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

Madera's Zoning chapter sets lot coverage limits zone by zone rather than as a single citywide figure. In the Professional Office (PO) zone, Madera Municipal Code § 10-3.755 allows a maximum of 75% of the lot area for aggregate building coverage, including both main and accessory buildings, a comparatively permissive figure that reflects the zone's smaller minimum lot sizes and mixed office/residential-adjacent character under the surrounding sections (5,000 square-foot minimum interior lots, 6,000 for corner lots, per § 10-3.753). In the Industrial Park (IP) zone, § 10-3.11.511 is far more restrictive: not more than 50% of the lot area in IP zones shall be covered with buildings, leaving half the site open for the yards, parking and landscaping the IP standards require elsewhere in that subchapter (a one-acre minimum lot with 150-foot minimum width and depth under §§ 10-3.11.508 through 10-3.11.510).

Both provisions trace back to the city's original 1961 code numbering carried forward through later ordinances (Ordinance 310 C.S. for the PO figure, Ordinance 183 C.S. for the IP figure), and neither section provides for an administrative exception or variance procedure within its own text; a property owner seeking relief from either cap would need to pursue a variance through the city's general zoning variance procedure elsewhere in Title X.