Building Setbacks & Zoning in Iowa (2026)
39 rules on the books across Iowa, 14 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Setback Rules
How far structures must be from property lines, streets, and other buildings. Different setbacks apply to front, side, and rear yards.
Adair County
Significant RestrictionsAdair County Ordinance No. 38 sets setbacks for utility-scale solar in the unincorporated area by protected area, not…
Read full rule →Ames
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 29.402(1) of the Zoning Ordinance requires every building and structure to meet the…
Read full rule →Ankeny
Some RestrictionsAnkeny's R-1 One-Family Residence District requires a 35-foot front yard, 35-foot rear yard, and side yards of 18 to 20…
Read full rule →Black Hawk County
Some RestrictionsIn the residential zoning districts of unincorporated Black Hawk County, Iowa, the required front yard is set by the…
Read full rule →Davenport
Some RestrictionsDavenport's zoning code (Table 17.04-1) sets residential setbacks: 30-foot front yards in R-1 and R-2, 25 feet in R-3…
Read full rule →Dubuque
Some RestrictionsFor a single-family detached dwelling in Dubuque's R-1 district, the Bulk Regulations table sets a front setback…
Read full rule →Iowa City
Some RestrictionsIowa City sets minimum front, side and rear yard setbacks for every residential zone in Table 2A-2 of the zoning code…
Read full rule →Johnson County
Some RestrictionsJohnson County genuinely zones its unincorporated land under the Unified Development Ordinance. In the base Residential…
Read full rule →Linn County
Some RestrictionsLinn County's Agricultural District, the county's default rural zoning, requires a 50-foot front yard, 50-foot corner…
Read full rule →Polk County
Some RestrictionsPolk County's single-family bulk standards set minimum yard setbacks by zoning district. In Low Density Residential…
Read full rule →Sioux City
Some RestrictionsSioux City sets front, side, and rear yard setbacks by zoning district and neighborhood type in Title 25, with…
Read full rule →Story County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Story County's R-1 Transitional Residential District, a single-family home on a private wastewater…
Read full rule →West Des Moines
Some RestrictionsWest Des Moines Development Services enforces yard setback minimums for single-family lots under City Code Table 7.2…
Read full rule →Structure Height Limits
Maximum building heights allowed by zoning, including how height is measured and exceptions for chimneys, antennas, and rooftop equipment.
Adair County
Some RestrictionsIn the unincorporated area of Adair County, the only structure height limit is Ordinance No. 4, the Greenfield…
Read full rule →Ames
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 29.401(4) of the Zoning Ordinance sets maximum structure heights in each zone's…
Read full rule →Ankeny
Some RestrictionsAnkeny caps R-1 principal dwellings at 35 feet, non-dwelling principal buildings at 45 feet, garages at 14 feet, and…
Read full rule →Black Hawk County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Black Hawk County, Iowa lets public, semi-public and institutional buildings rise to 60 feet, and…
Read full rule →Cedar Rapids
Some RestrictionsIn Cedar Rapids' Suburban Residential Low Single Unit (S-RL1) district, Zoning Ordinance Table 32.02-13 caps building…
Read full rule →Davenport
Some RestrictionsDavenport caps building height at 35 feet in every single-family and two-family residential district (R-1 through…
Read full rule →Dubuque
Some RestrictionsA single-family detached dwelling in Dubuque's R-1 district is capped at 30 feet under the Bulk Regulations table…
Read full rule →Iowa City
Some RestrictionsIowa City caps residential building height at 35 feet in its RR-1, RS-5, RS-8 and RS-12 single-family zones under…
Read full rule →Johnson County
Some RestrictionsMost homes in unincorporated Johnson County's residential and agricultural districts are capped at 35 feet and 2 1/2…
Read full rule →Linn County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Linn County caps residential structures at 35 feet in the RR3 Rural Residential district, with taller…
Read full rule →Polk County
Some RestrictionsPolk County caps single-family building height at 40 feet in agricultural districts and 35 feet in the residential and…
Read full rule →Sioux City
Some RestrictionsSioux City caps residential building height at 35 feet in most Neighborhood Conservation sub-districts, 75 feet in…
Read full rule →Story County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Story County's RMH Residential Manufactured Housing District, single and double wide manufactured…
Read full rule →West Des Moines
Some RestrictionsThe City of West Des Moines caps single-family dwellings at three stories under City Code section 9-7-4.C.4. The limit…
Read full rule →Lot Coverage Limits
The maximum percentage of your lot that can be covered by buildings and impervious surfaces like driveways and patios.
Ames
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Ames, Iowa, Sec. 29.401(2) of the Zoning Ordinance caps how much of a lot principal and accessory…
Read full rule →Black Hawk County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Black Hawk County, Iowa, an accessory building placed in a required rear yard cannot occupy more than…
Read full rule →Cedar Rapids
Some RestrictionsIn Cedar Rapids's S-RL1 single-unit zone, buildings may cover no more than 50 percent of the lot, counting roofed…
Read full rule →Davenport
Some RestrictionsDavenport limits both building coverage and total impervious surface. R-1 lots allow 25% building coverage and 40%…
Read full rule →Dubuque
Some RestrictionsIn Dubuque's R-1 single-family district, the Bulk Regulations table caps lot coverage at 40 percent of lot area for a…
Read full rule →Iowa City
Some RestrictionsIowa City's Zoning Code caps how much of a single-family lot can be covered by buildings, and separately caps paving…
Read full rule →Johnson County
Some RestrictionsJohnson County's Unified Development Ordinance defines lot coverage at Section 8:1.4(131) as the portion of a lot…
Read full rule →Linn County
Some RestrictionsDetached garages, sheds, and other accessory structures on Linn County lots up to half an acre are capped at 15% lot…
Read full rule →Polk County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Polk County caps how much of a residential lot can be covered by buildings using Table 6.1 of the Zoning…
Read full rule →Sioux City
Some RestrictionsSioux City caps building coverage and impervious surface as a percentage of lot area, with limits set by zoning…
Read full rule →Story County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Story County, the RMH Residential Manufactured Housing District caps building lot coverage at 50…
Read full rule →West Des Moines
Some RestrictionsWest Des Moines caps how much of a residential lot can be built on through a minimum open space standard rather than a…
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