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Neighborhood developers may create setback lines (usually defined in
Covenants & Restrictions, and set forth in official neighborhood maps) to ensure uniform appearance in the neighborhood and prevent houses from crowding adjacent structures or streets. In some cases, building ahead of a setback
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before 1890, when the electric streetcar first became popular. Most suburbs laid out before 1920 have narrow lots and setbacks of five to fifteen feet between houses. As automobile ownership became common, setbacks increased further because zoning laws required developers to leave large spaces
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Local governments create setbacks through ordinances, zoning restrictions, and
Building Codes, usually for reasons of public policy such as safety, privacy, and environmental protection.
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Recently, in some areas of the United States, setback requirements have been lowered so as to permit new homes and other structures to be closer to the street, one facet of the
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Older houses have smaller setbacks between properties, as walking was a primary mode of transportation and the distance people walked to actual destinations and, eventually,
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uses a minimum setback of 4.5 metres (15 feet) of any building, mobile home, retaining wall, or other structure from all highway rights-of-way under the jurisdiction of the
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usually have a setback from the property boundary, so that they cannot be placed close together. Setbacks may also allow for
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stops had to be kept short out of necessity. Distances of one to five feet at most are common in neighborhoods built in the
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This article is about minimum distances between buildings and the lot line. For the step-like recessions in walls, see
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unless the building has access from another street, in which case the allowed setback is 3 metres (10 feet).
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urban design movement. This permits a more usable rear yard and limits new
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Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the
American City and How to Fix It
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may mandate that if a mailbox on a street is too far from the
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218:and automobile-dependent, low-density cities.
288:Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
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16:Required distance in front of a building
395:Urban studies and planning terminology
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253:postal administration
343:Gray, Nolan (2022).
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306:References
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359:"Permits"
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187:Overview
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