Glendale, CA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Lot Coverage Limits (2026)

Municipal Code § 30.11.030's Table 30.11-B sets the citywide lot-coverage ceiling by residential zone. In the hillside ROS and R1R zones and the standard R1 single-family zone, no more than 40 percent of the lot may be covered by all residential and accessory buildings combined, and the same table requires a minimum of 40 percent of the lot to remain permanently landscaped open space under Chapter 30.31, which together leave roughly a fifth of most single-family lots for driveways, patios and hardscape. The four multi-family zones carry a separate coverage schedule: the R-3050 zone caps coverage at 50 percent and the R-2250 zone at 60 percent, both again counting every residential and accessory structure on the lot; the code does not list a separate coverage percentage for the denser R-1650 and R-1250 zones, where development is instead controlled through the floor-area-ratio maximums of 1.0 and 1.2 in the same table.

Footnote (1) to the table carves out solar energy equipment from the coverage calculation, referring installers to § 30.30.050 for the setback and coverage rules that apply to rooftop and ground-mounted solar arrays instead. Accessory dwelling units get their own partial exemption: § 30.34.080(D)(3) excludes up to 800 square feet of ADU floor area from the underlying zone's lot-coverage and floor-area-ratio limits, so a legally sized ADU will not by itself push a lot over its Table 30.11-B cap. Anyone proposing an addition, new garage or accessory structure should have the Building and Safety Division confirm coverage before framing begins, since lot coverage is checked against the plans at permit issuance, not after construction.