Evansville, IN Zoning

Euclidean-zoning. 15 districts · 6 overlays · 4 applicable state preemptions.

Overview

Code type
euclidean
Naming convention
mixed
Naming convention by category
residentialhierarchical-numeric (R-1 SF detached through R-5; density increases with number)
commercialhierarchical-numeric (C-1 neighborhood through C-4 CBD) plus CO-1/CO-2 commercial-office variants
industrialhierarchical-numeric (M-1 light through M-3 heavy/port)
agriculturalletter (A)
waterfrontletter (W-R waterfront residential/recreation; W-I waterfront industrial)
airportletter (AIR)
planned_unit_developmentletter (PUD floating district)

Joint APC for City + County + Darmstadt. Code runs on codepublishing.com platform (not Municode). District inventory broader than v1 captured: R-5 and CO-1/CO-2 and A and W-R/W-I/AIR all listed on APC portal, but standards for these beyond the R-1..R-4, C-1..C-4, M-1..M-3 set were not retrieved this pass.

Worth knowing

+ 7 more in Quirks & notes

Districts

com 3res_sf 2res_mf 2com_office 2ind 2res_other 1cbd 1ind_heavy 1ag 1
CodeNameCategory Min lotHeight CoverageFAR Du/acParking Setbacks F/S/R
R-1Single-Familyres_sf6,000 sf35 ft0.40.415 / 8 / 20
R-2Two-Familyres_sf4,500 sf40 ft0.50.612 / 6 / 15
R-3Multi-Family Low-Mediumres_mf3,000 sf50 ft0.60.910 / 5 / 10
R-4Multi-Family Highres_mf1,500 sf75 ft0.758 / 3 / 8
R-5Residential (R-5, fifth class)res_other / /
C-1Neighborhood Commercialcom3,500 sf45 ft0.60.815 / 5 / 5
C-2General Commercialcom10,000 sf55 ft0.71.120 / 10 / 10
C-3Highway Commercialcom15,000 sf60 ft0.651.225 / 15 / 15
C-4Downtown / CBD Commercialcbd5,000 sf85 ft0.80 / 0 / 10
CO-1Commercial Office — Lowcom_office / /
CO-2Commercial Office — Highcom_office / /
M-1Light Industrialind20,000 sf50 ft0.70.620 / 15 / 15
M-2General Industrialind30,000 sf60 ft0.650.825 / 20 / 20
M-3Heavy / Port Industrialind_heavy50,000 sf75 ft0.650 / 30 / 30
AAgriculturalag / /

Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found

Overlays

FP
Ohio River Floodplain
FP
c§FEMA FIRM Vanderburgh County 2018; partial §Title 18 floodplain chapter
HD
Historic District
HP
c§Indiana DNR IDHC state HTC program; partial §Title 18 historic preservation chapter
AIR
Airport Overlay (Evansville Regional Airport EVV)
AP
c§14 CFR Part 77; c§14 CFR 77.19(b) for conical 20:1 (corrected from (d) in v2.1 audit); c§14 CFR 77.9 for Form 7460-1
W-R
Waterfront Residential/Recreation
WATERFRONT
partial §Title 18 waterfront chapter
W-I
Waterfront Industrial
WATERFRONT
partial §Title 18 waterfront chapter; c§Indiana DNR Division of Water riparian guidance
PUD
Planned Unit Development
PUD
c§36-7-4-1400 et seq. IC; partial §Title 18 PUD chapter

State preemptions

IN-36-7-4applies
Qualifying condition
Evansville is a second-class Indiana city exercising zoning authority through the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Area Plan Commission under IC 36-7-4 area-plan provisions. All Title 18 adoptions and amendments must comply with 600-series procedure (comprehensive-plan prerequisite, notice/hearing, 90-day legislative action).
Effect
Procedural preemption: non-compliance with c§36-7-4-601 (comprehensive plan), c§36-7-4-602 (adoption/amendment procedure), c§36-7-4-603 (required considerations), c§36-7-4-604 (notice/hearing) voids the ordinance.
IN-36-1-24applies
Qualifying condition
Evansville is not Carmel or Fishers, so the Jan-2028 transition window does not apply; full HEA-1210 compliance runs from July 1, 2026. Owner-occupied STRs are a permitted residential use in any residential district (R-1..R-5); non-owner-occupied STRs may require special exception but cannot be effectively prohibited.
Effect
Owner-occupied STRs cannot be banned in residential districts per c§36-1-24-8 IC. Non-owner-occupied STRs may be conditioned on special exception per c§36-1-24-9 but not effectively prohibited. Permit fee capped at $150. Numeric caps/quotas on residential rental properties are prohibited (HEA-1210 effective 2026-07-01). Registration permits are non-transferable (c§36-1-24-17).
IN-36-7-4-1106applies
Qualifying condition
All Indiana units, including Evansville, must treat manufactured homes >=950 sf occupied as permitted residential dwellings in any district where any other dwelling is permitted. Aesthetic regulation limited to permanent-foundation compatibility.
Effect
Title 18 may not exclude manufactured homes >=950 sf from R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5, or A. May not require more than one foundation system. Foundation-system requirements must be structurally compatible with the manufactured home.
IN-32-31-1-20applies
Qualifying condition
All Indiana units. No General Assembly authorization for Evansville rent control or mandatory IZ. Privately-owned rental property receiving government funds for express below-market rent purpose is carved out.
Effect
Title 18 may not regulate rental rates or require price-controlled set-asides through zoning (mandatory inclusionary zoning is preempted). Voluntary incentive-based density bonuses for affordable units remain permissible. LIHTC/HUD-assisted/local-fund-assisted units are statutorily carved out.

Adopted building codes

Statewide; NEC updating to 2023

2012
2018
2008
2012
IECC (Residential)
2018
IECC (Commercial)
ASHRAE 90.1-2007

Click a code label to open its state-by-state adoption atlas.

Quirks & notes

Formulas

Definitions

height
Grade to highest point of structure per Title 18 definitions (v1 text retained). c§Title 18 definitions (partial)
lot_coverage
Building footprint divided by lot area. c§Title 18 definitions (partial)
far
Gross floor area divided by lot area. c§Title 18 definitions (partial)
du_ac
Dwelling units per gross acre. Not explicitly stated in Title 18 base district tables; max du/ac in profile is inferred from FAR and typical per-unit GFA.
setback_front
Front property line to nearest building face.
setback_side
Side property line to nearest building face.
setback_rear
Rear property line to nearest building face.
parking
Off-street spaces per dwelling unit (residential) or per 1000 sf GFA (non-residential) unless noted. c§Title 18 parking chapter (partial; not re-fetched this pass)

Capacity calculations

max_footprint_sf
lot_area_sf * lot_coverage
max_gfa_sf
lot_area_sf * far
max_units
lot_area_sf / 43560 * du_ac

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.

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Max height
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Setbacks (F / S / R)
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Parking
/unit
Max density
du/ac
Min lot size
sf
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District Category Height FAR Coverage Setbacks Parking Density Min lot Overlays

Research status

Publication gates

primary url presentpassed
no aggregator citedpassed
confidence tags full formpassed
overlays have parameters trigger confidencepassed
preempt section city specificpassed

Data quality

78%completeness

Verification

last_verified_at2026-04-18T19:30:00Z
verifier_specialistverification-pass
verifier_version1.0
verification_resultpassed
atomic_claims_checked38
atomic_claims_passed38
atomic_claims_failed0
notesAll confirmed claims carry c§ or FAA Part 77 or FEMA FIRM citations; partial claims carry explicit partial_reason and narrative_ref; not_found claims carry search_performed. No bare [confirmed] tags. No aggregators cited.

Other cities in this state

Nearest-alphabetical profiles. Click through to compare zoning patterns side-by-side.