Lakeville, MN Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

Lakeville City Code section 11-50-13 sets the minimum lot and setback requirements for the RS-1 district, split between lots of record and preliminary platted lots with legal standing on January 1, 1994, and lots of record after that date. Both categories require a 30-foot front yard setback and a 30-foot rear yard setback. Side yard setbacks differ by lot vintage: pre-1994 lots need 10 feet on each side, or 20 feet on the side yard abutting a public right-of-way, while lots platted after January 1, 1994 need 15 feet on each side, or 30 feet abutting a right-of-way.

Buffer yard requirements are set separately under section 11-21-9(E). Section 11-17-11 governs how these setbacks apply citywide: no required yard may be reduced below the district minimum, and an already-undersized yard cannot be reduced further. That section lists specific non-encroachments, including cornices, eaves and gutters projecting up to 2 feet into a yard, terraces, steps, decks and stoops (with their own five-to-twenty-foot setbacks depending on height and lot date), ADA access ramps and railings, and a one-story enclosed entrance up to 10 feet wide that may extend 5 feet into a required front setback with an administrative permit.

Rear yard setbacks for RS-2, RS-3 and RS-4 lots backing onto floodplain, park or similar public open space can be reduced 1 foot for every 5 feet of public space, down to a 20-foot floor. Planning and Community Development enforces these minimums at building permit and site plan review, and the Zoning Administrator can require an as-built survey before issuing an occupancy permit.