Williamson County, TN Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Article 10 of the Zoning Ordinance sets maximum building height district by district rather than in a single countywide number. Table 10.02-4, governing the Rural Preservation District 1 (RP-1), reads: 'DIMENSIONAL STANDARDS RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES NONRESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES ... Maximum Height All Subdivisions 3.0 stories 3.0 stories,' and Table 10.02-5 sets the identical 3.0-story cap for the neighboring Rural Development District 1 (RD-1). The 3.0-story ceiling recurs across most of the county's traditional residential districts. By contrast, the large-lot Voluntary Agricultural District (A), Rural Preservation District-5 (RP-5), and Rural Development District-5 (RD-5), where minimum lots run 15 acres or more, list 'Not Applicable' for maximum height, meaning the Ordinance sets no story or foot ceiling there.

Section 23.03(E)(1) defines how the county measures height under any district's limit: 'Building height shall be measured in number of complete stories above the finished grade for any elevation fronting on a public street including attics, half-stories, mezzanines, at-grade structured parking, but excluding features that are completely below grade, such as basements, cellars, crawl spaces, subbasements, and underground parking structures.' Section 23.03(E)(2)(b) exempts specific features from every district's height limit: 'chimneys, church spires, belfries, cupolas, domes, flag poles, monuments, water towers, rooftop dish antennas, or similar appurtenances,' so long as the appurtenance does not conflict with FAA Part 77 airspace rules.

The Ordinance's definitions article also clarifies what counts as a story: Article 23.04 defines STORY as the part of a building between one floor and the next, and treats a basement as a full story if its ceiling sits more than six feet above grade.