CO: Office Commercial District Setback Standards in Long Beach
In the CO: Office Commercial district of the City of Long Beach, buildings must maintain a 15-foot setback from both front and side streets, though single-story commercial structures may reduce this to 10 feet following a site plan review. When a property in the CO district adjoins a residential district, the building setbacks increase to 10 feet for side yards and 20 feet for rear yards to provide a required buffer.
Building Setback Requirements
The City of Long Beach establishes building setbacks in the CO: Office Commercial district to ensure adequate separation from public rights-of-way and adjacent land uses. These requirements are categorized by the orientation of the property line and the type of adjacent district [Table 32-2A].
CO District Building Setbacks
| Orientation / Adjacency | Required Setback |
|---|---|
| Front Street | 15 ft. (can be reduced to 10 ft. for single-story buildings via site plan review) |
| Side Street | 15 ft. (can be reduced to 10 ft. for single-story buildings via site plan review) |
| Adjacent to side yard of residential district | 10 ft. |
| Adjacent to rear yard of residential district | 20 ft. |
| Adjacent to commercial or industrial district | 5 ft. |
Important Exceptions:
- No building setback is required for commercial or residential uses located over ground-floor commercial space.
- Ground-floor residential developments in the CO district require an 8-foot front street setback and a 5-foot side street setback [Table 32-2A, Note e].
- Building setbacks adjacent to an alley are measured from the centerline of the alley [Table 32-2A, Note e].
Parking Setback Requirements
The City of Long Beach regulates the location of parking areas within the CO: Office Commercial district to maintain the aesthetic quality of street frontages and protect adjacent sensitive uses [Table 32-2A].
CO District Parking Setbacks
| Orientation / Adjacency | Required Setback |
|---|---|
| Front Street | 30 ft. (applies to the ground floor only) |
| Side Street | 15 ft. |
| Alley | 14 ft. (measured from the centerline of the alley) |
| Adjacent to residential district | 5 ft. |
| Adjacent to nonresidential district | 5 ft. |
General Development Standards
All yard and setback areas in the CO district must remain clear of structures from the ground to the sky, except for specific permitted projections such as awnings, architectural protrusions, or eaves [Section 21.32.220].
In the CO district, all required yard areas (excluding those used for outdoor dining or abutting alleys) must contain a minimum of five feet of landscaping consisting of trees, shrubs, and groundcover [Section 21.32.225]. Additionally, regardless of the setback numbers listed above, the City of Long Beach requires a minimum setback of 10 feet from the curb face in all commercial instances [Table 32-2, Note a].
Residential Uses in the CO District
For projects involving residential uses in the CO district, the development must follow the density, usable open space, and privacy standards of the R-4-N (Medium-density Multiple Residential) zone [Table 32-3A]. However, the setback requirements for these residential developments continue to follow the standards set for the CO district in Table 32-2A [Section 21.32.235].
Sections Cited
- Section 21.30.010 - Districts designated
- Section 21.32.020 - Districts established
- Section 21.32.220 - Yards
- Section 21.32.225 - Screening required
- Section 21.32.235 - Residential uses in commercial districts
- Table 32-2 - Commercial Development Standards (General)
- Table 32-2A - Commercial Development Standards (CO, CH, CT)
- Table 32-3A - Development Standards (Residential Uses in Commercial Districts)