Yonkers, NY Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

O. No. 7-2009, every detached single- and two-family dwelling in Yonkers' residential districts answers to a height package layered on top of the base district height limits. Subsection H(4) sets the flat ceiling: the maximum exposed height of any wall of a detached single- or two-family dwelling shall be 35 feet as measured from the finished grade at the base of the wall to the eave. Before a wall gets there, H(1)'s side setback plane starts biting: an inwardly sloping 45-degree plane begins at a horizontal line 20 feet above each side setback line, running the length of the lot in 40-foot segments from the front setback to the rear (it can be rotated 90 degrees to run front-to-rear instead, in which case no side plane applies).

H(3) adds a side wall articulation rule for taller walls: any side wall over 15 feet tall that averages 15 feet or less from the side lot line cannot run unbroken for more than 30 feet; it needs a jog of at least 2 feet for at least 10 feet to break the plane. Homeowners who can't fit an addition within these limits aren't automatically stuck: H(5) lets the Commissioner of the Department of Housing and Buildings grant one-time administrative relief for an alteration or extension under 2,500 cubic feet in the S-200, S-100, S-75, S-60, S-50 or T Districts, but only after the applicant files notarized consent from every abutting lot owner, and the relief is stamped onto the certificate of occupancy. Anything larger needs a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals under Article VIII.