Wauwatosa, WI Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Front setback, GR/SR
- 30 feet
- Front setback, NR
- 25 feet
- Front setback, MR/LDM/MDM
- 20 feet
- Side-street setback
- 20% of lot width, max 15 ft
- Rear setback
- 20% of lot depth, 15-25 ft
- Setback averaging
- allowed per Section 24.18.030E.1.e
Summary
Wauwatosa's zoning code sets minimum yard setbacks by residential district under Municipal Code Section 24.02.030. Front setbacks run 30 feet in Garden and Suburban Residential, 25 feet in Neighborhood Residential, and 20 feet in Mixed Residential and the two multi-unit districts. Side and rear setbacks are also district-specific, with the side-street setback capped at 15 feet and the rear setback bounded between 15 and 25 feet.
DISTRICTS GR SR NR MR LDM MDM ... Minimum ... Setbacks Front (feet) 30[1] 30[1] 25[1] 20[1] 20[1] 20[1] ... Side, Street (% of lot width) 20[2] 20[2] 20[2] 20[2] 20[2] 20[2] ... Side, Interior one side/both sides combined (feet) 5/10 5/10 3/9 3/9 3/9 3/9 Rear (% of lot depth) 20[3] 20[3] 20[3] 20[3] 20[3] 20[3] ... [1] Setback "averaging" is allowed in some cases, See Section 24.18.030E.1.e. [2] Not required to exceed 15 feet. [3] Must be at least 15 feet, but not required to exceed 25 feet.
Full Breakdown
030, Lot And Building Regulations, tabulates minimum yard setbacks for the city's six residential zoning districts: Garden Residential (GR), Suburban Residential (SR), Neighborhood Residential (NR), Mixed Residential (MR), Low-Density Multi-unit Residential (LDM) and Medium-Density Multi-unit Residential (MDM). These are the current names adopted when the city repealed and replaced its zoning ordinance by Ord. O-25-25 on November 18, 2025; GR was formerly Single-unit Residential-15, SR was R1-9, NR was R1-6, MR was R2/Two-unit Residential, LDM was R4 and MDM was R8. Front setbacks are 30 feet in GR and SR, 25 feet in NR, and 20 feet in MR, LDM and MDM.
A side-street setback of 20 percent of lot width applies in every residential district but is never required to exceed 15 feet. Interior side setbacks, measured as one side/both sides combined, run 5 feet/10 feet in GR and SR and drop to 3 feet/9 feet in NR, MR, LDM and MDM. Rear setbacks are 20 percent of lot depth citywide, with a floor of 15 feet and a ceiling of 25 feet. e, so the strict percentage or footage is not always the final word. 030.
Violations & Fines
The zoning administrator enforces Section 24.02.030 setbacks through the citywide procedure at Section 24.17.020. Building or expanding a structure inside the required setback is a zoning violation; the city can withhold or revoke the building permit, issue a stop-work order, or seek an injunction or abatement order in court. After written notice, an owner has 10 days to correct a non-emergency violation, and each day it continues uncorrected after that is treated as a separate offense subject to Chapter 1.12's general penalty.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum front setback for a house in Wauwatosa?
How far must my house sit from the side property line?
What is the rear-yard setback rule?
Can I build closer to the street than the standard setback allows?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Wauwatosa
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