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

030(D) sets a flat 35-foot height ceiling for every building or structure on an R-1-zoned lot in Whittier. The code carves out a narrow exception for chimneys and similar architectural features, which may project up to 2 feet above the highest point of the building without counting against the cap. The same subsection gives the approving authority, typically the director of community development, the zoning administrator, or the planning commission depending on project size, discretion to go further than the numeric limit in specific circumstances: where an existing neighborhood is predominantly single-story in character, that authority may limit the height, area or placement of a second-story addition, or prohibit second stories outright, specifically to preserve the architectural integrity of the neighborhood.

That discretionary layer means a project that fits under 35 feet on paper can still be scaled back at design review if it would visually disrupt a single-story block. The same 35-foot cap and 2-foot chimney allowance repeat, worded almost identically, in the development standards for the R-2, R-3 and R-4 residential zones, so Whittier applies a uniform height ceiling across its standard residential districts even though lot area, density and yard requirements differ zone to zone. Projects are checked against the height limit at plan check by the Community Development Department before a building permit issues.