Jefferson County, WI Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

Jefferson County Code § 22-129, "Minimum yards," fixes the rear yard at 25 feet and each side yard at 10 feet in the R-1 Residential-Sewered District, the county's sewered residential zone under Article III, Division 2, Subdivision II. The front yard is not stated as a fixed number in this section; instead it cross-references § 22-678(b), which sets the countywide front setback standard applied across districts. These numbers sit alongside the district's other dimensional standards: an 8,000-square-foot minimum lot area (10,000 in shoreland areas) under § 22-126, an 80-foot minimum lot width under § 22-127, and an 80-foot minimum lot depth under § 22-128.

Other zoning districts carry different yard requirements: the A-T Agricultural Transition District requires a 20-foot rear yard and 20-foot side yards under § 22-248, while the A-1 Exclusive Agricultural District uses the same 20-foot rear and side figures under § 22-284, both allowing taller agricultural structures if they sit back twice their height from the lot line. A property owner who cannot meet the R-1 setback because of a unique site condition can apply to the zoning administrator for a variance under § 22-59, which the board of adjustment may grant only where strict enforcement creates an unnecessary hardship not of the owner's own making.