Arlington Heights, IL Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- District
- R-3 One Family Dwelling District
- Height cap
- 25 feet and two and one-half stories
- Church exception
- Towers/steeples to 75 ft, main structure to 45 ft
- R-3 minimum lot size
- 8,750 sq ft standard, 9,900 sq ft corner
- Same-cap districts
- R-1 (§28-5.1-1.6) and R-2 (§28-5.1-2.6)
- Permit gate
- Director of Building and Life Safety, §28-6.4
Summary
In Arlington Heights' R-3 One Family Dwelling District, the Village's most common single-family zoning classification, a house cannot rise higher than 25 feet and two and one-half stories. Municipal Code Section 28-5.1-3.6 sets that ceiling for the main structure, with a narrow carve-out letting church towers and steeples reach 75 feet.
5.1-3.6 Maximum Height: 25 feet and two and one-half stories, except for churches—maximum height is 75 feet for towers and steeples but not more than 45 feet for main structures.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 3 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
1. 6, Maximum Height, then caps every principal residence in the district at 25 feet and two and one-half stories. The only exception written into that subsection is for churches, convents, and monasteries, whose towers and steeples may reach 75 feet even though the main body of the structure is still held to 45 feet. 6, even though those districts require larger minimum lots (15,000 square feet in R-1, 10,000 square feet in R-2). 3. 5-6. A homeowner building or adding to a single-family house in the R-3 District needs to keep the roofline within the 25-foot, two-and-one-half-story limit or apply for zoning relief before submitting building plans.
Violations & Fines
Section 28-6.4 bars the Director of Building and Life Safety from approving a building permit for "the erection, moving, alteration, enlargement or occupancy of any building designed or intended to be used for a purpose or in a manner contrary to the provisions of this Code," which includes the district height limits in Section 28-5. A homeowner who wants to exceed 25 feet and two and one-half stories in the R-3 District must obtain a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals under Section 28-11 before construction, not after.
Frequently Asked Questions
How tall can I build a single-family house in Arlington Heights?
Is there any way to build taller than 25 feet?
Does the Village check height before issuing a building permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Arlington Heights
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Structure Height Limits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Cook County handle structure height limits.