Davidson County, NC Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

13, the Table of Dimensional Requirements, fixes minimum setbacks for every zoning district administered by the Planning and Zoning Department. In the RA-1, RA-2, RA-3 Rural Agricultural districts and the RS Low Intensity Residential district, minimum setbacks are 30 feet front, 10 feet side and 20 feet rear on a 30,000-square-foot lot. RM-1 and RM-2 multi-family districts require a 25-foot front setback with 10-foot side and 20-foot rear. Commercial and industrial districts scale up: CS (Community Shopping) and HC (Highway Commercial) both require a 50-foot front setback with a 0-foot side setback on-site, 10 and 20 feet rear respectively; HI (Heavy Industrial) requires 50 feet front, 20 feet side and 25 feet rear on an 80,000-square-foot lot.

Table Note 4 adds a minimum 15-foot side setback for any non-residential use whose lot abuts a residentially zoned lot or a street, and Note 5 adds 15 feet to the rear setback under the same condition. Note 6 requires an additional foot of front, rear and side setback in residential districts (half a foot in non-residential districts) for every foot of building height above the district maximum. 10, Setbacks on Regular Lots, governs how these distances are measured: front setbacks run the full frontage between side lot lines measured perpendicular to the street line, rear setbacks run the full width at the back of the lot, and side setbacks run from the rear line of the front setback to the front line of the rear setback.

7 layers on additional visibility requirements at intersections in residential districts. A Zoning Permit from the Administrative Officer under Article VII confirms compliance before construction.