San Francisco · Zoning setbacks
San Francisco 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 San Francisco 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
- 10′
- Side
- —
- 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.
San Francisco 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.
SF Planning Code §§132/133/134 (RH-1/RH-1(S)): Front per §132 is BLOCK-CONTEXTUAL (adjacent buildings' setbacks govern; one neighbor -> half its depth; corner lots half the adjacent) with a 10 ft maximum (15 ft on deep-setback block faces) — the 10 ft MAX is drawn as the conservative worst case; measure the adjacent buildings for the true requirement. no side yards required in this district (§133 applies only in RH-1(D)) — envelope extends to the side lot lines, per the SF rowhouse pattern; rear drawn at the 15 ft minimum (lot depth unknown; §134(c)(1) requires 30% of depth where greater). Special Use / Residential Character Districts and legislated setback lines (§131) override; §132(g)/(h): >=20% of the front setback must remain planted and >=50% permeable. amlegal print 2026-07-20. Verify with SF Planning.
SF Planning Code §§132/133/134 (RH-2/RH-3): Front per §132 is BLOCK-CONTEXTUAL (adjacent buildings' setbacks govern; one neighbor -> half its depth; corner lots half the adjacent) with a 10 ft maximum (15 ft on deep-setback block faces) — the 10 ft MAX is drawn as the conservative worst case; measure the adjacent buildings for the true requirement. no side yards required in this district (§133 applies only in RH-1(D)) — envelope extends to the side lot lines, per the SF rowhouse pattern; rear drawn at the 15 ft minimum (lot depth unknown; §134(c)(1) requires 30% of depth where greater). Special Use / Residential Character Districts and legislated setback lines (§131) override; §132(g)/(h): >=20% of the front setback must remain planted and >=50% permeable. amlegal print 2026-07-20. Verify with SF Planning.
SF Planning Code §§132/133/134 (RH-2/RH-3): Front per §132 is BLOCK-CONTEXTUAL (adjacent buildings' setbacks govern; one neighbor -> half its depth; corner lots half the adjacent) with a 10 ft maximum (15 ft on deep-setback block faces) — the 10 ft MAX is drawn as the conservative worst case; measure the adjacent buildings for the true requirement. no side yards required in this district (§133 applies only in RH-1(D)) — envelope extends to the side lot lines, per the SF rowhouse pattern; rear drawn at the 15 ft minimum (lot depth unknown; §134(c)(1) requires 30% of depth where greater). Special Use / Residential Character Districts and legislated setback lines (§131) override; §132(g)/(h): >=20% of the front setback must remain planted and >=50% permeable. amlegal print 2026-07-20. Verify with SF Planning.
SF Planning Code §§132/133/134 (RTO/RTO-M): Front per §132 is BLOCK-CONTEXTUAL (adjacent buildings' setbacks govern; one neighbor -> half its depth; corner lots half the adjacent) with a 10 ft maximum (15 ft on deep-setback block faces) — the 10 ft MAX is drawn as the conservative worst case; measure the adjacent buildings for the true requirement. no side yards required in this district (§133 applies only in RH-1(D)) — envelope extends to the side lot lines, per the SF rowhouse pattern; rear drawn at the 15 ft minimum (lot depth unknown; §134(c)(1) requires 30% of depth where greater). Special Use / Residential Character Districts and legislated setback lines (§131) override; §132(g)/(h): >=20% of the front setback must remain planted and >=50% permeable. amlegal print 2026-07-20. Verify with SF Planning.
— means the code sets no fixed minimum for that yard. It never means “build to the line”: the citation on that row says what governs instead — a block-contextual front, a formula on lot width, or a standard measured somewhere other than the property line.
What the export says about this table
San Francisco reviewed 2026-07-21 for RH-1, RH-2 and RH-3 against the SF Property Information Map. Planning Code §§132/133/134 are encoded; contextual front yards draw a conservative 10 ft cap and legislated setback lines under §131 are not read. NC, RC, RM-3 and above, and Special Use District overrides are not captured. The 20%/50% front landscaping rule applies.
Printed verbatim on every San Francisco export — the same words the reviewer signed off, not a summary of them.
Setbacks are one layer of a San Francisco 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 San Francisco→
San Francisco setback FAQ
What are the residential setbacks in San Francisco?
In RH-1 the code sets a 10 ft front yard, no fixed side yard, and a 15 ft rear yard. The full table is below, transcribed from SF Planning Code §§132/133/134 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 San Francisco parcel.
Does Lekua draw the setback envelope for San Francisco?
Yes. San Francisco is one of the jurisdictions whose table has passed review, most recently on 2026-07-21, so the envelope is drawn on the DXF and the PDF site plan with its citation in the title block.
Where do these San Francisco setback numbers come from?
They are transcribed from the adopted code — SF Planning Code §§132/133/134 — 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 San Francisco parcel?
Yes. Enter any San Francisco 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 San Francisco.
Start with a San Francisco address
Free to search. The zone resolves from the parcel, not from the mailing address.