Building Setbacks & Zoning in Arlington Heights, IL (2026)
3 verified building setbacks & zoning rules for Arlington Heights, Illinois, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Setback Rules
Arlington Heights sets yard setbacks by zoning district rather than one blanket citywide number. In the R-3 One Family Dwelling District, Municipal Code Section 28-5.1-3.3 requires a 25-foot front yard (minimum 15 feet, capped at 40 feet where neighborhood averaging applies), a side yard equal to ten percent of lot width (minimum seven feet in post-2003 subdivisions), and a flat 30-foot rear yard.
Arlington Heights R-3 Yard Setback Rules
Some RestrictionsArlington Heights Municipal Code § 28-5.1-3.3 (R-3 One Family Dwelling District, Required Minimum Yards)
5.1-3.3 Required Minimum Yards. a.Front Yard: 25 feet except where a building line has been established on a recorded plat of subdivision, prior to December 21, 1959 such building line shall determine the front yard requirements of this Chapter and shall be observed. In all residential districts where lots comprising 40 percent or more of the frontage between two intersecting streets are develo...
Structure Height Limits
In Arlington Heights' R-3 One Family Dwelling District, the Village's most common single-family zoning classification, a house cannot rise higher than 25 feet and two and one-half stories. Municipal Code Section 28-5.1-3.6 sets that ceiling for the main structure, with a narrow carve-out letting church towers and steeples reach 75 feet.
Arlington Heights R-3 House Height Limit
Some RestrictionsArlington Heights Municipal Code § 28-5.1-3.6 (R-3 One Family Dwelling District)
5.1-3.6 Maximum Height: 25 feet and two and one-half stories, except for churches—maximum height is 75 feet for towers and steeples but not more than 45 feet for main structures.
Lot Coverage Limits
Arlington Heights caps how much of an R-3 single-family lot a house can cover and how much can be paved. Municipal Code Section 28-5.1-3.5 limits building lot coverage to 35 percent on lots of 6,000 square feet or more (40 percent on smaller lots), and separately caps total impervious surface, driveways, patios and walks included, at 50 or 55 percent depending on lot size.
Arlington Heights R-3 Lot Coverage Limits
Some RestrictionsArlington Heights Municipal Code § 28-5.1-3.5 (R-3 One Family Dwelling District, Maximum Building Lot Coverage and Impervious Surface Coverage)
5.1-3.5 Maximum Building Lot Coverage and Maximum Impervious Surface Coverage. a.Maximum permitted building lot coverage is 35 percent for lots 6,000 square feet or greater and 40 percent for lots less than 6,000 square feet. b.Maximum Impervious Surface Coverage—this applies to single-family dwellings only:1.Lots less than or equal to 6,600 square feet in area: Total lot maximum of 55 percent....
Looking for Cook County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Arlington Heights city rules.
Building Setbacks & Zoning in Cook County →