Fullerton, CA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

050(C), which sets just two figures: a one-story structure may rise 20 feet above natural grade, and a two-story structure may rise 30 feet above natural grade. Both limits are measured from natural grade rather than finished grade, so a lot that has been built up or excavated is measured against its original, unaltered elevation rather than post-construction fill. The code carves out one narrow exception: a conditional use permit may be approved for taller structures when the average natural grade of the lot exceeds 25%, recognizing that a steeply sloped lot can make a strict 20 or 30-foot cap impractical to build on without a hillside-specific allowance.

Outside that CUP pathway, height is a hard ceiling rather than a standard subject to administrative adjustment the way some setbacks in the same chapter allow a minor-exception reduction. 050(C)(2), so a proposed two-story addition has to clear three separate checks: absolute height, setback step-back and floor-area ratio. Development Services measures height from natural grade elevations shown on the submitted grading and building plans during permit review.