ZoningVerdict

Building height in Surprise, AZ

What the Surprise zoning ordinance says about building height, district by district. Section numbers link to the official ordinance.

RR — Rural Residential

Per Table 106-2b: maximum building height 40 feet. Maximum lot coverage 25 percent. Required open space 10 percent of gross acres of residential development.

R-1 — Residential Low Density

Per Table 106-2c: maximum building height 35 feet across all six lot categories (A through F). Maximum lot coverage (not applicable to Category A) is 45/40/30/30/25 percent for categories B-F; lots with an RV garage in Category B may have up to 55 percent lot coverage. Required open space is 20/20/20/15/15/10 percent of gross area of residential development for categories A-F.

R-2 — Residential Medium Density

Per Table 106-2d: maximum building height 35 feet across all four lot categories (A through D). Required open space 25/20/20/20 percent of gross acres of residential development for categories A-D. Developments exceeding 150 total lots must contain no more than 50 percent of lots under 40 feet wide.

R-3 — Residential High Density

Per Table 106-2e (multifamily, by net density 8-11.9 / 12-14.9 / 15+ du/ac): maximum building height 45/50/60 feet; height is capped at 30 feet measured at the setback line when adjacent to single-family, two-family, or three-family parcels, increasing 1 foot vertical per 1 foot horizontal moving away from the property line up to the district maximum. Per Table 106-2f (townhouses): maximum building height 45 feet. Open space is 150 square feet per dwelling unit for both multifamily and townhouse product, with several acceptable open-space types (common open space, balconies/patios up to 25 percent, rooftop decks up to 50 percent, indoor recreation up to 25 percent, environmentally sensitive areas up to 50 percent).

SHD-RO — Surprise Heritage District - Residential Overlay

Per the City's published SHD Residential Neighborhood table (Table 2): maximum building height 30 feet for attached and detached product, 35 feet for multifamily product.

SHD-CO — Surprise Heritage District - Commercial Overlay

Per the City's published Non-Residential Area table (Table 3): maximum building height 45 feet, reduced to 35 feet for uses other than mixed-use, multifamily, and assembly uses.

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