Framingham, MA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Framingham stacks this proximity-based height limit on top of the base height allowed by the Table of Dimensional Regulations referenced in § 435-27B. Section 435-27G(4) applies to nonresidential buildings, explicitly excluding single-family and two-family uses, that sit close to a Single-Family Residential (R-1 through R-4) or General Residence district. Subsection (a) sets the baseline: any qualifying building within 50 feet of that residential district line is held to 30 feet above finished grade, regardless of what the base district would otherwise allow. Subsection (b) creates the only path around that cap, and only in the Neighborhood Business (B-1) District: the Planning Board, acting as the Special Permit Granting Authority under § 435-46, can approve up to 40 feet if it finds the taller building matches the historic development pattern of the existing commercial center and would be no more intrusive on the residential district than a 30-foot building.

The chapter layers a third tier on top of these two for the tallest nonresidential uses. Where the Table of Dimensional Regulations allows a full six stories and 80 feet, § 435-27G(4)(c) scales the height down on a sliding scale by distance from the residential district: 40 feet between 50 and 200 feet away, 50 feet between 200 and 300 feet, 60 feet between 300 and 400 feet, and the full 80 feet only beyond 400 feet, with the width of any intervening street right-of-way counted toward that distance.