Methuen, MA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

Section 6.2E applies to all districts. A side yard adjacent to a street must match the distance specified for the front yard setback, and so must a rear yard adjacent to a street, which means a corner lot carries front-yard depth on two sides. No building or subsurface structure, or portion of one, is permitted within the required front setback or side yard areas or less than 7.5 feet from the rear lot line. The front and side distances themselves sit in the Table of Dimensional Regulations, an attachment to the chapter that the ordinance text does not print.

Accessory buildings: an attached accessory building complies with the principal building's yard requirements, must be completely screened from adjacent properties and cannot interfere with access to off-street parking spaces. An unattached accessory building serving a one- or two-family dwelling can be placed in a rear yard within 7.5 feet of a side or rear lot line. Accessory buildings in RR and Residential districts are capped at 25 feet in height under § 6.2H(3).

Other yard rules in the same subsection: no front yard can be used for open storage of boats, vehicles, travel trailers or other equipment, and a fifteen-foot landscaped strip must run beside the street right-of-way when a front yard is used for parking in Business and Industrial Districts (§ 6.2E(4)). Businesses cannot display goods or coin-operated vending machines where that would infringe the required yards (§ 6.2E(5)). Agricultural structures such as greenhouses and livestock pens must sit at least 50 feet from any lot line (§ 6.2E(7)).

Special setbacks elsewhere in the ordinance: the Methuen Center overlay sets front 0, side 10 and rear 10 feet in § 5.22G, and large-scale ground-mounted solar needs not less than 50 feet from the property line under § 5.21H. Corner visibility rules in § 6.2I keep structures and vegetation clear between three and seven feet above the curb grade within 20 feet of the intersection in residence districts.