Commerce City, CO Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Table IV-3 of Commerce City's Land Development Code sets the maximum building height in the R-1 Single-Family Detached Residential District at 35 feet, with a 10-foot minimum building height for principal structures. Sec. 21-11140 defines how that height is measured: the vertical distance from the point of measurement on the ground to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof, the deck line of a mansard roof, or the average height of the highest gable of a pitched or hip roof. The measuring point can be taken from the highest adjoining sidewalk or ground surface within five feet of the exterior wall, as long as that surface isn't more than 10 feet above grade.

On sloped lots, height is instead measured from the average of the highest and lowest foundation elevations. Certain rooftop features, including chimneys, cornices without windows, cupolas, elevator penthouses, parapet walls, skylights, spires, and similar mechanical appurtenances covering no more than 25 percent of the roof area, are excluded from the height calculation and may exceed the district's maximum. A property owner who needs to exceed the R-1 height cap for reasons other than those exclusions must apply for a height exception under Sec. 21-3220, which the board of adjustment can grant only where state or federal regulatory changes or technological limitations require the extra height, or where the exception has minimal effect on neighboring solar access, privacy, and public services.