Travis County, TX Building Setbacks & Zoning: Lot Coverage Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Residential cap
- 15% of lot acreage
- Commercial cap (preferred area)
- 45% of lot acreage
- Governing section
- Travis County Code § 482.229
- Program scope
- Conservation Development option only
- Geographic limit
- Outside any municipality's ETJ
- Credit transfer cap
- Extra 5 points via Sec. 482.236
Summary
Travis County caps impervious cover at 15% for single-family and duplex lots and 45% for commercial parcels under Code Sec. 482.229, but only inside subdivisions built under the county's optional Conservation Development program outside Austin's ETJ; there is no general county-wide lot-coverage limit outside that program.
Impervious cover shall not exceed fifteen percent (15%) of the property's acreage for single family and duplex residential development and forty-five percent (45%) for commercial development in a preferred commercial development area. The following shall not be considered as impervious cover: Trails within a conservation area that meets the requirements of the Conservation Development Design Manual. Historic or archeological sites or structures, including remnants such as stone walls Impervious cover requirements may be exceeded through the transfer of impervious cover credits from another development approved under this subchapter that has impervious cover less than the requirements of this section, as provided in Section 482.236. However, for a commercial development in a preferred commercial development area receiving transferred credits, the impervious cover requirements of this section may not be exceeded by more than five percent (5%).
Full Breakdown
Texas counties have no general zoning power, so Travis County has no county-wide impervious cover or lot-coverage limit that applies automatically to every parcel. The 15%/45% cap in Sec. 229 lives inside Subchapter C, the Conservation Development option, which Sec. 220 limits to land outside the extraterritorial jurisdiction of any municipality; inside Austin's ETJ this county chapter does not apply at all, and any development standard instead comes from whatever the county and Austin have agreed to under their subdivision-review interlocal agreement. To use the option, an owner signs a conservation development agreement with the county before filing a preliminary plan or final plat, per Sec.
234, including this impervious cap. Historic or archeological sites and structures, and trails within a qualifying conservation area, do not count toward the cap. An owner can exceed the base percentage by transferring impervious cover credit from another qualified project under Sec. 236 that is running under the limit, but a commercial project in a preferred commercial development area can only pick up five percentage points that way, capping out at 50% even with transferred credit. 241, including exemptions from park dedication fees, platting fees and construction review fees for owners who commit to and complete a qualified project.
Violations & Fines
There's no standalone fine listed in Sec. 482.229 itself. Exceeding the cap outside the credit-transfer allowance under Sec. 482.236 means the preliminary plan or final plat simply doesn't meet Subchapter C's design requirements, so the County Executive cannot approve it; withholding incentive payments under Sec. 482.237 is the Commissioners Court's other lever if a completed project ends up out of compliance with its conservation development agreement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Travis County limit how much of my lot can be covered by buildings and pavement?
Does this cap apply to my property if it's in Austin's ETJ?
Can I exceed the 15% or 45% cap?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Travis County
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Travis County to another location·View the Texas building setbacks & zoning overview
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