Tustin, CA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

Required yard setbacks in the City of Tustin are established by zoning district in Chapter 2 (Zoning) of the Tustin City Code, and they vary by district rather than being a single citywide number. For the R1 Single-Family Residential district, the standards are commonly a 20-foot front yard, a 5-foot interior side yard, a 10-foot corner (street-side) side yard, and a 5-foot rear yard, subject to a requirement that a minimum of about 1,000 square feet of clear, unobstructed usable open space remain on the rear third of the lot. The E4 Residential Estate district uses a 20-foot front yard with side yards measured as a percentage of lot width (about 10%) and a rear yard of roughly 20% of lot depth (again subject to the rear open-space minimum). Higher-density districts shift these numbers - duplex (R2) and multiple-family (R3) districts use front setbacks in the 15-20 foot range with 5-foot interior side yards, 10-foot corner side yards and 10-foot rear yards. Because setbacks differ by district and special overlays (such as Planned Community districts and the Old Town Cultural Resources District) can modify them, Tustin requires a zoning yard-setback verification as part of any fence/wall or structure permit. Fences and walls themselves are not held to building setbacks but are limited to 3 feet in the required front yard and 6'-8" elsewhere, plus corner sight-distance rules. Property owners should obtain a zoning verification or contact Community Development to confirm the exact setbacks for their parcel before building.