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

Sec. 50(b) sets the lot-coverage math separately from the per-structure size cap in subsection (c). The 30-percent ceiling is measured against the required rear yard, the mandated setback zone at the back of the lot set by the applicable R1 or R2 development standards, not against the whole backyard or the whole parcel. Every accessory structure on the property counts cumulatively toward that 30 percent, whether it's a shed, detached garage, gazebo, workshop or pool structure. The section carves out one exemption: accessory structures under 5 feet in height don't count toward lot coverage at all, so low garden structures, planters and similar low-profile items are excluded regardless of footprint.

Roof design also affects the math: a standard 1-foot roof eave is allowed under subsection (j) without counting toward coverage, but subsection (b) specifically pulls any eave deeper than 1 foot into the calculation. Because the 500-square-foot maximum size in subsection (c) applies to each individual accessory structure while the 30-percent rule applies to their combined footprint, a property with a required rear yard smaller than roughly 1,667 square feet will hit the lot-coverage ceiling before it could ever build a single 500-square-foot structure, effectively shrinking the usable size on smaller lots.