Height restriction laws

Height restriction laws are laws that restrict the maximum height of structures.

There are a variety of reasons for these measures. Some restrictions limit the height of new buildings so as not to block views of an older work decreed to be an important landmark by a government. For example, In the Tsarist Russian capital of Saint Petersburg, buildings could not be taller than the Winter Palace.

Other restrictions are because of practical concern, such as around airports to prevent any danger to flight safety.

Height restriction laws sometimes become a point of contention in cities due to their use in regulating the growth of the housing supply. Fast growth of housing supply benefits renters by producing low prices and a lot of choice, while slow or no growth in housing supply benefits property owners by allowing them to charge higher prices. In this way, height restriction laws often become part of a class conflict even when their original purpose was innocuous.

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 1537 dated January 4, 1978 ENTITLED "Providing for the preservation of the walls of Intramuros and the restoration of its original moat and esplanade" by including preservation and restoration of the walled city includes (Section 10) the height of buildings within the Intramuros district shall be based upon the widths of streets on which the building abuts but the total height of the structure shall not exceed 30 meters. No tower shall be 35 meters high measured from the top of the sidewalk.

To protect the ridge line along Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon, height restrictions are imposed according to the location of the buildings or structures.

In Bali, Indonesia, a building cannot be higher than a coconut tree, which is about 15 meters. The only building that is higher than a coconut tree is the Bali Beach Hotel because the hotel was built before the height restriction was announced. The restriction was enforced by a regional regulation, however, how much this is enforced is in question.

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