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

Chapter 461, Article IV sets citywide yard rules; § 461-8 provides that no yard credited to one building may also satisfy the yard requirement for a building on another lot. The base residential districts (R-A1 through R-B3) carry their numeric front, side and rear yard minimums in the separate Schedule of Regulations attachment on file with the City Clerk, but § 461-13 modifies those minimums directly: under Subsection A, where more than 75% of the block frontage between intersecting streets is already developed, the required front yard drops to the average of existing front yards on that block, never below 10 feet, and any such reduction must be backed by a certified survey under Subsection B.

Subsection C lets the required rear yard shrink one foot for every foot a lot's depth falls short of 100 feet, down to a 25-foot floor, and Subsection D holds the non-street side yard on a corner lot to the schedule minimum. Where the code prints its own numeric setbacks outright is the Planned Residential Community (PRC) Zone District added by § 461-13S. Subsection (11) requires a 30-foot setback from any public street frontage, 25 feet from adjoining residential property lines, 30 feet from adjoining nonresidential lines, and, separately, a 35-foot gap between any buildings of three stories or more (25 feet between shorter buildings), with the resulting yard area required to carry the landscaped buffer described at § 461-13S(6).