Pontiac, MI Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Section 2.301, Table 3 of the Pontiac Zoning Ordinance lists a Maximum Building Height column measured both in feet and stories for every zoning district. R-1, R-1A, and R-1B are each capped at 35 feet and 2.5 stories, a limit the ordinance repeats in the R-1 district's own dimension table at Section 2.304. R-2 and C-O carry the same 35-foot, 2.5-story cap. R-3 also lists 35 feet, but Footnote M lets a small-front-setback lot in R-3 build to whichever is greater: the listed 35-foot maximum or 33 percent of the width of the abutting street right-of-way.

C-1 and C-3 have a parallel small-lot exception under Footnote P, using a 50 percent right-of-way test instead. Industrial M-1 and M-2 districts are allowed 45 feet and 3 stories. Footnote S separately caps commercial building height next to any R-1, R-2, R-3, or R-5 district at whatever setback distance the building keeps from the residential boundary. Footnote C exempts specific building elements from every district's height ceiling: church spires, belfries, cupolas, penthouses, domes, water towers, observation and radio towers, masts, aerials, flagpoles, chimneys, smokestacks, ventilators, skylights, derricks, conveyors, and cooling towers, so long as they are necessary or customarily incidental to a permitted use; a dispute over that necessity goes to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a ruling. The Community Development Department's building official enforces the height table when reviewing building permits and site plans.