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

040, Residential Zone Development Standards, fixes maximum lot coverage for each residential zone in the same row structure that sets density, setbacks, and building height. RL and RML, the city's low- and medium-low-density single-family zones, both cap lot coverage at 50 percent of the lot. RM and RH, the medium- and high-density multifamily zones, allow more coverage at 55 percent, reflecting their higher permitted densities of up to 24 and 36 units per net acre respectively. The RVL, or Residential Very Low, zone has no listed coverage percentage in the table because RVL development, capped at one unit per 20 gross acres or a legal parcel of record as of May 6, 1993, goes through a discretionary review process instead of a fixed numeric standard.

Building height maximums run alongside coverage in the same table: 30 feet and two stories in RVL, 25 feet in RL, RML and RM, and 45 feet in RH. For any residential lot within the California Coastal Zone, which covers San Clemente's shoreline-facing areas, a project must also secure a Coastal Development Permit under the city's certified Local Coastal Program before these zoning coverage and height numbers control, and the California Coastal Commission can retain appeal jurisdiction over that permit decision.