San Mateo County · Zoning setbacks
Atherton setback requirements
This table is transcribed from the adopted code and printed on every export with its citation — but the envelope is drawn only after a table passes independent review, and Atherton’s has not yet. Until it does, the export carries the numbers and says plainly that they are unverified.
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 R-1A — dashed: cited on the export, not yet drawn.
- Front
- 60′
- Side
- —
- Rear
- 60′
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.
Atherton 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.
Atherton MC §17.32.040(D) (R-1A): front & rear 60 ft min (interior/corner lots); side per §17.38 Table 17.38.010-1 — 10–50 ft by lot width (not drawn). Pre-1946 lots of record <200 ft deep use 30% of depth (min 30 ft); +5 ft per 1 ft of height over 30 ft (to 34 ft). Lot width estimated from parcel geometry. Verify with Atherton Planning.
Atherton MC §17.33.040(D) (R-1B): front & rear 30 ft min (interior/corner lots); side per §17.38 Table 17.38.010-1 — 10–50 ft by lot width (not drawn). Pre-1967 lots of record <160 ft deep use 18% of depth (min 20 ft). Lot width estimated from parcel geometry. Verify with Atherton 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.
Setbacks are one layer of a Atherton 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 Mateo County→
Atherton setback FAQ
What are the residential setbacks in Atherton?
In R-1A the code sets a 60 ft front yard, no fixed side yard, and a 60 ft rear yard. The full table is below, transcribed from Atherton MC §17.32.040 with the citation attached to every row. This table is captured and cited on the export, but it has not yet passed independent review — so Lekua prints the code-cited values with an explicit “unverified” advisory rather than drawing lines it can’t stand behind.
Does Lekua draw the setback envelope for Atherton?
Not yet. The table is encoded and every export carries the code-cited numbers and the citation, but the envelope is only drawn once a table passes independent review. Until then the export says so in plain words instead of drawing a line that might be wrong.
Where do these Atherton setback numbers come from?
They are transcribed from the adopted code — Atherton MC §17.32.040 — 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 Atherton parcel?
Yes. Enter any Atherton 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 Mateo County.
Start with a Atherton address
Free to search. The zone resolves from the parcel, not from the mailing address.