Austin, TX Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Section 25-2-492's site development table sets the base maximum height for every zoning district. Detached single-family districts LA (Lake Austin), RR (rural residence), SF-1 (large lot), SF-2 (standard lot), and SF-3 (family residence) are all capped at 35 feet, as is the more restrictive SF-5 (urban family residence) and SF-6 (townhouse and condominium residence). Multifamily low density (MF-1) steps up to 40 feet, and the table climbs from there by district, reaching 60 feet in general office (GO) and 90 feet in MF-6. SF-4A and SF-4B carry footnoted heights instead of a flat number, cross-referencing Sec.

25-2-779 (Small Lot Single-Family Residential Uses) and Sec. 25-2-558 (Single-Family Residence Condominium Site District Regulations). A separate compatibility overlay can override the district number near existing houses: under Sec. 25-2-1061, a structure 75 feet or more from a 'triggering property' may build to its full zoning-district height, but a structure between 50 and 75 feet from a triggering property is capped at 60 feet, and a structure less than 50 feet away is capped at 40 feet, regardless of what the base district otherwise allows.

Sec. 25-2-531 then carves out narrow exceptions to any of these limits: mechanical equipment, parapets, chimneys, stairways, and similar features may exceed the district height limit by the greater of 15 percent or the amount needed for federal or state compliance; a roof-mounted antenna in a non-residential district may add up to 20 feet; and a home radio or television antenna or flagpole is capped at 50 feet, or 25 feet above the building if attached, or 125 percent of the district height limit if freestanding.