Porter County, IN Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

20 HT-01, the Unified Development Ordinance ties the maximum structure height to whichever zoning district applies: subsection A points to the 'two-page layout' for each district in Chapter 2: Zoning Districts, and subsection B clarifies that if no height figure appears on a district's layout, no height cap applies there at all. Rather than list one number for the whole county, the ordinance spells out specific, numeric carve-outs in §C that apply on top of, or in place of, the district table. Church steeples, bell towers, and religious symbols may rise above the base limit up to 150% of either the primary structure's height or the district's maximum, whichever is less.

Agricultural barns, excluding riding stables, may reach 50 feet, and grain silos and related apparatus may reach 75 feet, so long as the use stays dominantly agricultural. Private water towers may reach 100 feet where allowed. Chimneys may extend ten feet above the roof's highest point, and roof-mounted mechanical equipment, including elevator bulkheads, may extend fifteen feet above the roof, provided it is either not visible from adjacent streets or shielded behind a matching parapet or architectural feature. Roof-mounted antennas may exceed the district's height cap by up to ten feet, and antennas on utility poles or other structures may not exceed 110% of the existing pole's height. Grain elevators and public utility structures are exempted outright with no stated cap.