Brentwood/Highland: Adopted Zoning Restrictions

Last reviewed September 17, 2026 · City of Austin planning documents · Kimbrough Gray · KiliGray Homes

Brentwood and Highland have separate zoning ordinances. Both adopted residential design tools, while their conditional overlays impose additional limits on specified tracts. The plan’s preference for smaller buildings around Jim Hogg, Joe Sayers and Roosevelt does not itself establish a building-size or unit-count limit.

Applies to: Match the property to the Brentwood or Highland ordinance tract and its later zoning cases. The combined planning boundary does not make every condition apply to every lot.

Restrictions traced to adopted documents

Brentwood’s adopted residential tools

Part 5 adopts front-porch setback provisions (§25-2-1602), front-yard impervious-cover and parking-placement restrictions (§25-2-1603), and garage-placement restrictions (§25-2-1604) for the single-family, duplex and two-family uses named in the ordinance. These are separate from the plan’s voluntary design guidelines.

040513-33A, Part 5 (PDF p. 8).

Highland’s St. Johns exception has a specific scope

Highland Part 5 adopts the same three tools, but exempts lots adjacent to St. Johns Avenue from §25-2-1603. That exception does not also exempt those lots from the porch and garage clauses.

040513-33B, Part 5(1)–(4) (PDF p. 8).

Height, density and setbacks tied to particular Brentwood tracts

Part 8 limits Tracts 94, 95, 97, 98, 99a and 99b to 40 feet and three stories. Tract 21 has a 30-foot height limit and a 12-dwelling-unit-per-acre cap. Tract 47a has a 40-foot height limit and a 25-foot front setback. Use Part 2’s address table and the exhibits to identify the tract; these are not neighborhood-wide limits.

040513-33A, Part 8(24), (27), (28) (PDF p. 13).

What to use for a new house

For Jim Hogg, Joe Sayers or Roosevelt, establish the parcel’s zoning and any applicable overlay conditions before calculating capacity. The plan’s discussion of building scale is not a reason to reduce an otherwise permitted house. A three-unit proposal also needs the use-specific HOME and garage rules.

The proposed housing use matters

Which garage rule applies to single-family, two-unit and three-unit projects?

Plan, map and amendment records

Pair the plan with actual permit activity

For a site recorded in 78757, use the 78757 historical building-permit report to compare construction volume over time, then the current activity map to investigate individual properties. Those reports cover the ZIP, not the Brentwood/Highland boundary.

Apply the ordinance to the parcel

Match the property to the Brentwood or Highland ordinance tract and its later zoning cases. The combined planning boundary does not make every condition apply to every lot. See how this review handles original ordinances, amendments and HOME.

Common questions

Does the plan’s preference for smaller buildings cap a new house’s size?

That preference does not itself impose a numerical size or unit-count limit. Apply the parcel’s actual zoning, adopted NP design tools and any conditional-overlay or later ordinance provisions.

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We do this research ourselves on every project we take on — zoning, floodplain, watershed, trees, whether it is a legal lot. Send us an address and we will run it and tell you what we find. It works the same whether you own a vacant lot, a house you are thinking of adding a unit to, or a house you are thinking of replacing. No charge and no strings, and if it is a bad lot we will say so.

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We are homebuilders, not the City of Austin. This page explains how we read the code in practice — it is not legal advice and it is not an official determination. Always confirm with Austin Development Services before you rely on it for a project. The authoritative text is the Austin Land Development Code; permitting questions go to Austin Development Services Department.