Rochester, NY Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

City Code § 120-12A governs building heights in the R-1 District and applies the same numbers to both residential and nonresidential development. A principal use or structure, meaning the main house or building on the lot, is capped at 2 1/2 stories and may not exceed 35 feet, while any detached accessory structure, such as a freestanding garage or shed, is capped lower, at 15 feet. The Summary Chart of R-1 Regulations at § 120-13 restates these two figures alongside the lot, area and yard standards so a builder can check frontage, coverage, setbacks and height together on one chart.

Because the limit is stated as both a story count and a foot measurement, a structure must satisfy both halves of the standard: a design that stays under 35 feet but adds a third habitable story does not comply, and neither does a two-story building that exceeds 35 feet in overall height. There is no separate, taller allowance in this article for architectural features; any relief from the 35-foot or 2 1/2-story cap, such as for a steeper roof pitch or a rooftop mechanical enclosure, requires an area variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals under § 120-195 rather than an administrative exception.

The height cap was carried into the current Summary Chart following the 9-19-2017 amendment under Ord. No. 2017-299, which also removed a separate building-coverage figure from § 120-11.