New single-family home plans filed after Oct. 27 cannot use roof space above 25 feet for an extra floor. Applications already in review keep the old reading.

New homes in Boca Raton’s single-family neighborhoods cannot use the space under a tall roof to add another occupied floor above 25 feet. The City Council voted Oct. 27 to adopt an amended resolution setting out how the city reads its height rules.

The rule applies to applications submitted after Oct. 27. Plans already in the city’s review process may go ahead under the previous interpretation, the city said in its Boca Brief recap of the meeting, published Friday.

What the rule says

The city code caps single-family homes at 25 feet. It also lets qualifying parts of a roof rise above that, within limits on roof area, roof pitch and maximum elevation. The two sections involved are 28-2, which sets how height is measured for gable, hip and gambrel roofs, and 28-342, which sets the 25-foot limit.

Resolution No. 139-2026 confirms that neither section gives a home an extra living floor just because the building’s volume goes above 25 feet. That is according to City Manager Mark Sohaney’s memo to the council, dated Oct. 20, which sets out the test:

  • What is not allowed: a separate additional occupied floor that needs space above 25 feet to get the minimum headroom for lawful occupancy.
  • What is still allowed: ceilings, walls, beams, parts of a room’s volume and other building parts needed for a roof that otherwise meets the code may rise above 25 feet. On their own, they do not count as an extra floor.

The resolution does not change the code itself. The memo says it leaves the city’s numerical height, roof-area, roof-pitch, setback, lot-coverage, density and permitted-use standards as they are. The council first gave this direction at its Oct. 13 meeting.

What changed on the night

The version on the Oct. 27 agenda would have applied the reading to pending applications that did not yet have a building permit, as well as to future ones. The council amended that. Under the adopted version, pending applications proceed under the previous interpretation, the city said.

The resolution also directs the city attorney, the city manager and the Development Services Department to draft amendments to the code. The memo says those should “make express, clarify, and provide objective standards” for the two sections. No date has been set for them to come back to the council. The memo lists no fiscal impact.

What it means for you

  • If you are planning a new home or a major rebuild in a single-family district, design to the stricter reading if you apply after Oct. 27. Ask the city’s Development Services Department before you submit.
  • If your plans were already in review on Oct. 27, the city said they may proceed under the earlier interpretation.
  • If you want a say on the code changes, they will come back to the council as an agenda item. Agendas are posted on the city’s agendas page ahead of each meeting.

Our building permits and zoning page explains how permits work in the city, and our City Hall contacts page lists who to call.