Zoning
Every municipality writes its own code, so the same letters mean different things in different places. These pages give you the general meaning, show how real cities define it, and point you at the official map. When you need the answer for one specific parcel, Plotzy reads the ordinance and cites the section.
A step-by-step method for looking up a parcel's zoning, reading the designation, telling permitted from conditional uses, catching overlays and planned developments, and confirming it with the planning department.
What the common codes mean, how they vary between cities, and what you can typically build in each.
Agricultural or rural district in most counties, with large minimum lots; in Phoenix, the light industrial district.
Small-scale neighborhood retail, offices, and services; usually excludes auto-oriented and heavy commercial uses.
The general commercial corridor district: broad retail, restaurants, services, and, often conditionally, auto-oriented uses.
The most intensive commercial district in most codes: highway retail, vehicle sales and service, contractor and wholesale uses.
Light industrial in codes that use I instead of M: warehousing, distribution, light manufacturing, flex, and often self-storage.
Light industrial: warehousing, distribution, light manufacturing, and flex space, with outdoor storage limited or conditional.
Heavy or general industrial: manufacturing, truck terminals, outdoor storage yards, and other high-impact uses by right.
Districts that allow residential together with commercial or office uses, usually residential above ground-floor retail.
A negotiated district whose uses and standards live in an approved development plan and ordinance rather than the general code.
Single-family detached homes on individual lots; the lowest-density residential district in most codes.
Usually two-family homes and small-lot houses; in some cities, a low-density multifamily district.
Townhouses and small apartment buildings; the first district in most codes where multifamily is allowed by right.
Medium-to-high density multifamily in most codes; a low-density house district in a few, including New York and Baltimore.
Where the official map and code live for each city, the districts you will see on it, and what they allow.
Where Austin's official zoning map and code live, what the SF, MF, LO, GR, CS, LI, and PUD districts mean, how combining districts and overlays change them, and why some Austin addresses have no zoning at all.
Where Detroit's official zoning maps and ordinance live, what the R1 to R6, B1 to B6, M1 to M5, PD, and SD districts mean, and how special land use approvals work.
Where the City of Miami's Miami 21 zoning atlas lives, how the T3 to T6 transect zones and their R, L, and O suffixes work, how city zoning differs from unincorporated Miami-Dade County, and what the Live Local Act changed.
Where Phoenix's official zoning maps and ordinance live, what the R1-6, R-2 to R-5, C-1 to C-3, A-1, A-2, and PUD districts mean, and the overlays and recent state laws that change them.