Parma, OH Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Max residential height
- 35 feet (all housing types)
- Source
- voter initiative, passed 11-2-1971
- Accessory building height
- 15 feet, 1 story max
- Governing section
- Codified Ordinances § 1529.37
- Overrides
- No. 2 / No. 3 Height Districts for residences
Summary
No Parma residence, from a single-family house to a hotel or condominium, can exceed 35 feet in height under a voter-initiated ordinance passed in 1971, and accessory buildings in residence districts top out at 15 feet and one story.
No building designed for and occupied in whole or in part as a residence, including, but not limited to, single-family houses, dwelling houses, multiple dwellings, lodging houses, apartment houses, hotels and condominiums, shall exceed thirty-five feet in height. (Initiative. Passed 11-2-71.)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-30: Local legislation current to August 3, 2026 | State legislation current to June 25, 2025).
Full Breakdown
37 flatly caps every residential structure in the City at thirty-five feet, listing single-family houses, dwelling houses, multiple dwellings, lodging houses, apartment houses, hotels and condominiums as examples covered by the rule. 06 confirms it was codified there specifically because it overrides the height-district rules that would otherwise let a No. 2 or No. 3 Height District building rise to 50 or 100 feet. 04, independently repeat that no building designed and occupied in whole or in part as a residence may exceed thirty-five feet even where the underlying height district would allow more for non-residential uses.
05(d) limits any accessory building in a residence district to fifteen feet at the highest point of the roof and no more than one story, covering garages, sheds and similar outbuildings. 05, but only for those specific features, not for additional habitable floor area.
Violations & Fines
Constructing or altering a residence above the 35-foot cap, or an accessory building above 15 feet or one story, without Board of Zoning Appeals relief is a violation of the Planning and Zoning Code enforced under Section 1123.99: a first-degree misdemeanor, with each day the excess height continues treated as a separate offense, plus liability for the costs and expenses of the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Parma apartment building be taller than 35 feet?
How tall can my detached garage be?
Why was Parma's height limit set by a ballot initiative?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Parma
Compare Parma to another location·View the Ohio building setbacks & zoning overview
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Structure Height Limits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Cuyahoga County handle structure height limits.