What Is A Setback In An Outside Side Yard?

Cities often require the fronts of all houses on a street to line up, ensuring uniformity and promoting development in suburban settings. Setback requirements are zoning regulations that dictate the minimum distance a structure must be from the property boundary. These lines ensure that buildings maintain a certain distance from various elements such as property lines, curbs, street centers, bodies of water, or structures.

Setbacks can range from front yards to side yards, covering the space between sidewalks and property lines, to side areas between houses. They are typically measured in meters. A setback is a building restriction imposed on a property owner that sets forth the minimum distance from a property line, curb, center of the street, body of water, or structure in which a building is located.

For main buildings, where detached accessory building is permitted, it must meet all setbacks from lot lines. The exterior side yard setback must be 35 feet from the centerline of the abutting street or equal the interior side yard setback, whichever is greater. Side yard setbacks are the least horizontal dimension between the side lot line of the lot and the nearest part of any main building on the lot.

The setback requirements for a corner lot are determined by the minimum horizontal distance between the front line of the building or structure and the front property line. For example, a front yard setback of 3 meters (9.8 feet) for main dwellings and 5.5 meters (18.0 feet) for garages is required.