Fayetteville's common single-family zone, RSF-4, requires a 15-foot front, 5-foot side, and 15-foot rear setback. Larger-lot districts like RSF-1 demand 35-foot front and rear yards. Setbacks are set by zoning district in UDC Chapter 161.
Fayetteville fixes minimum setbacks by zoning district in Chapter 161 of the Unified Development Code, rewritten by Ordinance 6945 (adopted December 16, 2025). In the RSF-4 district that covers much of the city's single-family housing, structures must sit at least 15 feet from the front, 5 feet from each side, and 15 feet from the rear. Denser RSF-7 matches those numbers, while low-density RSF-1 and RSF-.5 require 35-foot front and rear and 20-foot side yards, and RSF-2 requires 30, 15, and 30 feet. Front setbacks are measured from the street right-of-way or the Master Street Plan line, and a corner lot has two fronts and two sides. Building closer requires a variance.
The Zoning and Development Administrator enforces setbacks. Building into a required yard draws a stop-work order and a zoning violation, and a certificate of occupancy can be withheld. The cure is a Board of Adjustment variance under UDC Chapter 156.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Fayetteville has no rent control and cannot enact it. Arkansas Code Sec. 14-54-1409 bars any city from limiting rent. Landlords set market rents and may rais...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Washington County.
See how Fayetteville's setback rules rules stack up against other locations.
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