Most cities hand you a setback as a flat number: five feet, ten feet, done. Inglewood does not. Both the side and the rear are written as percentages of the lot, each with its own cap, and on any given lot one of them is decided by the percentage while the other is decided by the cap. Knowing which is which is the whole exercise.
Short answer: The side yard is 10 percent of the lot width, no less than 3 feet and no more than 5 (12-18.3). On this 44 foot wide lot that is 4.4 feet a side — the percentage governs, because it lands between the floor and the ceiling. The rear yard is 25 percent of the lot depth, capped at 25 feet (12-18.4), and on a 137 foot deep lot the cap governs instead.
The property
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| City | Inglewood |
| Lot area | 5,990 square feet |
| Lot width and depth | 44 by 137 feet |
| Year built | 1940 |
| House size | 1,369 square feet |
| Bedrooms and bathrooms | 3 and 2 |
| Zoning district | R-1, one family |
| Zoning source | City of Inglewood official GIS, live city layer |
Key numbers for this lot
| Standard | R-1 rule | What governs here | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Side yard | 10 percent of lot width, minimum 3 feet, maximum 5 feet | the percentage | 4.4 feet each side | 12-18.3 |
| Rear yard | 25 percent of lot depth, need not exceed 25 feet | the cap | 25 feet | 12-18.4 |
| Buildable width | lot width less both side yards | — | 35.2 feet | 12-18.3 |
Why the side yard is 4.4 feet and not 5
Work it through. Ten percent of 44 feet is 4.4 feet. The rule sets a floor of 3 feet and says the yard need not exceed 5 feet. Since 4.4 sits between the two, neither the floor nor the ceiling does anything — the percentage is the answer.
That is worth noticing because it is a narrow band. A lot 30 feet wide would compute to 3 feet and hit the floor exactly. A lot 50 feet or wider computes to 5 feet or more and is held at the 5 foot ceiling. So the percentage only really governs between roughly 30 and 50 feet of width, and this lot sits in the middle of that window.
Subtract both sides and 35.2 feet of width remains to build in.
Why the rear yard is 25 feet and not 34
The rear runs on the same pattern with different numbers: 25 percent of the lot depth, and it need not exceed 25 feet. Twenty-five percent of 137 feet is 34.25 feet — well past the cap — so the cap applies and the requirement is 25 feet.
The cap is doing real work on a lot this deep. Without it the rear yard would take another 9 feet of the lot. The deeper the lot, the more the cap gives back.
What a yard has to be
A required yard is not just empty space on a drawing. Every required front, side or rear yard must be open and unobstructed (12-9), and the code defines the side yard as the space between the main building and the side lot line, extending as described in that definition (12-1.132). That is why an eave, a bay, or a shed placed casually in the side yard becomes a plan check comment rather than a detail.
Corner lots are treated differently under both sections, so a corner parcel should not use the arithmetic above.
What this does not settle
The front yard is governed by its own section and is not quoted here, so this analysis stops at width and rear depth rather than producing a full building envelope. Height, lot coverage and accessory structure placement are separate provisions again. Properties inside a transit oriented development plan area are subject to that plan instead, and where it conflicts with the base zone the plan governs. None of this addresses easements, utilities or existing nonconforming walls. Confirm with Inglewood planning before drawing. The Inglewood overview collects the rest.
