West Palm Beach, FL Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

Sec. 94-72 sets the baseline yard setbacks for West Palm Beach's SF3, SF5 and SF7 single-family districts: a 25-foot front setback, a 12.5-foot corner setback, a rear setback equal to 15 feet or ten percent of lot depth (whichever is less), and side setbacks of five feet minimum with 15 feet required cumulatively on both sides. Sec. 94-73 sets tighter numbers for the SF11 small-lot district in Coleman Park: a 20-foot front setback (or 20 percent of lot depth, whichever is less), a ten-foot corner and rear setback, and five-foot minimum/ten-foot total side setbacks. SF14 (Sec. 94-74) mirrors the SF7 numbers, though a corner lot under 60 feet wide only needs a ten-foot corner setback. A separate, modified table applies to SF7 and SF14 lots east of Broadway between 40th and 45th Streets: a 20-foot setback to the garage door face, an 18-foot setback to the rest of the house, a ten-foot rear setback and a five-foot side setback.

Sec. 94-305 governs how far minor features may intrude into any required setback citywide: structural overhangs such as eaves and cornices up to three feet, mechanical equipment up to four feet (window air-conditioning units limited to 18 inches into a side setback), chimneys up to 18 inches, and open steps or porches three feet or less above grade to within two feet of the property line. Waterfront lots on tidal water must set principal and accessory structures back at least 25 feet from the mean high-water mark (15 feet behind an existing seawall); nontidal waterfront lots need at least ten feet. Setbacks are measured by the shortest distance from the property line to the building line, and once established may not be shared between two lots except under unity of title.