Inglewood, CA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Height cap
- 2.5 stories and 35 feet
- Zone
- R-1 One-Family Zone (city's main residential zone)
- R-1Z comparison
- Same 2.5-story/35-foot cap under Sec. 12-18.12
- R-1½ comparison
- Lower cap: 1 story, 20 feet
- Enforcing department
- Planning and Building Department
Summary
Inglewood's R-1 One-Family Zone caps building height at two and one-half stories and thirty-five feet under Section 12-18.1, the baseline height limit for the city's standard single-family lots. The limit applies unless another part of Chapter 12 provides otherwise, such as the R-1Z zero-lot-line zone's separate height section.
§ 12-18.1. Building Height. Height shall be limited to two and one-half stories and not to exceed thirty-five feet except as provided otherwise in this Chapter.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4954608; v8 updated 2026-05-19).
Full Breakdown
1 is the height standard for the R-1 One-Family Zone, the city's largest residential zoning classification. It sets a flat ceiling of two and one-half stories and thirty-five feet, phrased as a single limit rather than a stepped scale, so a proposed structure that clears either the story count or the foot measurement but not both still fails the section. The 'except as provided otherwise in this Chapter' clause matters in practice: neighboring residential zones carry their own height sections that differ from the R-1 standard.
1. A homeowner or builder in the R-1 zone applying for a building permit must have the Planning and Building Department confirm compliance with the thirty-five-foot, two-and-one-half-story cap before permits are issued, and any structure exceeding it needs a variance or a zone reclassification rather than a routine building permit.
Violations & Fines
A structure that exceeds two and one-half stories or thirty-five feet in the R-1 zone without an approved variance is built in violation of Section 12-18.1 and can be red-tagged during plan check or, if already built, cited by the Planning and Building Department for correction, which can mean cutting down the offending portion or seeking after-the-fact variance approval.
Frequently Asked Questions
How tall can I build a house in Inglewood's R-1 zone?
Is the height limit the same in every Inglewood residential zone?
Can I get a variance to exceed the 35-foot limit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Inglewood
California rules heatmap·Compare Inglewood to another location·View the California building setbacks & zoning overview
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Structure Height Limits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Los Angeles County handle structure height limits.