Bayonne, NJ Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

Bayonne's Division of Zoning checks every building permit against the Front Yard, Rear Yard and Side Yard columns of Schedule I, the bulk table under § 35-5.26. For the R-1 District, a detached single-family home on a 3,000-square-foot interior lot with 30 feet of frontage needs a 20-foot front yard, a 20-foot rear yard, and side yards of 3 feet on one side with 6 feet combined; an R-1 corner lot needs a 4,000-square-foot lot but keeps the same 20-foot front and rear yards. The R-2 double-family rows and the R-1/R-2 townhouse rows carry identical 20-foot front and rear yards with 3-foot/6-foot side yards, while lot area and frontage shrink to as little as 2,000 square feet for an interior townhouse.

Schedule I's own footnote lets a corner lot created by minor subdivision reduce one side yard to 1 1/2 feet where it abuts the intersecting street right-of-way, and a separate front-yard-averaging rule lets the setback on a street of existing buildings match two feet plus the average setback of the adjacent buildings, never falling below Schedule I's minimum. Commercial and industrial districts run tighter or nonexistent front yards: the C-1 District requires no front yard at all (0 feet) but keeps a 20-foot rear yard, while IL-A requires 30 feet front and 20 feet rear. A structure built inside the required yard without Zoning Board of Adjustment relief is a Schedule I violation.