Alameda County · Zoning setbacks
Oakland setback requirements
Lekua resolves a parcel’s jurisdiction and zone, then draws this envelope on the site plan with its citation in the title block. Enter a Oakland address and the setbacks arrive already drawn.
The envelope
What the numbers below make on the ground. Shown for the first district in the table; the rest follow the same geometry at their own dimensions.
Zone RH-1 — the envelope Lekua draws on the plan.
- Front
- 25′
- Side
- 6′
- Rear
- 35′
The hatched band is the yard — ground the code gives up. Drawn not to scale: the yards are proportional to each other, so the deepest one fills the band and the rest follow. The dimensions carry the real numbers, and the export draws them on the actual parcel outline.
Oakland setbacks by district
Every row is produced by the same function the exporter calls, so this page cannot drift from what the drawing gets. The citation under each row is what prints on the sheet.
Corner lots: 6′ on the secondary street frontage.
Oakland Planning Code Table 17.13.03 (RH-1/RH-2): front 25 ft (<=20% gradient), interior side drawn at the 6 ft floor — the 15%-of-lot-width alternative could not be computed (width unknown), street side 6 ft, rear 35 ft (abutting rear setbacks: +0.5 ft per 1 ft of depth over 100 ft, max 40 ft; alley half-width credit). Front reduces to 5 ft where street-to-setback gradient >20% (garage >=18 ft from pavement); corner key-lot street-side rule may widen the street side; S-overlay combining zones may modify. Verify with Oakland Planning & Building.
Corner lots: 6′ on the secondary street frontage.
Oakland Planning Code Table 17.13.03 (RH-3): front 20 ft (<=20% gradient), interior side drawn at the 6 ft floor — the 10%-of-lot-width alternative could not be computed (width unknown), street side 6 ft, rear 25 ft (abutting rear setbacks: +0.5 ft per 1 ft of depth over 100 ft, max 40 ft; alley half-width credit). Front reduces to 5 ft where street-to-setback gradient >20% (garage >=18 ft from pavement); corner key-lot street-side rule may widen the street side; S-overlay combining zones may modify. Verify with Oakland Planning & Building.
Corner lots: 5′ on the secondary street frontage.
Oakland Planning Code Table 17.13.03 (RH-4): front 20 ft (<=20% gradient), interior side 5 ft (footprint slope >20%: greater of 5 ft or 10% of lot width mean), street side 5 ft, rear 20 ft (abutting rear setbacks: +0.5 ft/ft of depth over 100 ft, max 40 ft). Front reduces to 5 ft where street-to-setback gradient >20% (garage >=18 ft from pavement); corner key-lot street-side rule may widen the street side; S-overlay combining zones may modify. Verify with Oakland Planning & Building.
Corner lots: 4′ on the secondary street frontage.
Oakland Planning Code Tables 17.15.03/.04 (RD): front 15 ft (<=20% gradient), interior + street side 4 ft (sides drawn at the >=3,000 sq ft standard (lot area unknown; <3,000 sq ft lots reduce to 3 ft)), rear 10 ft (alley half-width credit; abutting rear setbacks: +0.5 ft/ft of depth over 100 ft, max 20 ft). Front reduces to 5 ft where street-to-setback gradient >20% (garage >=18 ft from pavement); corner key-lot street-side rule may widen the street side; S-overlay combining zones may modify. Verify with Oakland Planning & Building.
Corner lots: 4′ on the secondary street frontage.
Oakland Planning Code Tables 17.17.03/.04 (RM-1 through RM-4): front 15 ft (<=20% gradient), interior + street side 4 ft (sides drawn at the >=3,000 sq ft standard (lot area unknown; <3,000 sq ft lots reduce to 3 ft)), rear 10 ft (alley half-width credit). Front reduces to 5 ft where street-to-setback gradient >20% (garage >=18 ft from pavement); corner key-lot street-side rule may widen the street side; S-overlay combining zones may modify. Verify with Oakland Planning & Building.
What the export says about this table
Oakland reviewed 2026-07-20 across the RM, RD and RH district families against assessor parcel records. The tree (12.36) and creek (13.16) ordinances apply and are noted on every export. S-combining overlays (including S-9 fire and S-13) and RU districts are not modelled — confirm overlays with Planning.
Printed verbatim on every Oakland export — the same words the reviewer signed off, not a summary of them.
Setbacks are one layer of a Oakland site plan
The same address search returns the parcel boundary, 1–2 ft contours, building footprints, CAL FIRE defensible-space zones, the soil profile, four-season sun, and a native plant palette matched to the site. See everything Lekua resolves in Alameda County→
Oakland setback FAQ
What are the residential setbacks in Oakland?
In RH-1 the code sets a 25 ft front yard, 6 ft sides, and a 35 ft rear yard. The full table is below, transcribed from Oakland Planning Code Table 17.13.03 with the citation attached to every row. This table has passed independent review, so Lekua draws the setback envelope on the site plan for a Oakland parcel.
Does Lekua draw the setback envelope for Oakland?
Yes. Oakland is one of the jurisdictions whose table has passed review, most recently on 2026-07-20, so the envelope is drawn on the DXF and the PDF site plan with its citation in the title block.
Where do these Oakland setback numbers come from?
They are transcribed from the adopted code — Oakland Planning Code Table 17.13.03 — and this page renders them by calling the same function the exporter calls, so what you see here is what the drawing gets. Zoning changes; verify against the current code and with the planning department before submittal.
Can I get a CAD base map for a Oakland parcel?
Yes. Enter any Oakland address and Lekua returns a layered DXF base plan and a PDF site report — property lines, 1–2 ft contours, building footprints, CAL FIRE defensible-space zones, soil, seasonal sun, and a native plant palette matched to the parcel, alongside the zoning determination. See what else resolves in Alameda County.
Start with a Oakland address
Free to search. The zone resolves from the parcel, not from the mailing address.