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

Table 24-20-2, Setback and Height Standards for Residential Zones, sets a flat 35-foot maximum for primary structures in every listed residential zone: FR/FCR, RR/RCR, VLDR, VLDCR, LDR, MDR, MHDR, HDR, and VHDR. That is the same limit whether the parcel is a 40-acre Foothill Residential lot or a 3,500-square-foot Very High Density Residential lot allowing up to thirty units per acre. Accessory structure height is instead governed separately under Section 24-156. Height itself is measured under Section 24-49 as the vertical distance from the average of the highest and lowest points of finished grade covered by the structure up to the structure's highest point, per Figure 24-49-1, and that measurement rule applies countywide, not just in residential zones.

Section 24-51 then carves out limited exceptions: towers, gables, spires, cupolas, water tanks, and similar mechanical appurtenances may exceed the 35-foot cap if the feature covers fifteen percent or less of the total structure footprint, is not used for sleeping or eating, and serves only a purpose incidental to the primary use. Exceeding the height limit by up to ten feet under that exception requires an Administrative Permit, while exceeding it by more than ten but no more than twenty feet requires a Minor Use Permit; no structure may exceed the height limit at all within a designated Military Review Area shown on the county's Military Overlay Zone Map.

By comparison, the county's special purpose zones use different caps entirely: the AIR zone allows 35 feet and the Research and Business Park zone allows 60 feet, under the separate Table 24-30-2.