Santa Barbara County, CA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Front setback
- 50 ft from centerline, 20 ft from ROW
- Side setback (lots ≤2 acres)
- 5-10 ft
- Side setback (lots ≥3 acres)
- 10-20 ft
- Rear setback
- 25 ft (15 ft near open space)
- Coverage
- Coastal Zone unincorporated area only
- Governing section
- County Code Sec. 35-71.7
Summary
In the Coastal Zone's R-1/E-1 Single-Family Residential zone, Santa Barbara County requires a 50-foot front setback measured from the street centerline (20 feet from the right-of-way), side setbacks of 10 percent of lot width capped between 5 and 20 feet depending on parcel size, and a 25-foot rear setback that drops to 15 feet where the rear yard abuts dedicated open space. County Code Sec. 35-71.7 sets these numbers.
Section 35-71.7 Setbacks for Buildings and Structures. 1.Front: 50 feet from the centerline and 20 feet from the right-of-way line of any street except that when the property fronts on a private roadway easement serving or having the potential to serve five or more lots the setback shall be 20 feet from the easement line. 2.Side: On each side of the lot, 10 percent of the width of the lot except:a.For lots that have a minimum lot area requirement of two acres or less, in no case shall the required side setback be less than five feet nor more than 10 feet.b.For lots that have a minimum lot area requirement of three acres or more, in no case shall the required side setback be less than 10 feet nor more than 20 feet. 3.Rear: 25 feet or 15 feet if the rear yard abuts a permanently dedicated open space or a street to which access has been denied as part of an approved subdivision or other approved development permit.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 44 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Santa Barbara County splits its zoning code between an inland Land Use and Development Code and the older Article II Coastal Zoning Ordinance, and these R-1/E-1 numbers come from the coastal version, so they bind unincorporated parcels inside the Coastal Zone only; land in the incorporated cities of Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Lompoc, Goleta, Carpinteria and Buellton follows each city's own code, not this one. Side setbacks scale with lot size: on lots with a minimum area requirement of two acres or less, the required side yard cannot fall below five feet or exceed ten feet even though the formula is 10 percent of lot width; on lots with a three-acre-or-larger minimum, the floor rises to ten feet and the ceiling to twenty feet.
County Code Sec. 35-125 (General Setback Regulations) governs what can intrude into any required setback: ordinary sills, cornices, chimneys and eaves may project up to three feet, handrails on outdoor stairways get an extra six inches, and fire escapes, balconies and unroofed porches may extend four feet into a front or rear setback and three feet into a side setback. Trellises and attached patio covers may sit inside the rear setback if they stay at least 15 feet from the rear property line. Where a recorded final or parcel map already shows a setback line, that mapped line controls instead of the standard distances.
Building permit applications for the Coastal Zone go through the Planning and Development Department, which checks proposed footprints against these lines before issuing a Coastal Development Permit or building permit; a survey or licensed engineer's plot plan showing the measured setbacks is standard practice for anything near a property line.
Violations & Fines
Building or expanding a structure inside a required setback without an approved permit is a Code violation. Under County Code Sec. 1-7, any violation of the County Code not carrying its own penalty is punishable by a fine of up to $500, up to six months in jail, or both, and each day the encroaching structure remains is a separate offense. The Building Official can red-tag work in progress and withhold final inspection or occupancy approval until the structure is moved, modified, or a variance is obtained.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do these 50-foot and 25-foot setbacks apply inside the city of Santa Barbara?
Why is the front setback measured from the road centerline instead of my property line?
Can a patio cover sit inside my rear setback?
What if my lot is only one acre?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Barbara County
California rules heatmap·Compare Santa Barbara County to another location·View the California building setbacks & zoning overview
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