Cedar Rapids, IA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

C establishes the S-RL1 district for "low-density single unit development at a range of up to six units per acre, depending on location," serving as a transition between rural development patterns and denser residential areas. 02-13 sets the district's full dimensional envelope: a minimum lot size of 7,200 square feet, 25-foot minimum frontage, 60-foot minimum width at setback, and 50% maximum lot coverage. Setbacks run 25 feet front and rear, 5/14 feet side internal, and 15 feet side street. Under "Structure Size," the table caps height at 35 feet for both the residential detached unit and any other structure, and limits a non-residential accessory structure's footprint to 10,000 square feet; a footnote exempts accessory dwelling units from the one-unit-per-parcel and one-unit-per-structure caps.

05 defines how that 35-foot ceiling is measured citywide outside the Urban Form Districts: height is the vertical distance from finished grade (the average ground level at the exterior walls after development) to the uppermost point of the structure. A companion encroachments table lets specific features pierce the cap without a variance: chimneys and smoke stacks up to 15 feet above the maximum, antennas and towers up to the greater of 30 feet or Chapter 32D limits, unoccupied belfries, flagpoles, spires, silos and windmills up to 3 feet above the maximum, and elevator or stair penthouses up to 10 feet above the roofline. 07: it can deny, condition, or revoke permits until a violation is corrected, and every uncorrected day after notice is a separate violation.