Medina, OH Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

Medina's Zoning Code defines 'setback' under Section 1105.134 as the line beyond which no use, building or improvement may project or exist except as otherwise provided, and specifies that the term includes the front, side and rear yard setback lines together. Each of those yard types has its own definition in Section 1105.163: the front yard runs the perpendicular distance from the street right-of-way line to the nearest building on the lot, assuming a 60-foot right-of-way where none is established; the rear yard runs from the rear lot line to the nearest structure; and the side yard runs between the building and the side lot lines.

The actual minimum distances are set district by district. For the R-1 Low Density Urban Residential District, Section 1121.05 requires a 40-foot minimum front yard, a 50-foot minimum rear yard for a principal use or structure (5 feet for an accessory structure), and a 10-foot minimum side yard for a principal use or structure (5 feet for an accessory structure). Those numbers sit in the same table as the district's 10,000-square-foot minimum lot size, 80-foot minimum lot width and 50% maximum lot coverage, and every other residential and commercial district carries its own version of the same table with its own yard figures under Section X.05 of its chapter.

On a corner lot, Section 1105.163 gives the Planning Director discretion to determine which yard functions as the side yard and which as the rear yard, since a corner lot has two front yards by definition. A Zoning Certificate application checks a proposed structure's footprint against these setback lines before the Planning Director will issue it.