Sullivan County, TN Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

Section 3-103.6(1) requires that 'yards having the minimum width or depth set forth for the various districts in TABLE 3-103B, shall be provided on all lots.' That table's Section VI sets the front setback at 30 feet in the A-5/A-2, A-1, AR/A-RV/RRC, R-1 and R-2/R-2A districts, with R-3A/R-3B and R-3 also carrying a 30-foot figure marked '**,' referring applicants to Section 3-104's separate provisions for multi-family dwellings, planned developments and manufactured home parks. Side setbacks step down from 30 feet in A-5/A-2, to 12 feet in A-1, AR/A-RV/RRC and R-1, to 10 feet, the smallest in the county, in R-2/R-2A.

Rear and corner-side setbacks run 30 feet in A-5/A-2 through R-1, then drop to 20 feet in R-2/R-2A. A footnote states plainly that 'Setbacks Not Applicable to Agricultural Buildings and Structures,' matching the county's broader agricultural exemption elsewhere in the resolution. Front yards are measured from the road right-of-way shown on the county's major thoroughfare plan, not from the pavement, under Section 3-103.6(4)(a), and a lot-of-record with a legal nonconforming setback may average its front setback against neighboring dwellings within 100 feet, capped at twice the district minimum, under Section 3-103.6(4)(d), with the Board of Zoning Appeals empowered to vary the rule where it would create undue hardship.