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

Maximum building height in the incorporated City of Westminster is a zone-specific zoning standard, not a single citywide number. The residential height limits are part of Table 2-3 in Westminster Municipal Code Section 17.210.015, Residential Zoning District Development Standards, which applies to the R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 zones, while the rules for how height is measured and which architectural features may exceed the limit are in WMC Section 17.300.025, Height Measurement and Height Limit Exceptions. Because building height interacts with density — the R1 zone provides detached dwellings at no more than seven units per acre while higher-numbered R zones allow more intensive multi-family development — the applicable height cap generally rises with the zone's intensity. The published city summary references these standards but does not expose every numeric cell, so the exact maximum height in feet and number of stories for each residential zone should be read directly from Table 2-3 or confirmed with Westminster's Planning Division rather than assumed. Separately, the height of fences, walls and hedges is governed not by the building-height table but by WMC 17.300.030 (generally six feet, three feet in a front- or street-side-yard setback). For accessory structures and special infill formats such as small-lot subdivisions, additional height standards appear in Table 4-2 under WMC 17.400.150. The controlling height for any project is whatever Table 2-3 (plus any applicable exception in 17.300.025) assigns to that lot's zone.