<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<baltimore-city-law heading="§ 15-301 Measurement of building height.">
  <section prefix="§" num="15-301" heading="Measurement of building height.">
    <para num="(a)" heading="In general.">
      <para num="(1)">In this subsection, “street wall” means the wall of a building nearest to and facing a street.</para>
      <para num="(2)">For purposes of determining compliance with height limitations, the height of a building is determined by measuring the vertical distance:<para num="(i)">from the following, as applicable:<para num="(A)">from the mean curb level of the right-of-way on which the property fronts;</para>
          <para num="(B)">if the front wall of the building is not within 30 feet of the curb, from the average elevation of the ground adjoining that wall; or</para>
          <para num="(C)">if the building is in a Regulated Flood-Hazard Area (as defined in and subject to City Code &lt;cite data-path="|7"&gt;Article 7 {“Natural Resources”}&lt;/cite&gt;, Division I {“Floodplain Management”}), from the required design-flood elevation (also as defined in and subject to &lt;cite data-path="|7"&gt;Article 7&lt;/cite&gt;, Division I); and</para>
        </para>
        <para num="(ii)">to the following, as applicable:<para num="(A)">in the case of a flat roof, to the highest point of the roof that adjoins the street wall; or</para>
          <para num="(B)">in the case of a pitched roof, to the mean height level of the roof as measured between the eaves and the peak in the case of pitched roofs.</para>
        </para>
      </para>
    </para>
    <para num="(b)" heading="Exclusions from height regulations.">The height regulations of this Code do not apply to the following:<para num="(1)">belfries, chimneys, cupolas, domes, grain elevators, fire escapes, flagpoles, flues, minarets, monuments, spires, stacks, steeples, ventilators, and utility poles;</para>
      <para num="(2)">water towers or tanks other than those located on the roof of a structure;</para>
      <para num="(3)">bulkheads, cooling towers, elevator enclosures, monitors, elevator or stairway penthouses, skylights, stage towers and water tanks, and air conditioning units, as long as these structures do not occupy more than 25% in the aggregate of the area of the roof of the structure on which they are located;</para>
      <para num="(4)">roof decks, subject to design review;</para>
      <para num="(5)">parapet walls used to screen mechanical equipment, as long as these walls do not exceed the height necessary to screen the mechanical equipment listed in item (3) of this subsection;</para>
      <para num="(6)">any accessory structures in Subtitle 5 of this title that are allowed to exceed height limitations, subject to any limitations imposed by Subtitle 5 of this title; and</para>
      <para num="(7)">rooftop greenhouses, as long as:<para num="(i)">the greenhouses do not exceed 15 feet above the applicable district height limit;</para>
        <para num="(ii)">the greenhouses do not occupy more than 50% of the roof area;</para>
        <para num="(iii)">all lighting used to illuminate a rooftop greenhouse is directed and shielded to prevent illumination of any adjacent lots; and</para>
        <para num="(iv)">all exterior lighting complies with the requirements of &lt;cite data-path="|32|§15-505"&gt;§ 15-505 {“Exterior lighting”} of this title&lt;/cite&gt;.</para>
      </para>
    </para>
    <annotation type="History">Ord. 16-581</annotation>
    <annotation type="History">Ord. 17-015</annotation>
    <annotation type="History">Ord. 18-171</annotation>
    <annotation type="History">Ord. 22-181</annotation>
  </section>
</baltimore-city-law>
