City of Reno Residential Building Coverage Standards

In the City of Reno, building coverage is defined as the amount of the total property area covered by the floor plates of all principal and accessory structures, expressed as a percentage of the gross property area. The standard maximum building coverage for residential lots typically ranges from 35% to 40%, though specialized neighborhood planning area overlays can permit maximums as high as 70% depending on building height and design criteria.

General Building Coverage by Residential District

The City of Reno Annexation and Land Development Code establishes base building coverage limits for its primary residential districts. These percentages represent the maximum portion of a lot that may be occupied by the footprints of all buildings on the site.

City of Reno Zoning District	Maximum Building Coverage
LLR-2.5: Large-Lot Residential (2.5 Acres)	35%
LLR-1: Large-Lot Residential (1 Acre)	35%
LLR-0.5: Large-Lot Residential (0.5 Acre)	40%
SF-3: Single-Family Residential	40%
SF-5: Single-Family Residential	40%
SF-8: Single-Family Residential	40%
SF-11: Single-Family Residential	40%
MD-PD: Downtown Powning District	50% [Note 1]

Note 1: Alternatively, common open space must be provided equal to at least 20% of the gross floor area [Table 2-19].

Neighborhood Planning Area Overlay Variations

The City of Reno utilizes Neighborhood Planning Area (NPA) overlays to tailor development standards to specific geographic areas. These overlays often provide unique building coverage maximums that supersede the base zoning district standards.

Wells Avenue Neighborhood Plan (WANP)

Within the Wells Avenue Neighborhood Plan area of the City of Reno, building coverage is regulated by the specific designation assigned to the property:

Single-Family (SF) Designation: Building coverage shall not exceed 20 percent above that of the existing lot or 30 percent, whichever is less [Section 18.02.603(g)(5)e].
Multi-Family Residential (MF-14) Designation: The maximum allowable building coverage is 45%. This may be increased to 65% if the building height is limited to one and one-half stories or 30 feet [Section 18.02.603(g)(6)c].
Multi-Family Residential (MF-30) Designation: The maximum allowable building coverage is 50%. This may be increased to 70% if building height is limited to 35 feet and the required minimum side yard setback is increased to 12 feet [Section 18.02.603(g)(7)c].
Mixed-Residential (MUR) Designation: The maximum allowable building coverage is 40%, which may be increased to 60% if building height is limited to 35 feet [Section 18.02.603(g)(9)c].

Other Neighborhood Overlays

Country Club Acres (CCAN): In this City of Reno overlay district, the maximum building coverage is 40 percent, which must include all detached structures [Section 18.02.603(a)(4)a].
Greenfield Professional Office (GFPO): The maximum building footprint coverage, including all buildings and accessory structures, is 25 percent of the gross parcel area [Section 18.02.603(b)(3)f.3].

Accessory Structure Impacts and Adjustments

When calculating the maximum building coverage for a City of Reno residential lot, the area of all accessory structures must be included in the total. The City of Reno also regulates the cumulative area allowed specifically for detached accessory structures:

SF-3 District: Detached accessory structures are limited to a cumulative area of 60% of the principal structure [Table 3-7].
SF-5, SF-8, SF-11, and MF-14 Districts: Detached accessory structures are limited to a cumulative area of 50% of the principal structure [Table 3-7].
Neotraditional Development: For City of Reno parcels that utilize rear-yard alleys for all vehicular access, the maximum building coverage may be increased to 50 percent to compensate for developable land used for the alleys [Section 18.09.204(c)(3)].

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