Reno Professional Office (PO) District Setback Requirements

In the City of Reno, the PO: Professional Office district requires a minimum front setback of 10 feet, a minimum side setback of 5 feet, and a minimum rear setback of 10 feet. These distances are generally measured from the property line, with the 10-foot front yard specifically designed to accommodate a five-foot sidewalk and a five-foot landscaped parkway. Additionally, any street-facing garage in the PO: Professional Office district must be set back at least 20 feet from the sidewalk or planned sidewalk.

Lot and Building Setback Standards

The PO: Professional Office district is intended to facilitate office conversions and small office developments, often serving as a transition between residential areas and more intensive urban uses [Section 18.02.311]. The specific dimensional requirements for this district are as follows:

Standard	Minimum Requirement
Front Setback	10 feet
Side Setback	5 feet
Rear Setback	10 feet
Street-Facing Garage	20 feet (measured from sidewalk to garage face)

Measurement and Streetscape Requirements

In the City of Reno PO: Professional Office district, setbacks are measured as the horizontal distance between the property line and the nearest portion of the building or structure [Section 18.09.205].

Front Yard Configuration

While some high-intensity urban districts in the City of Reno measure front setbacks from the back of the curb, the PO: Professional Office district utilizes the property line as the measurement point [Section 18.04.1003]. Within this 10-foot required front setback, developers must provide:

A minimum of five feet for a sidewalk; and
A minimum of five feet for street trees or a landscaped parkway strip [Section 18.04.1003].

Parking Location Restrictions

For properties in the PO: Professional Office district with a total site area of less than 15,000 square feet, off-street surface parking spaces are prohibited from being located between the front of the primary office building and an adjacent primary access street [Section 18.04.1005].

Compatibility and Adjacency

When a new building in the PO: Professional Office district is constructed within 150 feet of a property zoned Large-Lot (LL), Single-Family (SF), or specific Multi-Family (MF-14) districts, additional "stepback" requirements apply to protect the character of the adjacent residential neighborhood [Section 18.04.1003].

Specifically, for any portion of a building above 24 feet in height, a minimum of an additional 1-foot horizontal setback (or a 1:1 building height/stepback ratio) is required for each foot of height over 24 feet along any property line abutting those residential districts [Section 18.04.903].

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