Fort Worth | Parking, Setbacks and Height
Fort Worth Parking, Setbacks and Height: Yards, Coverage and Parking by District
A setback, or yard, is the open strip a building must keep from a lot line. In Fort Worth three rules shape most small infill projects: side and rear yards of 5 feet on A-5 and B lots, a front yard that often follows the neighbors, and parking behind the front wall of the house. This page lists each district's yards, height and parking rules, with the City document that states each one. The Fort Worth overview gives the short version.
Fort Worth yards and parking in six facts
- An A-5 lot has 5-foot side and rear yards, a 10-foot side yard on a street side, and 50 percent maximum lot coverage. Source: Board of Adjustment agendas, 2025 and 2026
- The current A-5 front yard is 20 feet on local streets and 15 feet on limited local streets. Source: Como conservation district draft, April 2026
- A residential front yard must match the setback of the nearest building on either side that is closest to the street, Sec. 6.101(d)(1)(c). Source: Board of Adjustment agenda, September 16, 2026
- A home of up to three bedrooms needs two parking spaces behind the front building wall, plus one for each added bedroom. Source: Zoning staff report ZC-25-044
- Driveways for one- and two-family homes may cover no more than 50 percent of the front yard, Sec. 6.202(e). Source: Board of Adjustment agenda, July 15, 2026
- Small Lot Housing under SB 15 and SB 840 housing on commercial land each need one parking space per home. Source: Ordinance Nos. 28525-05-2026 and 28597-06-2026
Where These Numbers Come From
Fort Worth's district rules sit in Chapter 4 of the Zoning Ordinance, which VanPlex could not open because the code publisher's site blocks scripts. The City's Board of Adjustment agendas supply many of the numbers. Each agenda item names the rule a case asks to change, its number and its section, in words such as "the one-family (“A-5”) district development standard of a minimum 5 foot side yard setback." VanPlex took each yard below from at least one such item, and the table marks the numbers no City document stated.
Yards by District
| District | Side yard | Rear yard | Other rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| A-43 | 25 ft | 25 ft | |
| A-21 | 10 ft | Not in the documents read | |
| A-10 | 5 ft | 10 ft | Lot width 60 ft |
| A-7.5 | 5 ft | Not in the documents read | Lot width 55 ft |
| A-5 | 5 ft; 10 ft on a side street | 5 ft | Front 20 ft (15 ft on limited local streets); 50% coverage |
| AR | 0 ft on one side, 10 ft on the other | Not in the documents read | Zero lot line |
| B | 5 ft; 10 ft on a side street | Not in the documents read | 50% coverage |
| R2 | 5 ft; 10 ft on both streets of a corner lot | Not in the documents read | No front yard; 35 ft height; 10 ft between buildings |
| CR, C, D | 5 ft (corner: 20 ft in CR and C, 10 ft in D) | 5 ft | Front 20 ft; 36 ft height; 30 ft or more from house districts |
| UR | 0 to 20 ft | 5 ft; 20 ft next to houses | Front 0 to 20 ft; 3 stories |
| Small Lot Housing | 5 ft | 10 ft | Front 15 ft; 70% coverage; 3 stories |
Source: Board of Adjustment agendas of 2025 and 2026 (A-43, A-21, A-10, A-7.5, A-5, AR, B); Como draft for the A-5 front yard; ZC-24-128 for R2; Ordinance No. 23495-12-2018; UR text; Ordinance No. 28525-05-2026.
The A-5 front yard. The April 2026 Como conservation district draft has a table headed "Elements of A-5 and B-2 Zoning that are NOT changing," which gives the "Current Requirement" as "20 ft minimum on local streets" and "15 ft minimum on limited local streets," "5 ft minimum for interior lot lines; 10 ft minimum on the street side of a corner lot," and "50% of lot area" for coverage. The draft is marked as a draft, but these lines restate the rules in force, and the Board agendas confirm the side yard and coverage.
AR. The AR district is built for zero lot line houses. The August and September 2025 agendas quote both "a minimum required 10-foot side yard setback" and "a zero-foot side yard setback" for AR, one on each side of the house.
Height. The district summary gives heights only for commercial and industrial districts (for example "Maximum 35 ft. height" in ER and "Maximum 45 ft. height" in E, F and FR). VanPlex found no City document it could open that states the height limit for the A districts or for B. R2 is 35 feet in the staff report table, CR, C and D are 36 feet from slab to top plate, and UR is three stories.
Front Yards That Follow the Neighbors
Fort Worth's front yard rule is often deeper than the district number. Sec. 6.101(d)(1) has three parts, as the Board agendas quote them:
- Platted building line. "the front yard setback in residential districts shall be the platted building line," Sec. 6.101(d)(1)(a). A building line is a setback drawn on the recorded plat. Agendas show platted lines of 25, 30 and 40 feet.
- Through lots. A through lot runs between two streets. Sec. 6.101(d)(1)(b) sets "the required 20-foot front yard setback for a through lot where the rear yard is subject to front yard requirements."
- The neighbors. Under Sec. 6.101(d)(1)(c), "the front yard setback in residential districts shall be the setback of the nearest building on either side that is closest to the street." The Board heard cases where this rule set front yards of 29, 35, 36, 39, 40, 44 and 50 feet in 2025 and 2026, and a "46-foot established front yard" in July 2025.
Corner lots. Under Sec. 6.101(f), the side of a corner lot that faces the second street carries a "projected front yard," a deeper yard that keeps the street view open. A January 2026 case on Locke Avenue cites "a 28-foot 6-inch projected front yard setback." A 2026 staff report for a corner lot explains that "the site is considered to have a projected front yard along Harrington Avenue and a secondary front yard along Central Avenue. Parking is not allowed in the secondary front yard setback along Central Avenue."
Small Lot Housing under SB 15 is exempt from these rules for its front and side yards: Sec. 6.509 says "The Development Standards in Section 6.101 shall not apply," so the 15-foot front yard holds. UR is also "exempt from Chapter 6, Article 1, Section 6.101(b), 6.101(c), 6.101(d), and 6.101(f)."
Parking
The parking table in Sec. 6.201(b)(2), which the 2025 ZC-25-035 ordinance titles "Maximum parking requirements," lists "1 to 4 spaces per dwelling unit (see individual districts for details)" for houses of one to four homes. The district rules then decide the number by bedrooms and where the spaces go.
| Use | Required parking |
|---|---|
| House of up to 3 bedrooms (A-5, B) | 2 spaces behind the front building wall |
| House of 4 bedrooms (A-5) | 3 spaces, 2 of them behind the front building wall |
| House of 5 bedrooms (A-5) | 4 spaces |
| Duplex, two 3-bedroom units (B) | 4 spaces behind the front building wall |
| Duplex, two 4-bedroom units (B) | 6 spaces behind the front building wall |
| Apartments in CR, C, D | 1 per bedroom plus 1 per 250 sq ft of common areas; none between building and street |
| UR apartments | 1 per bedroom; 0.5 within 1,320 ft of a rail station |
| Small Lot Housing (SB 15) | 1 per unit; no front yard driveway or parking |
| SB 840 housing on commercial land | 1 per unit |
| Building converted under SB 2477 | Limited to existing parking |
Source: ZC-25-044; Board of Adjustment agendas of June 17, July 15 and September 16, 2026; Ordinance No. 23495-12-2018; UR text; Ordinance No. 28525-05-2026; Ordinance No. 28597-06-2026.
- Behind the front wall. The A-5 rule in Sec. 4.705(d)(2) requires "that two spaces be located behind the front building wall for dwelling units with three or fewer bedrooms." For AR the agenda of January 21, 2026 reads "the required 2 parking spaces per dwelling unit be located behind the established front building line."
- Driveway size. "driveway coverage for one- and two-family uses shall not exceed 50% of the front yard as measured between the front property line and the closest location on the structure," Sec. 6.202(e). In 2025 and 2026 owners asked the Board for 56, 64 and 100 percent.
- Narrow lots. On lots under 50 feet wide, driveway access from most residential and collector streets must come from the rear, by an alley or a shared driveway. The 2026 infill rules let a single infill lot keep a front driveway it already had.
- Commercial next to houses. Staff wrote in 2026 that "all commercial uses within 250 feet of one- or two-family zoning are required to provide the minimum number of required parking spaces."
- Historic properties. Ordinance No. 23930-11-2019 exempts properties "designated (“HC”), (“HSE”), or listed in the National Register of Historic Places" from "all off-street parking requirements when the HC District or Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties requires a more historically appropriate lot dimension or site configuration."
The 2025 state laws cut parking on the land they cover. The City's August 2025 briefing put the change this way for SB 15 small lots: "1 space per unit where City typically requires 2-4 spaces." For SB 840 housing it listed "Maximum requirement of 1 space per dwelling unit (typically require 1 per bedroom and parking for office/recreational areas)."
Height Rules That Apply Everywhere
Sec. 6.100, as reprinted in the 2025 ordinance, sets how height is measured and when it may be raised:
- More height for wider yards. In the A through F districts, and since Ordinance No. 27545-03-2025 the I district, a building may exceed the district height limit "when the front, side and rear yard dimensions are each increased above the minimum requirements by one foot for each foot such building exceeds the height limit of the district in which it is located."
- How height is measured. From "the curb level to the highest point of the roof surface, if a flat roof; to the deck line of a mansard roof; and to the mean height level between eaves and ridge for a gable, hip or gambrel roof," or from "the average elevation of the finished grade along the front of the building" when the building is set back.
- Multifamily. In CR, C and D, height is "measured from the top of the finished slab to top of the highest wall top plate."
- Roof equipment. Elevator penthouses, mechanical rooms, stairwells, cupolas and spires "may be erected on buildings to any height not prohibited by any other law."
- Airports. "Nothing in this ordinance shall interfere with limitation on height of structures included in the airport zoning regulations in §§ 3-260 et seq. of the city code."
Fences. The CR district text sums up the fence rule for houses: "Fences, up to five feet high in front yard and projected front yard for one-family and two-family residential dwellings per regulations in § 5.305(b)(2)" and "eight feet high behind front yard." A solid front yard fence of up to 4 feet needs a Board special exception, and agendas list variances where owners asked for more than "the 4 feet height maximum."
Garages, Carports and Sheds in the Yards
Accessory buildings have their own yard rules. The City's accessory building packet ties the side and rear distance to height: 5 feet for a building up to 10 feet tall, 7 feet at 11 feet, and 9 feet at 12 feet, "maximum height without a variance." Sheds and workshops must sit behind the rear wall of the house or at least 75 feet from the front property line, whichever is less restrictive; private garages, carports and porte-cocheres are exempt from that location rule. A carport inside a projected front yard needs a special exception: the Board agenda of May 20, 2026 lists one "to allow a carport within the projected front yard setback." For Small Lot Housing, Sec. 6.509 allows carports and porte-cocheres "in rear yards." Detached garages that reach into the 5-foot side or rear yard of an A-5 or A-7.5 lot came before the Board in August 2025 and January 2026, among other months.
Best For
- ✓ A corner or alley lot where the required spaces can sit behind the front wall and reach the alley.
- ✓ A block where the neighbors sit at or near the district front yard, so the follow-the-neighbors rule adds little.
- ✓ A Small Lot Housing or SB 840 site, where one space per home is the most the City may require.
Usually Fails When
- ✕ The plan counts front driveway spaces toward the two spaces that must sit behind the front wall.
- ✕ Neighbors are set back 40 or 50 feet and the plan assumes a 20-foot front yard.
- ✕ Driveways and parking pads cover more than half of the front yard.
What To Verify Before Spending Money
- → The setbacks of the two nearest houses and any platted building line on the recorded plat.
- → The height limit for your district with Development Services, since VanPlex could not read it.
- → Whether your corner lot has a projected front yard and how deep it is.
Where to Go Next
Related on VanPlex: the Fort Worth overview and building codes for two to four homes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the setbacks for an A-5 lot in Fort Worth?
Why does my Fort Worth front yard have to be deeper than 20 feet?
What is a projected front yard in Fort Worth?
Can I park in front of my house in Fort Worth?
How many parking spaces does a four-bedroom house need in Fort Worth?
How is building height measured in Fort Worth?
Can I build taller than the Fort Worth district height limit?
How tall can a front yard fence be in Fort Worth?
Do historic Fort Worth properties have to provide parking?
What is a through lot in Fort Worth and how are its yards set?
Official sources (checked October 2026)
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