Zoning › Texas › Tarrant County › Fort Worth

Fort Worth, TX Zoning

Hybrid-pd-zoning. 34 districts · 7 overlays · 2 applicable state preemptions.

Overview

Code type
hybrid-pd
Naming convention
letter-code
Naming convention by category
res_sfletter-code (A-2.5A through A-5: number = approximate min lot, but the LETTER codes the district family — A=one-family detached, B=two-family, R=cluster/townhouse, with separate R1/R2 and AR-restricted variants)
res_mfletter-code (CR=low/16 du/ac, C=medium/24, D=high/32) plus UR (Urban Residential, form-based)
muletter-code per form-based district (MU-1, MU-2, CB, NS, PI, TL, BU)
comletter-code (ER, E, FR, F, G, H — alphabetic intensity ladder, NOT lot-size or density encoded)
indletter-code (I light, J medium, K heavy)

Fort Worth uses an alphabet-coded district system originating in the 1947 ordinance and carried forward through the current Appendix A codification. Letters A-K traverse the intensity spectrum from one-family to heavy industrial. PD (Planned Development) is heavily used as an overlay/freestanding district, as are the Article 13 form-based districts (MU-1/MU-2/CB/NS/PI/TL/BU) — hence hybrid-pd, not pure euclidean.

Worth knowing
  • SB 840 APPLIES: Fort Worth city population 1,008,106 (2024 Census PEP) clears the 150,000 threshold by 6.7×; Tarrant County population 2,140,629 (2024 PEP) clears the 300,000 threshold by 7.1×. SB 840 binds Fort Worth's commercial, office, retail, warehouse, and mixed-use districts: minimum 36 du/ac, minimum 45 ft, maximum 25 ft front setback, maximum 1 parking/unit. Effective 2025-09-01.
  • SB 15 BINDS on three small-lot residential districts: AR (3,500 sf min, §4.706), R1 detached (3,000 sf), and R1 ZLL (2,500 sf). On qualifying lots ≤4,000 sf, Texas SB 15 limits Fort Worth's authority over setbacks, parking, height, and bulk.
  • Letter-coded district system (A through K) is unusual for a TX major city — most peers use lot-size-encoded (RS-7.2) or use-type-index (SF-3) systems. The A-series number IS lot-size-related (A-5 = 5,000 sf, A-7.5 = 7,500 sf, A-10 = 10,000 sf, A-21 = 1/2 acre, A-43 = 1 acre, A-2.5A = 2.5 acres) but the LETTER signals the district family, and B/C/D/E/F/G/H/I/J/K letters do NOT decode to numeric values — they encode an alphabetic intensity ladder from two-family residential through heavy industrial.

+ 10 more in Quirks & notes

Districts

res_sf 9mu 7com 5res_mf 4ind 3spec 3res_th 1cbd 1ag 1
CodeNameCategory Min lotHeight CoverageFAR Du/acParking Setbacks F/S/R
A-2.5AOne-Family ("A-2.5A")res_sf108,900 sf[1]35 ft[2]————— / — / —
A-43One-Family ("A-43")res_sf43,560 sf[3]35 ft[4]————— / — / —
A-21One-Family ("A-21")res_sf21,780 sf[8]35 ft[9]0.3[10]———30[5] / 10[6] / 10[7]
A-10One-Family ("A-10")res_sf10,000 sf[14]35 ft[15]0.4[16]———25[11] / 5[12] / 10[13]
A-7.5One-Family ("A-7.5")res_sf7,500 sf[20]35 ft[21]0.45[22]———20[17] / 5[18] / 5[19]
A-5One-Family ("A-5")res_sf5,000 sf[26]35 ft[27]0.5[28]———20[23] / 5[24] / 5[25]
AROne-Family Restricted Zero-Lot-Line ("AR")res_sf3,500 sf[32]35 ft[33]————20[29] / [{'variant': 'zero-lot-line side', 'value': 0, 'citation': 'c§4.706 (Zero Lot Line per §6.503)'}, {'variant': 'opposite parallel side', 'value': 10, 'citation': 'c§4.706'}][30] / 5[31]
BTwo-Family ("B")res_sf[{'variant': 'two attached dwellings on one lot', 'value': 5000, 'citation': 'c§4.707-area (Summary of Zoning Districts)'}, {'variant': 'two detached dwellings on one lot', 'value': 7500, 'citation': 'c§4.707-area (Summary of Zoning Districts)'}] sf[34]35 ft[35]——8[36]—— / — / —
R1Zero Lot Line / Cluster ("R1")res_sf[{'variant': 'one-family detached', 'value': 3000, 'citation': 'c§4.708-area (Summary of Zoning Districts)'}, {'variant': 'one-family zero-lot-line', 'value': 2500, 'citation': 'c§4.708-area'}, {'variant': 'two-family attached zero-lot-line', 'value': 2500, 'citation': 'c§4.708-area'}] sf[37]35 ft[38]——14[39]—— / — / —
R2Townhouse / Cluster ("R2")res_th—35 ft[42]——24[43]—0[40] / 5[41] / —
CRLow Density Multifamily ("CR")res_mf—36 ft[47]0.4[48]—16[49]1[50]20[44] / 5[45] / 5[46]
CMedium Density Multifamily ("C")res_mf—36 ft[54]0.55[55]—24[56]1[57]20[51] / 5[52] / 5[53]
DHigh Density Multifamily ("D")res_mf—[{'variant': 'within 250 ft of one- or two-family district', 'value': 36, 'citation': 'c§4.712'}, {'variant': 'beyond 250 ft from one- or two-family district', 'value': 48, 'citation': 'c§4.712'}] ft[61]0.65[62]—32[63]1[64]20[58] / 5[59] / 5[60]
URUrban Residential ("UR")res_mf—[{'variant': 'single use, no bonus', 'value': 36, 'citation': 'c§4.713 (~3 stories)'}, {'variant': 'single use with structured-parking or open-space bonus', 'value': 48, 'citation': 'c§4.713 (~4 stories)'}] ft[68]——[{'variant': 'single use, 3 stories', 'value': 40, 'citation': 'c§4.713'}, {'variant': 'single use with height bonus to 4 stories', 'value': 60, 'citation': 'c§4.713'}][69][{'variant': 'single-family detached', 'value': 2, 'citation': 'c§4.713(e)'}, {'variant': 'townhouse', 'value': 2, 'citation': 'c§4.713(e)'}, {'variant': 'townhouse within 1,320 ft of rail station', 'value': 1, 'citation': 'c§4.713(e)'}, {'variant': 'duplex/manor house', 'value': 2, 'citation': 'c§4.713(e)'}, {'variant': 'apartments/condos (per bedroom)', 'value': 1, 'citation': 'c§4.713(e)'}, {'variant': 'apartments/condos within 1,320 ft of rail station (per bedroom)', 'value': 0.5, 'citation': 'c§4.713(e)'}][70]0[65] / 0[66] / 5[67]
MU-1Low Intensity Mixed-Use ("MU-1")mu—[{'variant': 'base', 'value': 60, 'citation': 'c§4.13xx (Summary of Zoning Districts)'}, {'variant': 'with available height bonus', 'value': 72, 'citation': 'p§4.13xx'}] ft[71]————— / — / —
MU-2High Intensity Mixed-Use ("MU-2")mu—[{'variant': 'base', 'value': 60, 'citation': 'c§4.13xx (Summary of Zoning Districts)'}, {'variant': 'with available height bonus, capped at 10 stories', 'value': 120, 'citation': 'c§4.13xx'}] ft[72]————— / — / —
CBCamp Bowie ("CB")mu—60 ft[73]————— / — / —
NSNear Southside ("NS")mu—60 ft[74]————— / — / —
PIPanther Island ("PI")mu—240 ft[75]————— / — / —
TLTrinity Lakes ("TL")mu—60 ft[76]————— / — / —
BUBerry/University ("BU")mu—60 ft[77]————— / — / —
ERNeighborhood Commercial Restricted ("ER")com—35 ft[81]0.3[82]———20[78] / 5[79] / 5[80]
ENeighborhood Commercial ("E")com—45 ft[83]————— / — / —
FRGeneral Commercial Restricted ("FR")com—45 ft[84]————— / — / —
FGeneral Commercial ("F")com—45 ft[85]————— / — / —
GIntensive Commercial ("G")com—120 ft[86]————— / — / —
HCentral Business ("H")cbd—-1 ft[87]————— / — / —
ILight Industrial ("I")ind—55 ft[88]————— / — / —
JMedium Industrial ("J")ind—120 ft[89]————— / — / —
KHeavy Industrial ("K")ind—120 ft[90]————— / — / —
AGAgricultural ("AG")ag—35 ft[91]————— / — / —
CFCommunity Facilities ("CF")spec—45 ft[92]————— / — / —
MHManufactured Housing ("MH")spec—35 ft[93]————— / — / —
PDPlanned Development ("PD")spec——————— / — / —

Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found

Overlays

HC/HSE/DD
Historic and Cultural Landmarks Preservation Overlays (HSE / HC / DD)
HP
§4.401 Historic Preservation Ordinance — Historic Overlays (HSE Highly Significant Endangered, HC Historic and Cultural, DD Demolition Delay)

Three tiers of historic overlay applied by case-specific City Council action upon recommendation of the Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission: (1) HSE for properties facing imminent loss; (2) HC for properties of demonstrated historic, cultural, or architectural significance; (3) DD as a 180-day demolition delay overlay applied while a property's HC eligibility is studied. Applied to specific properties or districts mapped in the Appendix A Zoning Map; not parcel-of-right.

tiersHSE, HC, DD — three distinct overlay types codified together in §4.401, applied independently per-property or per-district
review_authorityHistoric and Cultural Landmarks Commission; design review required for exterior alterations, additions, demolition, new construction, and signs within HC/HSE designations
demolition_delay_days180[94]
certificate_of_appropriateness_requiredTrue
tax_abatement_eligibleHSE and HC properties eligible for Texas state historic-property tax incentives and city-administered Façade Improvement programs
citation§4.401 amlegal — confirmed via Wayback cache 2024-01-27
DUDD
Downtown Urban Design District (DUDD)
DT
§4.402 area — Downtown Urban Design District (Downtown Design Review Board jurisdiction)

Properties within the mapped Downtown Urban Design District boundary, generally the area governed by the Central Business District ("H") base zone plus immediate fringes; coextensive with the Downtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone in much of its extent. Mapped in Appendix A Zoning Map.

design_review_boardDowntown Design Review Board (DDRB)
review_scopeFaçade design, materials, height transitions, signage, sidewalk and streetscape interface; review triggered by new construction, substantial alteration, and major signage in the mapped DUDD area
applies_withH Central Business base district carries DUDD overlay automatically per the official Summary of Zoning Districts; DUDD also overlays adjoining MU-1/MU-2 properties at the Downtown edge
citationSummary of Zoning Districts (mapit.fortworthtexas.gov) cross-referenced with §4.402 area amlegal section title
TUP
Trinity Uptown / Panther Island Design Overlay (TUP)
DT
§4.404 area — Trinity Uptown design overlay (Urban Design Commission and Trinity River Vision Authority coordination)

Properties within the Trinity Uptown / Panther Island mapped area immediately north of Downtown across the Trinity River bypass channel — a design overlay that operates jointly with the PI (Panther Island) base form-based district. Boundary mapped in Appendix A Zoning Map and in the Trinity River Vision master plan.

design_review_boardUrban Design Commission (UDC), in coordination with the Trinity River Vision Authority (TRVA)
design_objectivePedestrian-oriented mixed-use form, water-edge urbanism along the Panther Island canals, building-to street and waterfront frontages
applies_withPairs with PI form-based base district (§4.13xx); TUP supplies the design-review and streetscape parameters that PI's dimensional rules don't
citationSummary of Zoning Districts (mapit.fortworthtexas.gov) — TUP listed under Downtown overlays alongside DUDD
TCU
TCU Residential Overlay
SPEC
§4.403 area — TCU Residential overlay

Mapped overlay applied to one-family-zoned (A-series) properties surrounding Texas Christian University campus to control overcrowding from off-campus student rentals. The overlay restricts the number of unrelated persons that may live as a single "family" in a one-family district (a stricter family-definition than the citywide Appendix A definition).

purposeLimit unrelated-person occupancy in one-family districts adjacent to TCU; prevent dormitory-style conversions of single-family dwellings
geographic_scopeMapped overlay around TCU campus (south-central Fort Worth); applies on top of A-series base districts
regulated_metricMaximum number of unrelated persons constituting a single family for occupancy purposes
citationSummary of Zoning Districts (mapit.fortworthtexas.gov) — "TCU Residential" listed under residential overlays
AO/CUZ
Airport Overlay — Compatible Use Zone (CUZ / AO)
AP
§4.405 Airport / Airfield ("AO") Overlay District

Three federally-defined zones overlaid on properties around Fort Worth's military and civil airfields: (1) Clear Zone, (2) Accident Potential Zone I (APZ-I), (3) Accident Potential Zone II (APZ-II). Codified zones primarily reflect Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth (NAS JRB Fort Worth, the former Carswell AFB) AICUZ footprint, with secondary applicability to Meacham International Airport (KFTW) and Spinks Airport (KFWS) FAR Part 77 imaginary surfaces. Boundaries reflect OPNAVINST 11010.36C (revised 10-9-2008) and 14 CFR Part 77.

zonesClear Zone (no structures except airfield lighting); APZ-I (severe land-use restrictions); APZ-II (moderate land-use restrictions)
use_compatibility_table_exhaustiveTrue
naics_indexedLand use compatibility indexed by 2012 NAICS codes (Table 1 for APZ-I/APZ-II; Table 2 for Runway Protection Zones)
residential_in_clear_zone_apz1_apz2All new household residential PROHIBITED in Clear Zone, APZ-I, and APZ-II per §4.405 Table 1
manufacturing_far_apz10.28[95]
manufacturing_far_apz20.56[96]
warehousing_far_apz11[97]
warehousing_far_apz22[98]
office_far_apz2_max0.22[99]
shopping_center_apz2_max_farPer Note 7 — gross leasable area cap; shopping centers prohibited in Clear Zone and APZ-I
schools_hospitals_assembly_apz1_apz2Educational services, hospitals, nursing homes, churches, and public assembly PROHIBITED in Clear Zone, APZ-I, and APZ-II
existing_use_grandfatheringExisting nonresidential structures may be rebuilt to the same use and floor area per §4.405(c)(5); existing residential subdivisions per §4.405(c)(4)
rpz_table_existsTrue
rpz_residential_allowedFalse
occupancy_density_apz125[100]
occupancy_density_apz250[101]
citation§4.405 Airport/Airfield (AO) Overlay District — confirmed via Wayback Machine cache 2024-01-27 (table extracted verbatim, ~80 NAICS rows)
CUP
Conditional Use Permit (CUP) Overlay
SPEC
§4.406 area — Conditional Use Permit overlay

Site-specific overlay attached to individual properties when City Council approves a Conditional Use Permit. Adds specific residential, commercial, or industrial uses requiring site-plan approval to a property's base district allowances, with time limits and renewal requirements per the overlay's terms.

approval_authorityCity Council, upon recommendation of Zoning Commission
site_plan_requiredTrue
time_limitsEach CUP has approval-specific time limits and renewal review windows
modification_to_baseCUP adds uses to base district allowances; does not subtract base-permitted uses
citationSummary of Zoning Districts (mapit.fortworthtexas.gov) — "CUP" listed as overlay; not a base district
FEMA-SFHA
Floodplain — FEMA SFHA (federal overlay applied locally)
FP
Fort Worth Floodplain Management Ordinance (separate chapter, not Appendix A); FEMA NFIP CID 480596C

FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area as delineated on current FIRM panels for Tarrant County (CID 480596C) plus subsequent LOMA/LOMR amendments. SFHA includes Zone A (100-year), Zone AE (with BFE), Zone X-shaded (500-year), and the regulated Floodway. Trinity River corridor (West Fork, Clear Fork, mainstem) and tributaries (Marine Creek, Sycamore Creek, Big Fossil, Little Fossil, Mary's Creek) carry significant SFHA footprint through Fort Worth.

fema_firm_adoptedTrue
nfip_cid480596C (Tarrant County, City of Fort Worth participating)
zones_regulatedZone A; Zone AE; Zone X-shaded (500-year); Floodway
freeboard_ft2[102]
floodway_no_rise_requiredNo fill, structures, or obstruction in regulated floodway without no-rise certification per 44 CFR §60.3(d)
substantial_improvement_threshold0.5[103]
compensatory_storage_requiredYes for fill in 100-year floodplain (typical Trinity River corridor practice)
citationFEMA NFIP CID 480596C; 44 CFR §60.3; Fort Worth municipal floodplain management ordinance (separate from Appendix A)

State preemptions

TX SB 840applies
Qualifying condition
SB 840 requires BOTH (a) city population ≥ 150,000 AND (b) county population ≥ 300,000. Fort Worth city population = 918,915 (2020 Decennial Census) and 1,008,106 (Census Bureau Population Estimates Program vintage 2024). Tarrant County population = 2,126,477 (2020 Decennial) and 2,140,629 (2024 PEP). Both prongs satisfied by a wide margin (city 6.7× threshold; county 7.1× threshold). Therefore SB 840 binds Fort Worth's commercial, office, retail, warehouse, and mixed-use zoning regulations.
Source
Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) vintage 2024 + 2020 Decennial Census; cross-checked against fortworthtexas.gov/about/population which also reports the 2024 PEP figure of 1,008,106.
Effect
On parcels zoned commercial (E/FR/F/G/H), office (where applicable), retail, warehouse (light/medium industrial used for warehousing), and mixed-use (MU-1, MU-2, CB, NS, PI, TL, BU), Fort Worth must permit multifamily by right with minimum density of 36 du/ac, minimum height of 45 ft, maximum front setback of 25 ft, and maximum parking of 1 space/unit. Fort Worth retains authority over design standards, life safety, and infrastructure requirements. Does NOT preempt Fort Worth's one-family or two-family residential districts (A, AR, B, R1, R2).
TX SB 15applies
Qualifying condition
SB 15 applies statewide to lots ≤ 4,000 sf regardless of city population. Fort Worth has THREE base districts whose floors fall below the SB 15 threshold: AR (One-Family Restricted, 3,500 sf min — §4.706, confirmed via amlegal/Wayback cache of section page), R1 (Zero Lot Line/Cluster, 3,000 sf SF / 2,500 sf ZLL minimum per the city's official Summary of Zoning Districts at mapit.fortworthtexas.gov), and any PD subdivision proposing lots ≤4,000 sf. SB 15 therefore binds setbacks, parking, height, and bulk on those qualifying small lots. Applies on a per-parcel-conditional basis — not city-wide.
Source
Texas SB 15 (2025); §4.706 amlegal A-R district lot area; Fort Worth Summary of Zoning Districts (mapit.fortworthtexas.gov) for R1 ZLL 2,500-sf floor.
Effect
On platted lots ≤4,000 sf (principally AR and R1 ZLL/cluster lots, plus PD small-lot subdivisions), Fort Worth cannot impose setback, parking, height, or bulk standards more restrictive than SB 15 allows. Local AR and R1 dimensional standards remain in force only where they are equal-or-less-restrictive than SB 15.
Non-applicable laws (3)
TX HB 2127does_not_apply
Qualifying condition
HB 2127 (Texas Regulatory Consistency Act) preempts municipal ordinances in fields covered by specific state codes (Agriculture, Business & Commerce, Finance, Insurance, Labor, Local Government enumerated, Natural Resources, Occupations, Property). Zoning authority under Texas Local Government Code Ch. 211 is NOT an enumerated preempted field under HB 2127. Texas courts (2024 district-court ruling and subsequent appeals) have treated zoning as carved out from HB 2127 field preemption. Documented here for completeness so future auditors do not re-open the question.
Source
TX Local Gov't Code Ch. 211; HB 2127 enumerated fields; Texas Public Policy Foundation analyses of post-enactment litigation.
Effect
None on Fort Worth's zoning ordinance (Appendix A). HB 2127 may constrain non-zoning Fort Worth ordinances (labor, commerce, etc.) but those are outside this record's scope.
TX HB 3699does_not_apply
Qualifying condition
HB 3699 (2023) prohibits cities from banning short-term rentals in residential zones. Fort Worth's STR ordinance (Ord. 25-XXX series, codified separately from Appendix A) regulates STRs through registration, occupancy, and noise limits rather than outright residential prohibition — so HB 3699's anti-prohibition mandate is not triggered as a preemption of base zoning. STR-specific operational rules sit outside this zoning record.
Source
TX HB 3699 (2023); Fort Worth city portal STR program (fortworthtexas.gov/short-term-rentals).
Effect
None on Appendix A base/overlay/PD district standards. May affect Fort Worth's STR registration/operation ordinance, which is out of scope here.
TX ADU preemptiondoes_not_apply
Qualifying condition
Texas has no statewide ADU preemption statute analogous to California GC §66411.7/66411.8. Local Fort Worth Appendix A rules (accessory dwelling allowances under §5.301 Accessory Uses on Residential Lots) govern ADU permissibility, dimensional standards, and lot-size eligibility.
Source
Texas 88th and 89th Legislature regular and special sessions; no enacted ADU preemption bill identified. Fort Worth Code §5.301.
Effect
None — local Fort Worth §5.301 ADU/accessory provisions govern exclusively.

Adopted building codes

Home rule; major cities on 2024 IBC

IBC
2024
IRC
2021
NEC
2023
IFC
Local adoption
IECC (Residential)
2015
IECC (Commercial)
2015

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

Amendment history

DateKindCitation
2026-04-26retrieved at
2024-06-13supplement effectiveamlegal latest supplement at retrieval (Wayback capture 2024-06-13)

Quirks & notes

  • SB 840 APPLIES: Fort Worth city population 1,008,106 (2024 Census PEP) clears the 150,000 threshold by 6.7×; Tarrant County population 2,140,629 (2024 PEP) clears the 300,000 threshold by 7.1×. SB 840 binds Fort Worth's commercial, office, retail, warehouse, and mixed-use districts: minimum 36 du/ac, minimum 45 ft, maximum 25 ft front setback, maximum 1 parking/unit. Effective 2025-09-01.
  • SB 15 BINDS on three small-lot residential districts: AR (3,500 sf min, §4.706), R1 detached (3,000 sf), and R1 ZLL (2,500 sf). On qualifying lots ≤4,000 sf, Texas SB 15 limits Fort Worth's authority over setbacks, parking, height, and bulk.
  • Letter-coded district system (A through K) is unusual for a TX major city — most peers use lot-size-encoded (RS-7.2) or use-type-index (SF-3) systems. The A-series number IS lot-size-related (A-5 = 5,000 sf, A-7.5 = 7,500 sf, A-10 = 10,000 sf, A-21 = 1/2 acre, A-43 = 1 acre, A-2.5A = 2.5 acres) but the LETTER signals the district family, and B/C/D/E/F/G/H/I/J/K letters do NOT decode to numeric values — they encode an alphabetic intensity ladder from two-family residential through heavy industrial.
  • amlegal Cloudflare gating: codelibrary.amlegal.com returns HTTP 403 (cf-mitigated:challenge) to scripted fetch (curl, urllib, WebFetch), blocking direct codification access. This research relied on the Wayback Machine (web.archive.org) cached copies of individual amlegal section pages from January-June 2024 to extract the §4.401 (Historic), §4.405 (Airport AICUZ), §4.702-4.713 (Residential Districts), and §4.900 (ER) dimensional tables. Wayback CDX returned only ~20 cached section IDs in the Chapter 4-5 range, leaving roughly half of Chapter 4 sections unverifiable from primary source — those districts carry partial confidence with citation.
  • Form-based code overlay heavy: Fort Worth's Article 13 form-based districts (MU-1, MU-2, CB, NS, PI, TL, BU) cover an unusually wide swath of the central city — Camp Bowie, Magnolia, South Main, Berry/TCU, the planned Panther Island canal district, and Trinity Lakes TOD. This makes Fort Worth one of the more form-based-friendly major TX cities, in contrast to the overwhelmingly euclidean Dallas pattern across the metro.
  • PI (Panther Island) district designed for canal-edge high-density mixed-use atop the Trinity River Vision Authority's bypass channel project; coordinated with TUP design overlay. Among the most dense planned districts in any TX city by entitlement; actual buildout dependent on the still-incomplete TRV bypass channel.
  • AICUZ overlay (§4.405) reflects NAS JRB Fort Worth (former Carswell AFB, now Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base) Air Installation Compatible Use Zone — a major federal land-use overlay covering a substantial swath of west and northwest Fort Worth. The §4.405 use-compatibility table is exhaustive (~80 NAICS rows in two tables: APZ + RPZ). All household residential uses are PROHIBITED in Clear Zone, APZ-I, and APZ-II — this is an active constraint on west-side residential development. Federal AICUZ supersedes any conflicting state preemption per FM-P (federal-state-conflict status).
  • DUDD (Downtown Urban Design District) overlay automatically attaches to all H-zoned (Central Business) parcels per the official Summary of Zoning Districts. Combined with H's no-height-limit base, this creates a permissive-with-design-review downtown regime.
  • TCU Residential overlay restricts unrelated-person occupancy in A-series districts surrounding Texas Christian University to limit dormitory-style conversions of single-family dwellings — a Fort-Worth-specific quirk driven by TCU's growth and surrounding-neighborhood pressure.
  • MF buffer rule (§§4.710-4.712): when CR/C/D multifamily adjoins one- or two-family residential, building setback equals 3 ft per 1 ft of slab-to-sill-plate height OR 2 ft per 1 ft of grade-to-peak height, whichever is greater, with 30 ft minimum. Plus 5-ft bufferyard with 6-ft screen fence. This is one of the more demanding MF-to-SF buffer rules among TX major cities — typically Fort Worth's actual MF building heights are constrained more by this buffer than by the 36/48 ft base height.
  • UR (Urban Residential) rail-station parking reduction (§4.713(e)): within 1,320 ft (quarter-mile) of a rail transit station, parking minimums are cut by ~50% (apartments: 1.0 → 0.5 spaces per bedroom; townhouse: 2 → 1 per unit). Anchored to TEXRail (Trinity Metro DMU service to DFW Airport) stations and future rail expansion. Progressive feature for a city without heavy passenger rail.
  • D district unique height-distance rule: 36 ft within 250 ft of one- or two-family district; 48 ft beyond 250 ft — a distance-graduated height regime, not a uniform district maximum.
  • The original 4/02/19 Summary of Zoning Districts PDF at mapit.fortworthtexas.gov is the canonical district roster reference for the codification — it was the only source that survived the Cloudflare gate and provided the complete district enumeration.

Formulas

Definitions

height
Maximum building height measured grade to highest point per Chapter 6, Development Standards, § 6.100, Height. UR and form-based districts measure in stories with parking-/open-space-bonus increments.
lot_coverage
Building footprint as percentage of lot area. Confirmed for A-21 (30%), A-10 (40%), A-7.5 (45%), A-5 (50%), ER (30%) per §4.702-4.705 and §4.900 amlegal sections.
far
Floor area ratio (gross floor area / lot area). Not the primary intensity metric in Fort Worth's residential or commercial districts; applies primarily to the §4.405 Airport Overlay (CUZ/AO) compatibility tables and to form-based districts.
du_ac
Dwelling units per acre. Codified for multifamily (CR=16, C=24, D=32 per §§4.710-4.712) and townhouse R2 (24 max, §4.709). UR uses du/ac with single-use vs height-bonus tiers (40 single-use → 60 with structured-parking or open-space bonus).
setback_front
Distance from front property line to building face. Per Chapter 6, Development Standards, §6.101(d), Yards.
setback_side
Distance from side property line to building face. Special rules for corner lots and zero-lot-line (AR) districts per §6.503.
setback_rear
Distance from rear property line to building face. Multifamily districts use slab-to-top-plate height-driven 3:1 or 2:1 setback when adjacent to one- or two-family districts (per §§4.710-4.712).
parking
CR/C/D multifamily: 1 space per bedroom + 1 space per 250 sf of common area/offices/recreation; townhouse-configured MF: 2 spaces per unit in attached garage. UR: 2 spaces/unit with rail-station reductions to 1 space (or 0.5/bedroom for apartments) within 1,320 ft of rail (§4.713(e)).

Capacity calculations

max_units_from_lot_area
lot_area_sf / min_lot_sf
du_ac_from_min_lot
43560 / min_lot_sf
mf_height_setback_from_residential
max(3 * height_slab_to_sill_plate_ft, 2 * height_grade_to_peak_ft, 30) feet — per CR/C/D adjacent-to-one-or-two-family rule (§§4.710-4.712)

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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District Category Height FAR Coverage Setbacks Parking Density Min lot Overlays

Sources & references

Primary source
Appendix A — Zoning Regulations, Fort Worth City Code
retrieved 2026-04-26
Citations
  1. [1] §4.700-area
  2. [2] i§4.700-area
  3. [3] §4.701-area
  4. [4] i§4.701-area
  5. [5] §4.702
  6. [6] §4.702
  7. [7] §4.702
  8. [8] §4.702
  9. [9] §4.702
  10. [10] §4.702
  11. [11] §4.703
  12. [12] §4.703
  13. [13] §4.703
  14. [14] §4.703
  15. [15] §4.703
  16. [16] §4.703
  17. [17] §4.704
  18. [18] §4.704
  19. [19] §4.704
  20. [20] §4.704
  21. [21] §4.704
  22. [22] §4.704
  23. [23] §4.705
  24. [24] §4.705
  25. [25] §4.705
  26. [26] §4.705
  27. [27] §4.705
  28. [28] §4.705
  29. [29] §4.706
  30. [30] §4.706
  31. [31] §4.706
  32. [32] §4.706
  33. [33] §4.706
  34. [34] §4.707-area
  35. [35] i§4.707-area
  36. [36] i§4.707-area
  37. [37] §4.708-area
  38. [38] i§4.708-area
  39. [39] i§4.708-area
  40. [40] §4.709
  41. [41] §4.709
  42. [42] §4.709
  43. [43] §4.709
  44. [44] §4.710
  45. [45] §4.710
  46. [46] §4.710
  47. [47] §4.710
  48. [48] §4.710
  49. [49] §4.710
  50. [50] §4.710
  51. [51] §4.711
  52. [52] §4.711
  53. [53] §4.711
  54. [54] §4.711
  55. [55] §4.711
  56. [56] §4.711
  57. [57] §4.711
  58. [58] §4.712
  59. [59] §4.712
  60. [60] §4.712
  61. [61] §4.712
  62. [62] §4.712
  63. [63] §4.712
  64. [64] §4.712
  65. [65] §4.713
  66. [66] §4.713
  67. [67] §4.713
  68. [68] §4.713
  69. [69] §4.713
  70. [70] §4.713(e)
  71. [71] §4.13xx
  72. [72] §4.13xx
  73. [73] §4.1306
  74. [74] §4.13xx
  75. [75] §4.13xx
  76. [76] §4.13xx
  77. [77] §4.13xx
  78. [78] §4.900
  79. [79] §4.900
  80. [80] §4.900
  81. [81] §4.900
  82. [82] §4.900
  83. [83] §4.901-area (Summary of Zoning Districts)
  84. [84] §4.902-area (Summary of Zoning Districts)
  85. [85] §4.903-area (Summary of Zoning Districts)
  86. [86] §4.904-area (Summary of Zoning Districts)
  87. [87] §4.905-area (Summary of Zoning Districts)
  88. [88] §4.1001-area (Summary of Zoning Districts)
  89. [89] §4.1002-area (Summary of Zoning Districts)
  90. [90] §4.1003-area (Summary of Zoning Districts)
  91. [91] i§4.1xxx
  92. [92] i§4.1xxx
  93. [93] i§4.1xxx
  94. [94] §4.401 (DD overlay)
  95. [95] §4.405 Table 1
  96. [96] §4.405 Table 1
  97. [97] §4.405 Table 1
  98. [98] §4.405 Table 1
  99. [99] §4.405 Table 1 (Note 9)
  100. [100] §4.405 Note 1
  101. [101] §4.405 Note 1
  102. [102] §floodplain-mgmt-ord
  103. [103] §44 CFR §59.1

Research status

Publication gates

primary url presentpassedsource.primary_url = https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/ftworth/latest/ftworth_tx/0-0-0-32923 (Appendix A — Zoning Regulations); amlegal is a codification host, not an aggregator. Secondary URLs include city-hosted ordinance portal (fortworthtexas.gov/departments/development-services/zoning/ordinance), the canonical district summary PDF (mapit.fortworthtexas.gov/Zoning_DistSummary/ZoningDistSummary.pdf), and the Chapter 6 development standards PDF. All HTTPS.
no aggregator citedpassedRecord scan confirms no Zoneomics / Steadily / SitePlanGuide / SitePlanCreator / Propwire / Zonara / Unzoned references in any field. All citations point to amlegal section numbers (§4.x.y), the city Summary of Zoning Districts, the Fort Worth municipal floodplain ordinance, federal regulations (14 CFR Part 77, 44 CFR §60.3, OPNAVINST 11010.36C), Census Bureau PEP, or the Texas state preemption file (zoning/us/texas/preemptions.json). Wayback Machine (web.archive.org) is referenced as a retrieval mechanism for the primary amlegal source — not as a content authority.
confidence tags full formpassedAll confidence tags use the full form: c§4.7XX (confirmed with section), p§4.7XX-area (partial with section area), or i§4.7XX (inferred with section). 78 confirmed values carry section-specific citations to extracted Wayback-cached amlegal pages. 36 partial values carry section-area citations with retrieval_failure_reason notes (Cloudflare gating + Wayback CDX coverage gap). No bare [confirmed] tags.
overlays have parameters trigger confidencepassed7/7 overlays (HC/HSE/DD, DUDD, TUP, TCU, AO/CUZ, CUP, FEMA-SFHA) each carry: name, code, type (HP/DT/SPEC/AP/FP), source_jurisdiction (fort-worth-tx), ordinance (§ reference), trigger (geographic + applicability prose), params (non-empty, ≥4 keys each — AO has 14 keys including verbatim §4.405 use-compatibility values), base_interaction, and confidence (full form with §). FEMA-SFHA carries federal_overlay_refs equivalent context.
preempt section city specificpassedstate_preemptions_applicable[] contains 5 per-law TX entries (SB 840, SB 15, HB 2127, HB 3699, ADU-none). SB 840 carries city-specific qualifying_condition_checked with primary numeric inputs: Fort Worth pop 1,008,106 (2024 PEP) and 918,915 (2020 Decennial); Tarrant County pop 2,140,629 (2024 PEP) and 2,126,477 (2020 Decennial); explicit threshold comparison (city 6.7×, county 7.1×) — determines applies=true. SB 15 carries per-parcel-conditional applicability with the three Fort Worth districts whose floors fall below the 4,000-sf threshold (AR 3,500, R1 detached 3,000, R1 ZLL 2,500). HB 2127, HB 3699, and ADU-none carry explicit not-applicable reasoning. Not link-stubs — each entry has city-specific arithmetic and effect-on-city statements.

Data quality

62%completeness78 confirmed36 partial24 inferred
Documented gaps
  • amlegal Cloudflare gate prevents direct retrieval — all confirmed values come from Wayback cached section pages (which captured only ~20 of 100+ Chapter 4-5 section IDs); other section dimensional tables remain partial pending alternate retrieval
  • Form-based districts §4.13xx (MU-1, MU-2, NS, PI, TL, BU): full dimensional tables with build-to lines, frontage requirements, transparency, and façade rules pending direct section retrieval. Heights estimated from Summary of Zoning Districts PDF descriptions
  • Commercial districts §4.901-905 (E, FR, F, G, H): heights confirmed from Summary; complete dimensional standards (setbacks, lot size, FAR, parking) pending direct section retrieval
  • Industrial districts §4.1001-1003 (I, J, K): heights confirmed from Summary; complete dimensional standards pending
  • Two-family B and zero-lot R1 districts (§4.707-708): lot sizes confirmed from Summary; setbacks, height, and density specifics pending direct section retrieval
  • Special-purpose AG, CF, MH dimensional standards pending — described qualitatively in Summary of Zoning Districts but no dimensional table extracted
  • PD (Planned Development) framework: each PD has bespoke approved standards; corpus-level standards not applicable
  • Article 4 overlay sections beyond §4.401 (HC) and §4.405 (AO): DUDD (§4.402-area), TUP (§4.404-area), TCU (§4.403-area), CUP (§4.406-area) — section IDs not in Wayback CDX coverage; full dimensional/procedural detail pending direct retrieval
  • Floodplain overlay: codified in separate Fort Worth floodplain management ordinance, not Appendix A; freeboard estimated at 2 ft pending direct ordinance retrieval

Known issues

blocker:amlegal-cloudflarecohort:wayback-fallbackdata:partial-form-based-tables

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