Gulfport, MS Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

5 and R-1-5 all read "no structure shall exceed three (3) stories or thirty-five (35) feet in height," with R-1-10 codified at Section III(C)(3)(d). The medium-density R-2 district and the higher-density R-3 and R-4 districts hold to the same 35-foot ceiling, though without the three-story qualifier written into every district's text. S. Highway 90, which waives building site area, coverage and yard requirements entirely, still caps structures at 35 feet, and the rural A-1, T1 and T2 districts hold the same figure. Every district clause opens with "Except as provided in section IV," which matters in practice: Section IV's supplementary regulations set a separate, lower cap for accessory structures like detached garages and sheds, at 20 feet or the height of the primary dwelling, whichever is less.

Height itself is measured from finished grade to the highest point of a flat roof, or to the average height of a pitched roof with more than a one-in-four-and-a-half slope, per the ordinance's definitions. A homeowner who needs to exceed the 35-foot line, for a widow's walk or a coastal-elevation requirement driven by Appendix B's flood provisions, has to go through the board of adjustment for a variance rather than treat the number as advisory.