Hillsboro, OR Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

Table 12.21.450-1 sets the minimum yards for the SR-6 zone. An interior lot needs 20 feet in front, measured to either the dwelling or the garage door, plus 5 feet on each side and 20 feet at the rear. On a corner lot the dwelling can sit 10 feet from one street and must sit 20 feet from the other, while the garage door stays 20 feet back. Cottage clusters follow their own line: 10 feet front and rear to dwellings and 20 feet to garage doors. Townhouses on a common wall get the side yard waived along that wall. The table lists no maximum setback, so nothing pushes a house toward the street. Lot coverage is capped at 55% for interior lots and 60% for corner lots, and a single detached, duplex or triplex lot starts at 6,000 square feet with 55 feet of width.

Section 12.50.130(A) gives the purpose, light and air between buildings and protection for neighbors, and sets the reach: minimum and maximum standards apply to every structure and every portion of a structure more than 24 inches above grade. Under 12.50.130(D), structures built on lots after September 4, 2014 must meet the base zone numbers unless the Review Authority approves a front yard variation or grants a Variance or Adjustment under Section 12.80.150. In a middle housing land division the setbacks apply to the parent lot, not the child lot. A setback can include a utility easement, but an easement wider than the setback wins, and the Review Authority can increase a setback to fit an easement and the angle of repose the Building Code requires. A carport entrance is treated like a garage door, measured to the support post closest to the driveway or to the roof edge when there are no posts.

Two special increases sit outside the base zone table. Next to an alley narrower than 20 feet, the setback is measured from the alley centerline and is at least 10 feet, which keeps a 20-foot fire access corridor clear, and the Fire Marshal can require more. On the streets listed in Table 12.50.130-1, such as SE 11th Ave and SE 26th Ave, the front setback is increased to 27 feet measured from the center of the street right-of-way to reserve room for widening under the Transportation System Plan.