Chino Hills, CA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

Building setbacks inside the City of Chino Hills are governed by the city's Development Code (Title 16, Chapter 16.10, Residential Districts; Section 16.10.040, Minimum residential development standards), not San Bernardino County's code. The standards vary by zone. In the Low Density Residential (RS) zone, the most common single-family designation, the minimum front yard setback is 20 feet (22 feet average), the rear yard setback is 15 feet, and interior side setbacks are 7 feet on any side with a 20-foot aggregate; a side yard abutting a collector or larger street is 25 feet, and a local street is 15 feet. The Rural Residential (RR, 20,000 s.f. minimum) and Agriculture/Ranches (RA, 5-acre minimum) zones use larger setbacks of 25 feet front and 25 feet rear. Multi-family zones (RM-1, RM-2, RM-3) generally use 25-foot or 20-foot front setbacks and 15-, 10- or 10-foot rear setbacks respectively. Two overlays modify these: the Small Lot Overlay (Chapter 16.32) reduces front setbacks to 15 feet and side and rear setbacks to 4 feet, and many former Planned Development (PD) tracts (Chapter 16.20) allow reduced setbacks and lot sizes down to 3,300 square feet. Because much of Chino Hills was built through PD tracts and hillside areas, owners should confirm their exact zone and any overlay with the Community Development Department before designing.