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

Height under Section 12-2.74(a) is the vertical distance from the average finish grade of the building site, taken from the highest and lowest points of the lot covered by the building, up to the highest point of the roof. Two exceptions exist. Structures approved through a Planned Development permit under Section 12-35.201 may exceed the zoning district's maximum height outright. Separately, the Community Development Director may allow, at his or her discretion, penthouse or roof structures housing elevators, stairways or required mechanical equipment, along with skylights, spires, tanks, flagpoles, chimneys and antennas, to rise above the zone cap when the Director finds them safe and without significant adverse effect on surrounding property.

Every residential zone sets its own ceiling. R-1 (Section 12-6.08) and R-2 (Section 12-7.09) both max out at 30 feet. R-3, the high-density apartment district, allows 35 feet (Section 12-8.09). The RA Residential Agricultural district is the most restrictive for dwellings and public-assembly buildings: no more than two stories or 25 feet, though accessory buildings there may reach 35 feet (Section 12-5.08). Commercial and institutional zones run taller: the FS Freeway Service district permits 40 feet, though anything over one story or 18 feet next to a residential district needs a conditional use permit unless it sits more than 100 feet from that residential boundary (Section 12-14.10).

The PF Public Facilities district caps buildings at three stories or 35 feet unless the Planning Commission grants a Planned Development Permit exception (Section 12-18.07). Property owners who want to exceed a zone's outright height cap for reasons besides those listed exceptions must seek a variance through Chapter 12-36, which requires a Planning Commission public hearing and a finding of special circumstances tied to the property's size, shape or topography.