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

Pleasanton's district-by-district base height limits are set in the Table 18.84.010 zoning schedule, which is bound to Title 18 as a separate attachment rather than printed in the ordinance text, so this record covers what the code text itself says about how height is measured and where it can be exceeded, not the base numbers themselves.

Section 18.84.140 fixes the measuring method: height runs vertically from the average elevation of natural or finished grade, whichever is lower, at the ground covered by the structure, up to the highest point including any parapet, the coping of a flat roof, the deck line of a mansard roof, or the mean height between eaves and ridge for a hip, gable or gambrel roof. Accessory structures are measured from the lowest adjacent grade to their highest ridge or parapet, and a fence or wall used as a fence is measured from the higher of the two grades it adjoins.

Section 18.84.150 then lists exceptions that let a structure exceed its district's base limit. Architectural elements such as towers, cupolas, spires, chimneys, elevator and stairway enclosures, building-mounted flagpoles and rooftop equipment screens can rise up to 15 feet above the district height limit, as long as they cover no more than 10 percent of the ground area the structure covers and clear design review under Chapter 18.20. Freestanding structures like water tanks, flagpoles and residential antennas can go up to 65 feet, or 25 feet above the district limit, whichever is less, also with design review. Wire-carrying power poles, transmission towers and communication poles are exempt from district height limits entirely, and innovation-district office and industrial buildings in specified PUD areas get separate maximums up to 85 feet under Section 18.84.150(E) and (F).