Plymouth County sets no height limit. Building height is capped by each town's zoning bylaw under the Zoning Act, MGL c.40A. Most residential districts across Brockton, Plymouth, and the South Shore limit homes to about 35 feet or 2.5 stories.
No county rule caps building height in Plymouth County; Massachusetts counties have no zoning authority. Height limits come from the town zoning bylaw, which the Zoning Act, MGL c.40A, authorizes to set reasonable regulations concerning the height of structures. A common residential cap across the county is 35 feet or 2.5 stories, measured to the mean roof line, though commercial and industrial districts allow more. Coastal towns such as Hull, Scituate, and Plymouth may measure height from base flood elevation in flood zones, effectively allowing added height for piling-elevated homes. Exceeding the district limit requires a variance from the town Zoning Board of Appeals. Near airports like Plymouth Municipal, FAA notice rules add a separate federal limit.
The town building department enforces height limits and issues stop-work orders for over-height construction. Legalizing it requires a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals under MGL c.40A §10, not action by the county.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Plymouth County, MA
No Plymouth County or state law limits holiday lights, inflatables, or yard displays. Towns rarely regulate seasonal decorations at all, and where a bylaw to...
Plymouth County, MA
No Plymouth County rule governs garage-sale signs; towns handle them through local sign bylaws. On your own lawn a yard-sale sign is generally fine, but a si...
Plymouth County, MA
Towns, not Plymouth County, regulate signs, through zoning bylaws authorized by MGL c.40A. Those bylaws must stay content-neutral: after Reed v. Town of Gilb...
Plymouth County, MA
Rental registration and inspection are local powers, not county ones. The State Sanitary Code under MGL c.111 §127A lets each town's board of health enforce ...
Plymouth County, MA
Massachusetts has no statewide just-cause eviction law, and no Plymouth County town can add one. A landlord ends a tenancy at will with 30 days' written noti...
Plymouth County, MA
Rent control is illegal across every Plymouth County community. Massachusetts voters banned it in 1994 through Question 9, now codified as MGL c.40P §4: no c...
See how Plymouth County's structure height limits rules stack up against other locations.
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