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

010-1 of the Palmdale Municipal Code sets the maximum height for the primary structure on single-family residential lots. In the ER, LDR, SFR 1, SFR 2, and SFR 3 zones the ceiling is 35 feet and 2 stories. 5 stories, RN 2 allows 40 feet and 3 stories, and RN 3, the highest-density residential zone, allows 50 feet and 4 stories. Projects must satisfy both the story count and the overall footage cap at once; meeting one does not excuse exceeding the other. Accessory buildings are held to a separate, lower limit: 40 feet/2 stories in ER and LDR, dropping to 17 feet/1 story in SFR 1 through RN 3.

A limited allowance lets architectural features, such as rooftop stair access, elevator shafts, or mechanical equipment, project up to 5 feet above the maximum height with the Director's approval. 030 defines it as the vertical distance from finished grade adjacent to the structure to the highest point directly above it. On sloped lots, the City instead averages the highest and lowest finished-grade elevation points around the structure to set the baseline, then measures up from that average. Where a fence or wall crosses a property line with a grade difference, the code uses the level line of the higher parcel to set the measurement point, preventing a downhill neighbor from being boxed in by an artificially tall wall as seen from their own yard.