Anderson County, SC Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Section 24-118 defines building height as the vertical distance from the average finished grade within 20 feet of the building to the highest point of the roof, and ties the standard to two purposes: keeping development compatible with airport operations and preserving scale around low-density, single-family neighborhoods. Rather than a flat maximum, the county uses a sliding setback: a structure may rise 30 feet at the minimum building line, but for every foot of height above 30 feet, the building must set back an additional foot in horizontal distance from that line, on a 1-to-1 ratio, illustrated in appendix C at § 24-252.

A separate rule targets vertical infrastructure: no cell tower, transmission tower, water tower, utility tower or radio tower may sit within a horizontal distance equal to 100 percent of its own height (for guyed towers) or 50 percent of its height (for self-supporting or internally collapsing towers) from any road, dwelling, or property line, and no dwelling or road may be built inside an existing tower's fall-down area. Because the airport height safety zones layered over parts of the county also govern new construction near Anderson Regional Airport, any proposed structure there needs an airport development permit from the development standards office, approved in writing by the airport manager, before the § 24-118 setback-to-height ratio even comes into play. 9 must also file FAA Form 7460-1, and an FAA adverse-impact finding overrides the county height rule as the binding limitation on the structure.