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

Section 16.16.040 of the Highland Municipal Code sets maximum lot coverage in row 9 of Table 16.16.040.B, Residential Site Development Standards, for the City of Highland, San Bernardino County. The definition section prints the measure as follows: "Lot or site coverage" means the ratio between the ground floor area of the building or buildings and the lot area.

The row reads, by column: A/EQ 30%, R-1 40%, R-2 40%, R-3 60%, R-4 None, HDS "See R-4," VR 30%, R-2C 40%, and EHV 30%. The table gives R-4 no coverage cap, and the HDS column refers back to R-4. A homeowner in R-1 or R-2 is limited to 40% coverage, while a large-lot A/EQ parcel is limited to 30%, and the R-3 multifamily district allows 60%.

The R-2C District has its own flexibility clause. Section 16.16.040(B)(7) provides that in the R-2C District the minimum building site, lot width, lot depth, setbacks, lot coverage, and distance between buildings can be modified to achieve a good project design, privacy, livability, and compatibility with surrounding uses. Any variation from those standards is subject to approval by the planning commission of an application for a conditional use permit, processed under Chapter 16.08.

Non-residential districts carry their own printed caps. The Public/Quasi-Public District standards in Table 16.12.020.B set building coverage (maximum) at 45 percent, and the Civic Center District table under § 16.12.030 lists maximum lot coverage of 50%.

Coverage works together with the yard rules in the same table. Setbacks, the minimum building site, and the minimum distance between buildings each apply on top of the coverage cap, so a lot has to satisfy every row of Table 16.16.040.B at once.