Methuen, MA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Height in the City of Methuen is controlled by the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance adopted by the Methuen City Council. The definition of height of building measures the vertical distance of the highest point of the roof above the average grade of the curbline abutting the property. In residential zoning districts where the lot has a slope in excess of 5%, the measurement changes: the height is the vertical distance of the highest point of the roof above the average finished grade of the ground adjoining the building, as computed before the building is actually erected. Penthouses, bulkheads and other allowable superstructures above the roofline are excluded from the measurement.

The maximum heights for each district sit in the Table of Dimensional Controls. The ordinance text refers to that table as an attachment, and § 6.3 requires any structure altered, constructed, erected, placed or converted for any use in any district to conform to the minimum requirements of the Table of Dimensional Regulations or the general intensity regulations in § 6.2. The table values are not quoted on this page.

Section 6.2(H) lists the exemptions. Under H(1), the height limitations do not apply to chimneys, ventilators, skylights, water tanks, bulkheads, penthouses and other accessory additions required or customarily carried above roofs, or to towers, spires, domes, cupolas and similar additions, if the additions do not exceed 45 feet in height, are not used for living purposes, and are not equal to more than 20% of the space occupied by the ground floor of the building. All farm accessory structures are exempt from the height requirements.

For accessory buildings, H(2) exempts accessory buildings or structures used for accessory structures from the height requirements, while H(3) sets a specific cap: accessory buildings or structures used for accessory purposes in all RR and Residential (R) Districts shall not exceed a height of 25 feet. A garage or shed in an RR or R District is therefore tested against the 25-foot figure.