New Berlin, WI Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Section 275-33 D sets the dimensional standards for New Berlin's ten residential zoning districts (R-1/R-2, R-2E, R-3, R-4, R-4.5, R-5, R-6, R-7, Rd-1 and Rm-1) in Table 275-33-2. Every conventional-subdivision district from R-1/R-2 through Rm-1 caps a dwelling at 35 feet in height; the table lists that limit district by district alongside the district's minimum lot area, lot width, lot depth and required setbacks. The R-1/R-2 and R-2E Districts, which still allow agricultural-style farm buildings, also carry a separate 60-foot cap for farm structures rather than dwellings.

Additional Requirement (5) under section 275-33 D ties the two limits together: for every foot a farm building on a residential lot exceeds the base 35-foot height, the required front, side and rear yard grows by one additional foot, up to the 60-foot farm-structure ceiling, so a taller accessory farm building must sit further from the lot lines.

Commercial-district hotels and motels get a narrower exception elsewhere in the chapter: section 275-41 C(8) lets a hotel or motel exceed the district's height regulation, but never past 55 feet, with credited extra floors available for underground parking or added open-space dedication under section 275-34 D(3). No comparable height bonus exists for a residential dwelling; the 35-foot cap in Table 275-33-2 is fixed unless the owner obtains a variance from the Board of Appeals under section 275-30, which requires proving the district's approval criteria, including that the request is not based on self-imposed or economic hardship.