overlay, and H-1 waterfront districts all permit up to 80% lot coverage, reflecting their larger minimum lot sizes of 7,500 square feet in IL-A, one acre in I-H, and 80,000 square feet in H-1. Schedule I's own note explains that a ground-floor parking garage for no more than two cars in a detached or double-family dwelling or townhouse, if it does not contain or abut livable space, is excluded from the story count used for height, but coverage itself is still measured against the footprint of all structures on the lot.

A lot built beyond its district's coverage percentage without first obtaining a variance from the Zoning Board of Adjustment is out of compliance with Schedule I.