Fremont, CA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing provision
- FMC Table 18.90.040
- First-story height cap
- 17 ft, all R-1/R-2 districts
- Two-story height cap
- 30 ft (standard districts)
- Glenmoor/Mission Palms/Ranch cap
- 27 ft, grade to ridge
- Second-story size cap
- 50% of first story or set sq ft max
- Review required
- Design review permit, Ch. 18.235
Summary
Table 18.90.040 of the Fremont Municipal Code caps single-family and duplex homes in the R-1 and R-2 districts at 17 feet for a one-story portion and 30 feet for a two-story home, with a 27-foot cap in the Glenmoor Gardens, Mission Palms and Mission Ranch neighborhoods measured to the roof ridge.
Maximum building height1 / Principal structure1 / First story1 (feet) 17 [R-1-6] 178 [Glenmoor Gardens] 17 [R-1-8] 178 [Mission Palms] 178 [Mission Ranch] 17 [R-1-10] 17 [R-1-20] 17 [R-1-40] 17 [R-2] / Two story1 (feet) 30 [R-1-6] – [Glenmoor Gardens] 30 [R-1-8] 278,9 [Mission Palms] 278,9 [Mission Ranch] 30 [R-1-10] 30 [R-1-20] 30 [R-1-40] 30 [R-2] ... 8 For Glenmoor Gardens, Mission Ranch, and Mission Palms, height is measured from grade to the top of the roof ridge.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 02-2026, passed May 5, 2026).
Full Breakdown
040. The table splits the height limit by story: the first-story portion of a home is capped at 17 feet across every one of those districts, and a two-story home is capped at 30 feet in the standard R-1-6, R-1-8, R-1-10, R-1-20, R-1-40 and R-2 districts. Three specific neighborhoods carry a lower ceiling under Footnote 8 to the table: Glenmoor Gardens, Mission Palms and Mission Ranch are capped at 27 feet for a two-story structure, and in those three areas height is measured from grade to the top of the roof ridge rather than by the city's standard measurement method.
Footnote 7 governs combination one- and two-story structures, requiring the one-story portion to meet the one-story setback and the two-story portion to meet the two-story setback, with the wider setback placed on the two-story side. The table also caps first-story lot coverage at 40 percent of lot area and limits second-story floor area to 50 percent of the first story (capped at 1,000 to 6,000 square feet depending on the district), so a home cannot simply build a full-footprint second story up to the height limit.
235 for any qualifying project, and any downtown or hillside overlay district can impose a different limit that supersedes the base R-1/R-2 table where it applies.
Violations & Fines
Building a second story above the 30-foot cap, or above 27 feet in Glenmoor Gardens, Mission Palms or Mission Ranch, without a design review permit or a variance is a zoning code violation the city's planning division enforces through code enforcement, requiring the excess height to be removed or a discretionary approval obtained after the fact. Because Table 18.90.040 also gates a two-story addition on meeting the second-story size cap of 50 percent of the first-floor area, exceeding either the height or the floor-area limit can independently trigger a stop-work order on the framing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How tall can a two-story house be in Fremont's R-1 zones?
Are height limits the same in every Fremont neighborhood?
Can I add a second story if it stays under 30 feet?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fremont
California rules heatmap·Compare Fremont to another location·View the California building setbacks & zoning overview
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Structure Height Limits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Alameda County handle structure height limits.