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

Table 37-30.40, the development regulations table for the Residential Low Density (R-L-5.5) district adopted under Sec. 37-30.070, sets a flat 30-foot maximum building height, footnoted (I)(L)(M). Footnote (I) cross-references Sec. 37-50.080, Exceptions to height limits, the section that defines what may exceed that 30-foot line.

Sec. 37-50.080(a) permits towers, cornices, spires, cupolas and similar architectural features, chimneys, elevator penthouses, water tanks, flagpoles, monuments, radio and television antennas, transmission towers, fire towers, and similar structures, plus necessary mechanical appurtenances, to exceed the district's maximum height, but only if those projecting elements cover no more than ten percent of the ground area covered by the structure they're attached to. The exception does not extend to satellite dish antennas, which are instead governed by the accessory-structure rules of Sec. 37-50.010, or to telecommunications facilities, which fall under Sec. 37-50.290 and can require a Conditional Use Permit for major facilities.

A second carve-out applies to property inside the Airport Overlay District: Sec. 37-50.080(b) subjects those structures to the height limitations of Article IV, Division 7 (the Airport (AR) Overlay District) instead of the base R-L-5.5 number.

Because the 30-foot cap is measured against the whole envelope of the R-L-5.5 development table, along with the 6-foot minimum distance between structures and the yard setbacks in the same table, a homeowner planning a two-and-a-half-story addition or a detached ADU needs to check the combined height, setback, and open-space figures together rather than the height line alone.