Tempe, AZ Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Table 4-202A's Maximum Height row holds seven of Tempe's nine single-family and agricultural districts, AG, R1-15, R1-10, R1-8, R1-7, R1-6 and R1-5, to a flat 30-foot limit, with R1-4 alone allowed 35 feet. R1-PAD carries no fixed standard (NS), leaving height to be set through that district's planned area development process instead of a table figure. The table cites Section 4-205(A) for exceptions to these numbers, covering features such as chimneys, antennas and similar rooftop projections that the Code exempts from the height limit measurement.

As with lot coverage and setbacks, the table's Use Permit Standard column allows an applicant to request a 10% increase above the base height figure, for instance up to 33 feet in a 30-foot district, through the public hearing use permit process under Section 6-308. Height for an accessory dwelling unit tracks the same district limit: Section 3-402(C)(6) requires an ADU to comply with the same height regulations that apply to the zoning district with a single-family dwelling on the same lot, cross-referencing Table 4-202A directly, while a second-story addition or rebuild on an existing single-family home is separately governed by Section 3-420.

An overlay district adopted under Part 5 of the Code can also modify the baseline height standards in Table 4-202A for a defined area, so a property inside a height overlay should confirm that overlay's own limit before relying on the district figure alone.