Los Angeles County · Zoning setbacks
Santa Monica setback requirements
Lekua resolves a parcel’s jurisdiction and zone, then draws this envelope on the base plan, offset from the county’s parcel line, with its citation. Yards are measured from the surveyed line, so confirm against a survey before siting anything near them.
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 R1 — the envelope Lekua draws on the plan.
- Front
- 20′
- Side
- 5′
- Rear
- 15′
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.
Santa Monica 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.
Santa Monica SMMC §9.07.030 Table 9.07.030 (R1 Single-Unit Residential; parcel width unknown): front per the Official Districting Map, or 20 ft where the map specifies none — the envelope takes the city's mapped figure for the frontage it matches; interior side 10% of parcel width or 3.5 ft, whichever is greater, to 15 ft — width unknown, so 5 ft (the value at 50 ft) is drawn; rear 15 ft. Upper stories: front and side stepbacks (each at least 1% of parcel area) and a 45° daylight plane from 23 ft at the side setback line; height 28 ft (23 ft walls) on parcels to 20,000 sq ft; 2 stories. Where the rear parcel line abuts an alley, the rear setback is measured from the alley centerline (§9.52.020.2200) — drawn here from the parcel line, which overstates the rear yard by half the alley width. On a corner parcel the front is the narrowest street frontage (§9.04.110 A); the table sets no street-side yard, so a side parcel line on a street takes the side rule, deepened to the districting map's figure along that street where one is found — where none is found the front depth is drawn there, which may overstate it. A side parcel line on an alley is an interior side (§9.04.130 A). A through parcel fronts the street most neighbouring parcels front (§9.04.110 B). On a non-rectangular parcel the side setbacks follow the parcel's width where it is measured, in a series parallel to the front (§9.04.070 A.2) — the side drawn uses the parcel's greatest width, so it overstates the yard where the parcel narrows; the rear of a triangular or irregular parcel is a 10 ft line parallel to and farthest from the front (§9.52.020.1640). A calculated yard rounds to the whole foot, a fraction of 0.5 or more up and less than 0.5 down (§9.04.030 A), and the figures here are rounded that way. Coastal Zone and Alquist-Priolo overlays may add constraints. Verify with Santa Monica Planning.
What the export says about this table
Santa Monica reviewed 2026-09-25 for R1 against the city zoning map and SMMC §9.07.030. Front yards take the Official Districting Map's figure mapped along the frontage; a figure written on a street centerline may only deepen a yard, and where none is mapped along a corner lot's side street the front depth is drawn there, which may overstate it. Rear yards on an alley are drawn from the property line; the code measures them from the alley centerline. Side yards on non-rectangular lots use the lot's greatest width. R2 and other districts, flag and irregular lots, overlay and fire-hazard areas, and Coastal Zone (Local Coastal Program) standards are not yet reviewed.
Printed verbatim on every Santa Monica export — the same words the reviewer signed off, not a summary of them.
Setbacks are one layer of the Santa Monica base 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 Los Angeles County →
Santa Monica setback FAQ
What are the residential setbacks in Santa Monica?
In R1 the code sets a 20 ft front yard, 5 ft sides, and a 15 ft rear yard. The full table is below, transcribed from Santa Monica SMMC §9.07.030 Table 9.07.030 with the citation attached to every row. This table has passed independent review, so Lekua draws the setback envelope on the base plan for a Santa Monica parcel.
Does Lekua draw the setback envelope for Santa Monica?
Yes. Santa Monica is one of the jurisdictions whose table has passed review, most recently on 2026-09-25, so the envelope is drawn on the DXF and PDF base plan, with its citation.
Where do these Santa Monica setback numbers come from?
They are transcribed from the adopted code — Santa Monica SMMC §9.07.030 Table 9.07.030 — 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 Santa Monica parcel?
Yes. Enter any Santa Monica address and Lekua returns a layered DXF base plan and a PDF site report — county parcel lines, fine contours (1–2 ft on demand, or the county’s own where it publishes them), building footprints, CAL FIRE defensible-space zones, soil, seasonal sun, and a native plant palette matched to the parcel, alongside zoning. See what else resolves in Los Angeles County.
Start with a Santa Monica address
Free to search. The zone resolves from the parcel, not from the mailing address.