San Bernardino County, CA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Building and structure heights in the unincorporated area are capped by the applicable land use zoning district, with measurement and exception rules in Section 83.02.040 (Height Measurement and Height Limit Exceptions). In the residential districts, the Development Code's standards tables set a maximum height of 35 ft for RL (Rural Living) and RS (Single Residential) and 45 ft for RM (Multiple Residential), in both the Valley and Mountain Regions. Under Section 83.02.040(b), height is measured as the vertical distance from a reference datum to the highest point of a flat roof's coping, the deck line of a mansard roof, the average height of the highest gable of a pitched or hipped roof, or the highest part of a structure, using whichever reference datum yields the greater building height. The code allows specific height increases: institutional structures in districts capped at 35 ft or less may exceed that limit by up to 25 ft if the required front, side, and rear setbacks are each increased one foot for every four feet of added height above 35 ft. In addition, the maximum height may be exceeded by no more than 50% for listed features such as barns and farm structures (in RC, AG, RL districts), chimneys, flagpoles, elevator housings, cupolas, water tanks, antennae, and similar roof structures and mechanical equipment, except where a lower height is set by a Conditional Use Permit and provided airport-safety rules are not violated.