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Building Setbacks & Zoning in Parma, OH (2026)

3 verified building setbacks & zoning rules for Parma, Ohio, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.

Verified from official government sources

Setback Rules

Parma sets front, side and rear yard depths in residence districts as a percentage of lot size rather than a single flat number: a 15%-of-depth rear yard (10 to 30 feet), a similar front yard formula, and a 3-to-5-foot interior side yard depending on lot width.

Parma Residential Yard Setback Minimums

Some Restrictions

Parma Codified Ordinances § 1191.01 (see also §§ 1189.02, 1193.02)

In a residence district, every main building shall have a rear yard the depth of which shall be not less than fifteen percent of the depth of the lot, not less than ten feet, except that in the case of any building more than two and one-half stories in height, the depth shall not be less than one-half the height of the building, but the depth need not be more than thirty feet.

Structure Height Limits

No Parma residence, from a single-family house to a hotel or condominium, can exceed 35 feet in height under a voter-initiated ordinance passed in 1971, and accessory buildings in residence districts top out at 15 feet and one story.

Parma Residential Structure Height Limit

Some Restrictions

Parma Codified Ordinances § 1529.37

No building designed for and occupied in whole or in part as a residence, including, but not limited to, single-family houses, dwelling houses, multiple dwellings, lodging houses, apartment houses, hotels and condominiums, shall exceed thirty-five feet in height. (Initiative. Passed 11-2-71.)

Lot Coverage Limits

Parma caps apartment-house building footprints at 15% of the lot in Multifamily Districts and requires at least half the site to stay landscaped, keeping density and impervious surface in check under the Planning and Zoning Code.

Parma Apartment Building Lot Coverage Cap

Some Restrictions

Parma Codified Ordinances § 1187.04

Not more than fifteen percent of the area of any lot, parcel or site upon which any apartment house building is situated shall be covered with buildings. The term "building," as used herein, includes each main building, accessory building and structure on such lot, parcel or site. The building coverage of any such lot, parcel or site shall be construed as the total area of the: (1) Largest leve...

Looking for Cuyahoga County county-wide rules?

County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Parma city rules.

Building Setbacks & Zoning in Cuyahoga County