National City, CA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

National City Municipal Code § 18.21.040 sets the residential height rules in Table 18.21.040, which lists seven zones in this order: RS-1, RS-2, RS-3, RS-4, RM-1, RM-2 and RM-3.

The row for maximum height of a primary structure prints 35 feet in RS-1, RS-2, RS-3 and RS-4, 45 feet in RM-1, 65 feet in RM-2 and 95 feet in RM-3. The row for maximum stories of a primary structure prints 2 in RS-1 and RS-2, 3 in RS-3 and RS-4, 4 in RM-1, 6 in RM-2 and 9 in RM-3. The height and story limits are separate tests, so a building has to satisfy both. The maximum height of an accessory structure is printed with the same figures as the primary structure in every zone: 35 feet in RS-1 through RS-4, 45 feet in RM-1, 65 feet in RM-2 and 95 feet in RM-3.

Two printed cells sit directly under the accessory height row. One reads that the structure shall not exceed the number of stories or height of the primary structure. The other reads that it shall not exceed the allowed maximum height of accessory structures in adjacent zone within 100-feet of the adjacent zone. Read together with the row above them, a garage or accessory building cannot outrun the house it serves, and a lot near a lower-height zone is checked against the adjacent zone's accessory limit within 100 feet.

The table is not the last word on height. The Height Restriction overlay zone in § 18.29.050 applies where the zoning map shows the symbol H followed by a numerical figure: no building or structure can exceed a height, measured in feet, equal to that figure. A planned development permit under § 18.12.130(E)(2) allows special setback and height requirements based on the design and relation of buildings to each other and the surrounding areas, and a variance under § 18.12.120 covers hardship cases. In the mixed-use corridor and district zones, § 18.24.030 says Chapter 18.24 takes precedence over the rest of Title 18 if the two conflict.