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

060(B) of the San Buenaventura Municipal Code sets the R-1 zone's baseline lot coverage limit at 35 percent of lot area for total building area, covering the primary dwelling and any accessory structures. The Pierpont-Keys waterfront lots created under Tract 1601, approved by City Council Resolution No. 5600 on September 23, 1963, are carved out of that general rule and instead follow a scale tied to building height: a lot with a single-story primary dwelling may cover up to 50 percent of the lot, a two-story primary dwelling is capped at 45 percent, and a two-and-one-half-story primary dwelling is held to the same 35 percent as the rest of the R-1 zone.

120(A) through (E), covering eave and support setbacks, materials and enclosure limits, does not count toward lot coverage. 110(E) applies a similar exclusion logic to attached patio covers, folding their footprint into the 35 percent limit unless they meet the specific standards that keep them out of the calculation. 060(C), so the R-1 zone's 35 percent is the tightest of the three. 140 gives the director authority to review floor plans before permits issue to confirm density and coverage standards are not exceeded.