ENCROACHMENTS INTO SETBACK AREAS.
Madison General Ordinances § 28.132
in effect28.132 - ENCROACHMENTS INTO SETBACK AREAS.
(1) Permitted Setback Encroachments.
The following structures or features are allowed encroachments in setback areas. For those encroachments with siting limitations, the maximum distance in feet that the encroachment shall extend into the setback is provided. No subterranean encroachments are allowed except as noted in Table 28I-1.
Table 28I-1.
Structure or Feature | Front Yard Setback | Side Yard Setback | Rear Yard Setback | Lakefront Yard Setback
Accessibility accommodations (see (2)(d) below) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Accessory sheds, tool rooms, doghouses, and similar buildings or structures | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Air conditioning condensing unit | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Arbors and trellises | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Attached garage (see (2)(g) below) | ✓
Awnings | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Basement storm doors providing access to below-grade stairs | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Balconies | 6
Bay windows, max. one story in height (see (2)(a) below) | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3
Bicycle parking | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Bicycle-sharing facility | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Chimneys, flues | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2
Cisterns, rain barrels | 3 | 3 | 3
Compost bins (see (2)(b) below) | 3 from prop. line or building | 3 from prop. line or building | 3 from prop. line or building
Decks, uncovered, atop a permitted setback encroachment | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Eaves and gutters | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3
Egress window wells (see (2)(f) below) | Minimum egress req. | Minimum egress req. | Minimum egress req. | Minimum egress req.
Decks, uncovered, elevated over 3 feet above adjacent ground level | 6
Decks, uncovered, elevated not more than 3 feet above adjacent ground level | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Emergency electric generator | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Fences, walls, hedges | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Fire escapes | ⅓ width of yard; up to 3 ft. | 6
Flagpoles or garden ornaments | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Garages, detached (see 28.131) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Laundry drying equipment | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Licensed radio towers <75 feet and receiving devices | ✓ | ✓
Mission box | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Open porches | 7 | 3 from prop. line
Porches, open or enclosed, attached to single-family or two-family dwelling (see (2)(e) below) | ✓
Recreational equipment | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Recreational equipment, major | ✓ | ✓
Solar energy systems | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Platforms, uncovered, needed for building access (see (2)(c) below) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4
Steps | ✓ | Minimum egress req. | ✓ | ✓
Storage locker (personal) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Swimming pools, hot tubs, whirlpools, or similar structures | 3 from prop. line | 3 from prop. line
Underground parking (see (2)(h) below) | ✓ | ✓
(2) Other Encroachment Requirements.
(a) One (1) story bay windows shall not occupy, in the aggregate, more than one-third (⅓) of the front or side wall or one-half (½) of the rear wall of the building, and shall be located entirely within planes drawn from either main corner of the wall, making an interior angle of twenty-two and one-half (22.5) degrees in the horizontal plane with the wall.
(b) Compost bins also shall comply with the requirements of Sec. 7.361, MGO.
(c) Uncovered entrance platforms necessary to comply with current ingress and egress regulations shall be no wider than six (6) feet. Steps from the platform may extend into the setback area for the distance needed to meet minimum building code requirements for risers and treads. Replacement steps for porches may be as wide as the steps being replaced and may extend into the setback area for the distance needed to meet minimum building code requirements for risers and treads.
(d) Accessibility accommodations as follows:
1. Wheelchair ramps when the maximum size of the ramp is not greater than the minimum requirements for ramps under Wis. Admin. Code § SPS 321.045. All ramps that are in front or side yard setbacks and are more than three (3) feet from the level of the adjoining ground shall have skirting covering the opening under the ramp and a landscape buffer shall be provided along the base of the ramp.
2. Off-street parking and loading spaces only if any vehicle parked in the space displays a current parking identification card or license plate for persons with disabilities, issued to a resident at the address; the space has access from a public street, and all other applicable off-street parking requirements are met. If a person requiring a parking space for people with disabilities no longer resides in the dwelling unit, the off-street parking and loading space shall be made to conform to the zoning code either by removal or being rendered incapable of use as an off-street parking or loading space.
(e) Single-story unheated open or enclosed porches attached to single-family or two-family dwellings may encroach into the rear yard setback if the porch extends no more than fourteen (14) feet from the exterior wall of the building and is no more than sixteen (16) feet wide. In the case of a home with a walk-out basement to the rear yard, the porch may have an additional basement level. (Cr. by ORD-13-00143, 9-11-13)
(f) For zoning lots located on plats approved before October 1, 1994, the lowest point of the top edge of any egress well projecting into the sideyard setback area shall be at least six (6) inches above the adjoining grade. For zoning lots on plats approved after October 1, 1994, no egress well may project into the sideyard setback area. (Cr. by ORD-15-00082, 8-12-15; Rpl./Rec. by ORD-18-00031, 3-28-18)
(g) Attached Garage. For single-family or two-family dwellings, a one-story attached garage projection for garage purposes only may project up to thirty percent (30%) into a required rear yard setback, provided the balance of the rear yard setback area shall remain unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward. (Cr. by ORD-14-00133, 8-13-14; Renum. by ORD-15-00082, 8-12-15; Am. by ORD-18-00049, 5-14-18; Am. by ORD-18-00094, 10-5-18; Am. by ORD-24-00071, 11-8-24)
(h) Underground Parking. In any district, underground parking may extend into the rear yard setback if it is located completely below pre-construction existing grade or under a slope of no greater than one (1) to three (3) feet to the lot line and is completely covered by landscape. (Cr. by ORD-16-00051, 5-25-16)
(Am. by ORD-13-00143, 9-11-13; ORD-16-00051, 5-25-16; ORD-16-00093, 11-9-16; ORD-16-00109, 12-14-16; Am. by ORD-21-00086, 12-15-21; Am. by ORD-22-00107, 10-21-22; Am. by ORD-24-00071, 11-8-24; Am. by ORD-25-00011, 3-8-25)
Source: City of Madison, Wisconsin, Madison General Ordinances (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/wi/madison/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COORMAWIVOIICH20--31_CH28ZOCOOR_SUBCHAPTER_28IGERE_28.132ENINSEARFetched: 11/1/2026