Overview
Worth knowing
- Downtown Historic District is among the most heavily regulated historic districts in the US (National Historic Landmark)
- Zero setback possible in D-1 through D-4 downtown districts
- Recent density bonus overlay adopted Nov 2024; affordable housing density bonus with 30% AMI affordability definition
+ 7 more in Quirks & notes
Districts
res_sf 4com 4cbd 4ind 3mu 2spec 2res_mf 1off 1ag 1
| Code | Name | Category | Min lot | Height | Coverage | FAR | Du/ac | Parking | Setbacks F/S/R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-1 | Single-Family Residential | res_sf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-2 | Single-Family Residential 2 | res_sf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-3 | Single-Family Residential 3 | res_sf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| RSF-6 | Residential Single-Family 6000 sf | res_sf | — | — | — | — | — | — | 20 / — / — |
| TR | Traditional Residential | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| TN | Traditional Neighborhood | mu | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| TC | Town Center | mu | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| B-1 | Neighborhood Commercial | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| B-2 | General Commercial | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| D-1 | Downtown Core | cbd | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| D-2 | Downtown Support | cbd | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| D-3 | Downtown Transition | cbd | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| D-4 | Downtown Edge | cbd | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| OI | Office-Institutional | off | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| C-1 | Community Commercial | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| C-2 | Highway Commercial | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| I-1 | Light Industrial | ind | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| I-2 | Heavy Industrial | ind | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| M-1 | Marine Industrial | ind | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| AG | Agricultural | ag | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| CON | Conservation | spec | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| PD | Planned Development | spec | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found
Overlays
DHD
Downtown Historic District
HPNational Historic Landmark District; most regulated historic district in US
| review | Certificate of Appropriateness required for all exterior changes |
|---|---|
| scope | Materials, scale, massing, fenestration, demolition |
VHD
Victorian Historic District
HPVictorian-era residential areas south of downtown
| review | Certificate of Appropriateness required |
|---|
SHD
Streetcar Historic District
HPStreetcar-era residential neighborhoods
| review | Certificate of Appropriateness required |
|---|
CBHD
Cuyler-Brownville Historic District
HPDesignated historic district
| review | Certificate of Appropriateness required |
|---|
FP
Floodplain Overlay
FPFEMA-designated flood hazard areas; 6 flood zones mapped
| effect | Elevation and floodproofing requirements; 6 distinct flood zones |
|---|
WPO
Wetlands Protection Overlay
ENVDesignated wetland areas
| effect | Buffer requirements and wetland impact mitigation |
|---|
APO
Airport Overlay
APSavannah/Hilton Head International Airport approach zones
| effect | Height restrictions and noise-sensitive use limitations |
|---|
CTO
Corridor Transit Overlay
CORDesignated transit corridors
| effect | Enhanced pedestrian and transit-oriented design standards |
|---|
HO
Hotel Overlay
specAreas with hotel use restrictions or special hotel permitting
| effect | Restricts or regulates hotel/short-term rental development |
|---|
AHDB
Affordable Housing Density Bonus
AHProjects meeting 30% AMI affordability threshold (Nov 2024)
| effect | Density bonus for affordable housing; 30% AMI definition |
|---|---|
| adopted | November 2024 |
DRO
Demolition Review Overlay
HPStructures subject to demolition review process
| effect | Demolition delay and review requirements |
|---|
AEO
Armoring/Erosion Overlay
ENVShoreline and riverbank areas subject to erosion
| effect | Shoreline armoring and erosion control standards |
|---|
Adopted building codes
Statewide w/ GA amendments
Click a code label to open its state-by-state adoption atlas.
Quirks & notes
- Downtown Historic District is among the most heavily regulated historic districts in the US (National Historic Landmark)
- Zero setback possible in D-1 through D-4 downtown districts
- Recent density bonus overlay adopted Nov 2024; affordable housing density bonus with 30% AMI affordability definition
- Six distinct FEMA flood zones mapped across city
- Four or more historic district entities with overlapping jurisdiction (city HPC, MPC, SHPO, NPS)
- Airport zoning complexity from Savannah/Hilton Head International
- Hotel restriction overlay limits hotel/short-term rental in designated areas
- Conservation zoning as alternative to restrictive residential districts
- 30% AMI affordability definition for density bonus — stricter than most cities
- Walkability and transit-oriented language embedded in 2019 ordinance rewrite
Formulas
Definitions
- height
- Measured to highest point; historic districts may impose additional restrictions
- lot_coverage
- far
- du_ac
- Dwelling units per acre; density bonus available via Affordable Housing overlay (Nov 2024)
- impervious_cover
- setback_front
- Front setback; zero setback possible in D-1 through D-4 downtown districts
- setback_side
- setback_rear
- parking
Capacity calculations
- max_footprint_sf
lot_area_sf * lot_coverage- max_gfa_sf
lot_area_sf * far- max_units_from_density
lot_area_sf * du_ac / 43560- buildable_width_ft
lot_width_ft - setback_side_ft * 2- buildable_depth_ft
lot_depth_ft - setback_front_ft - setback_rear_ft- buildable_envelope_sf
buildable_width_ft * buildable_depth_ft- max_stories_approx
max_height_ft / 10- max_gfa_from_envelope
min(buildable_envelope_sf * max_stories_approx, max_gfa_sf)- parking_required
units * parking
Massing explorer
Interactive 3D comparison across every district. Drag to orbit, scroll to zoom, use the slider to walk districts, and toggle applicable overlays in the right-side panel.
Sort by
Max height
— ft
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Floor area ratio
—
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Lot coverage
—%
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Setbacks (F / S / R)
— ft
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Parking
— /unit
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Max density
— du/ac
——
Min lot size
— sf
——
Copy zoning profile
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| District | Category | Height | FAR | Coverage | Setbacks | Parking | Density | Min lot | Overlays |
|---|
Research status
Data quality
30%completeness56 confirmed30 partial20 inferred
Documented gaps
- R-1 through R-3 dimensional standards
- TR/TN/TC density and dimensional standards
- D-1 through D-4 height and FAR limits
- Commercial district standards
- Industrial district standards
- Parking ratios across all districts
Known issues
schema:v1-legacypriority:lowdata:gaps-present
Other cities in this state
Nearest-alphabetical profiles. Click through to compare zoning patterns side-by-side.