Durham, NC Zoning

19 districts. 5 overlays.
This profile is an earlier edition — some fields may be incomplete. An updated profile is in progress.

Districts

res_sf 18res_th 1
CodeNameCategory Min lotHeight CoverageFAR Du/acParking Setbacks F/S/R
RRRural Residentialres_sf5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10
RS-20Residential Suburbanres_sf5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10
RS-10Residential Suburbanres_sf5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10
RS-8Residential Suburbanres_sf5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10
RS-MResidential Suburban Mixedres_sf5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10
RU-MResidential Urban Mixedres_sf5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10
RU-5Residential Urbanres_sf5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10
RCResidential Conservationres_sf5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10
PDRPlanned Development Residentialres_sf5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10
CNRural Commercialres_sf5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10
CICommercial Infillres_sf5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10
CGCommercial Generalres_sf5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10
OIOffice-Institutionalres_sf5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10
MUMixed Useres_sf5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10
SRP-CStation Residential Planned - Commercialres_sf5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10
DDDowntown Design Districtsres_th5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10
CSDCommercial Special Districtsres_sf5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10
IMEmployment/Industrialres_sf5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10
ILEmployment/Industrialres_sf5,000 sf35 ft0.50.5225 / 25 / 10

Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found

Overlays

-S
Neighborhood Protection
CON

Applies to: Residential, Commercial, Office, Mixed-Use

coverage adjustment (%)-10
density multiplier-0.2
lot size multiplier0.15
[
Watershed Protection
spec

Applies to: Residential, Commercial, Mixed-Use, Office

coverage adjustment (%)-10
setback addition (ft)15
AAESRTAN
Floodplain and Flood Damage Protection
FP

Applies to: Residential, Commercial, Mixed-Use, Office

coverage adjustment (%)-10
setback addition (ft)15
Overlay-like
Development Tier System — Context Framework
spec

Applies to: Residential, Commercial, Office, Mixed-Use

height multiplier-0.05
setback addition (ft)5
DD
Downtown Design
DT

Applies to: Residential, Commercial, Office, Mixed-Use

height multiplier-0.05
setback addition (ft)5

Adopted building codes

Statewide

2021
2015
2020
2021
IECC (Residential)
2021
IECC (Commercial)
2021

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

Formulas

Definitions

height
Grade to highest point of structure.
lot_coverage
Building footprint / lot area.
far
Gross floor area / lot area.
du_ac
Dwelling units per gross acre.
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
Spaces per dwelling unit unless noted.

Capacity calculations

max_footprint_sf
lot_area_sf * lot_coverage
max_gfa_sf
lot_area_sf * far
buildable_width_ft
lot_width_ft - setback_side_ft * 2
buildable_depth_ft
lot_depth_ft - setback_front_ft - setback_rear_ft
max_stories_approx
max_height_ft / 10

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
LOW
HIGH
drag to orbit · scroll to zoom
Max height
ft
Floor area ratio
Lot coverage
%
Setbacks (F / S / R)
ft
Parking
/unit
Max density
du/ac
Min lot size
sf
Copy zoning profile
Loading…
District Category Height FAR Coverage Setbacks Parking Density Min lot Overlays

Research status

Data quality

9%completeness6 confirmed54 partial6 inferred
Documented gaps
  • Quirks not populated — requires markdown source review

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.