Hillsborough County, FL Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Sec. 6.01.01 is the one table that sets the maximum permitted height of structures for every zoning district in the unincorporated county, alongside minimum lot size, required front, side and rear yards, floor area ratio, lot coverage and impervious surface. The section says these standards are used to establish individual lot standards under a property's zoning, and that a plat or site development plan must demonstrate the project as a whole stays within the gross density the Comprehensive Plan allows. Its history runs through Ord. No. 18-3, effective 1-24-18.

The height column breaks down by district family. The agricultural districts AM, A, AR, AS-0.4, AS-1, ASC-1 and AI are all capped at 50 feet. The single-family and duplex districts RSC-2 through RSC-10 and RDC-6 and RDC-12 are capped at 35 feet, as are the multifamily districts RMC-6, RMC-9 and RMC-12. RMC-16 and RMC-20 rise to 45 feet. In the non-residential column, O-R and C-N are capped at 35 feet, B-PO, C-G and C-I at 50 feet, and the M industrial district at 110 feet. Among the special purpose districts, SPI-AP-3 and AP-4 sit at 35 feet, SPI-AP-5 at 70 feet and SPI-NDM at 40 feet.

Height in this county also pushes buildings away from their neighbors. Endnote 8 is flagged beside the height figure for RMC-9 through RMC-20 and for B-PO, O-R, C-N, C-G, C-I and M. It requires any structure with a permitted height greater than 20 feet to be set back an additional two feet for every one foot of height over 20 feet. A 50-foot C-G building is 30 feet over the threshold, so it carries 60 feet of extra setback, and a 45-foot RMC-16 building carries 50 feet. The extra distance is added to the setbacks or buffers that function as the required rear and side yard, and where no buffer is required between industrial uses, no additional building setback is required. In SPI-AP-1, AP-5 and AP-V the requirement applies only to in-terminal hotels and motels.

The Interstate 75 Planned Development districts use a gentler formula. Endnote 15 requires one additional foot of setback for each foot of structure height over 30 feet, and endnote 26 applies the same one-for-one rule to street setbacks once a building exceeds 65 feet. Endnote 23 sends IPD projects that abut residential development to Sec. 3.02.00 for specific height restrictions.