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

Building setbacks in the incorporated City of Westminster are zone-specific and are set out in Westminster Municipal Code Section 17.210.015, Table 2-3, Residential Zoning District Development Standards, which establishes the minimum front, side and rear yards for the R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 zones. General rules on how those setbacks are measured, and which features may encroach into a required yard, are found in WMC Section 17.300.020, Setback Regulations and Exceptions. For the single-family R1 zone — Westminster's most common residential designation, providing detached dwellings at densities no greater than seven units per acre — the front-yard setback is 20 feet, and city standards require buildings to be set back a minimum of five feet from a side property line. Rear-yard setbacks are measured at right angles from the nearest point on the rear property line to the rear of the main building, and the required yard extends across the full width of the lot. Because exact side and rear figures differ by zone and the full Table 2-3 cells should be read directly, the precise rear-yard distance and the standards for R2 through R5 should be confirmed with Westminster's Planning Division rather than assumed. These are genuine city standards adopted under Title 17; they sit on top of, and are generally more specific than, statewide minimums, so the controlling number for any given lot is whatever Table 2-3 assigns to that property's zone.