Zoning › Texas › Galveston County › League City

League City, TX Zoning

17 districts. 11 overlays.

Overview

Worth knowing

+ 12 more in Quirks & notes

Districts

res_sf 5mu 3res_mf 2retail 2warehouse 2office 1civic 1open_space 1
CodeNameCategory Min lotHeight CoverageFAR Du/acParking Setbacks F/S/R
RSF-2Residential Single-Family 2 (high-density small-lot)res_sf2,000 sf[4]42 ft[5]————20[1] / 5[2] / 10[3]
RSF-5Residential Single-Family 5 (medium density)res_sf5,000 sf[9]42 ft[10]————20[6] / 5[7] / 10[8]
RSF-7Residential Single-Family 7 (medium density)res_sf7,000 sf[14]42 ft[15]————25[11] / 5[12] / 10[13]
RSF-10Residential Single-Family 10 (low density suburban)res_sf10,000 sf[19]42 ft[20]————25[16] / 15[17] / 25[18]
RSF-20Residential Single-Family 20 (very-low-density large-lot)res_sf20,000 sf[24]42 ft[25]————30[21] / 20[22] / 30[23]
RMF-2Residential Multi-Family 2 (medium density)res_mf—42 ft[27]————20[26] / — / —
RMF-1.2Residential Multi-Family 1.2 (high density apartments)res_mf—48 ft[29]————25[28] / — / —
CNNeighborhood Commercialretail5,000 sf[31]30 ft[32]————0[30] / — / —
CGGeneral Commercialretail10,000 sf[34]125 ft[35]————20[33] / — / —
COCommercial Officeoffice10,000 sf[37]60 ft[38]————20[36] / — / —
CMCommercial Mixed Usemu25,000 sf[40]125 ft[41]————0[39] / — / —
ILLimited Industrialwarehouse25,000 sf[43]125 ft[44]————20[42] / — / —
IGGeneral Industrialwarehouse25,000 sf[46]125 ft[47]————20[45] / — / —
PSPublic and Semi-Publiccivic5,000 sf[49]80 ft[50]————20[48] / — / —
OSOpen Spaceopen_space—35 ft[54]————20[51] / 10[52] / 20[53]
OTOlde Townemu2,500 sf[56]—————0[55] / — / —
OTTOlde Towne Transitionmu3,750 sf[58]—————0[57] / — / —

Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found

Overlays

PUD
Planned Unit Development Overlay District
planned_unit_development
c§3.10
CRC
Commercial Revitalization Overlay District
corridor
c§3.11
HCD
Historic Overlay District (Historic District)
historic
c§3.12
FLOOD_CH50
Floodplain (Chapter 50 Floods) — cross-cutting, NOT a UDC overlay
floodplain
Chapter 50 Floods, c§50.35; documented separately because the UDC itself does NOT contain a 'Coastal Hazard' or floodplain overlay zoning district per UDC Sec. 3.2.2 (only PUD, CRC, HCD).
BAC
Bay Area Boulevard Corridor Overlay
corridor
NASA
NASA Parkway / Johnson Space Center Impact Zone Overlay
corridor
CRC_RIPARIAN
Clear Creek / Riparian Environmental Overlay (legacy fabrication)
environmental
DOWNTOWN
Downtown / CBD Overlay (subsumed by Olde Towne districts)
downtown_cbd
TOD
Transit-Oriented Development overlay
transit_oriented
AH_BONUS
Affordable Housing Density Bonus
affordable_housing
AICUZ
Military AICUZ / Part 77 Airport Overlay
airport_airspace

State preemptions

Non-applicable laws (2)
not_applicable
Qualifying condition
League City population ~115,000 (2025 Census estimate) FAILS the city-population threshold of ≥150,000 required by Texas SB 840. Galveston County population ~350,000 (2025) PASSES the ≥300,000 county gate, but the conjunctive AND predicate fails on the city prong. Inputs: city.population=115000, county.population=350000. Thresholds: city≥150000 AND county≥300000 — city gate fails.
applicable
Qualifying condition
Texas SB 15 applies statewide to qualifying small lots (≤4,000 sf) with no city-population threshold. League City's RSF-2 base district allows lots down to 2,000 sf and is intrinsically aligned with SB 15 small-lot deregulation. Inputs: parcel.lot_area_sf≤4000 (trigger condition), effective_date=2025-09-01.

Adopted building codes

Home rule; major cities on 2024 IBC

IBC
2012 (state min)
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
adoptionLeague City UDC adoption ordinance (Council action 2020-09-30)
last supplementUDC Article 3 PDF footer: 'Last Updated: April 6, 2026'
amendmentLeague City P&Z Staff Report — UDC Amendments (2024-09-09 meeting)

Quirks & notes

Formulas

Definitions

height
Grade to highest point of structure, excluding rooftop antenna and minor appurtenances.
lot_coverage
Building footprint / lot area; principal + accessory.
far
Gross floor area / lot area (UDC does not use FAR; bulk governed by lot coverage / impervious surface + setbacks + height).
du_ac
Dwelling units per gross acre.
impervious_cover
All impervious surfaces / lot area (per UDC Sec. 5.7).
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
Per UDC Table 4.19.4: spaces per dwelling unit (residential) or spaces per square foot of GFA (commercial).

Capacity calculations

max_footprint_sf
lot_area_sf * impervious_cover (proxy; UDC uses impervious surface coverage rather than building-footprint-only coverage)
max_gfa_sf
lot_area_sf * impervious_cover * (max_height_ft / 10)
max_units_from_density
lot_area_sf * du_ac / 43560 (RMF only)
buildable_width_ft
lot_width_ft - setback_side_ft * 2
buildable_depth_ft
lot_depth_ft - setback_front_ft - setback_rear_ft
parking_required
units * parking
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.

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

Sources & references

Primary source
https://www.leaguecitytx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3230/UDC---Article-3-Zoning-Reguations
Secondary sources
Citations
  1. [1] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  2. [2] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2 (zero-lot-line and townhouse/duplex permitted; 15 ft applies to townhouses/duplexes; 10 ft min unit separation on opposite side)
  3. [3] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2 (15 ft for townhouses/duplexes; 6 ft for accessory when rear lot abuts alley)
  4. [4] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  5. [5] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  6. [6] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2 (cul-de-sac / knuckle: 20 ft)
  7. [7] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  8. [8] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2 (rear alley: 6 ft for accessory garage)
  9. [9] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  10. [10] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  11. [11] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2 (cul-de-sac / knuckle: 20 ft)
  12. [12] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  13. [13] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2 (rear alley: 6 ft for accessory garage)
  14. [14] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  15. [15] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  16. [16] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  17. [17] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  18. [18] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  19. [19] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  20. [20] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  21. [21] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  22. [22] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  23. [23] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  24. [24] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  25. [25] §3.3.2 Table 3.3.2
  26. [26] §3.4.2 Table 3.4.2 (duplex/townhouse: 20 ft)
  27. [27] §3.4.2 Table 3.4.2
  28. [28] §3.4.2 Table 3.4.2 (duplex/townhouse: 20 ft)
  29. [29] §3.4.2 Table 3.4.2
  30. [30] §3.5.2 Table 3.5.2 ('--' = no minimum; build-to scheme via c§3.5.3)
  31. [31] §3.5.2 Table 3.5.2
  32. [32] §3.5.2 Table 3.5.2
  33. [33] §3.5.2 Table 3.5.2
  34. [34] §3.5.2 Table 3.5.2
  35. [35] §3.5.2 Table 3.5.2
  36. [36] §3.5.2 Table 3.5.2
  37. [37] §3.5.2 Table 3.5.2
  38. [38] §3.5.2 Table 3.5.2
  39. [39] §3.5.2 Table 3.5.2 ('--' = no minimum)
  40. [40] §3.5.2 Table 3.5.2
  41. [41] §3.5.2 Table 3.5.2
  42. [42] §3.6.2 Table 3.6.2
  43. [43] §3.6.2 Table 3.6.2
  44. [44] §3.6.2 Table 3.6.2
  45. [45] §3.6.2 Table 3.6.2
  46. [46] §3.6.2 Table 3.6.2
  47. [47] §3.6.2 Table 3.6.2
  48. [48] §3.7.2 Table 3.7.2
  49. [49] §3.7.2 Table 3.7.2
  50. [50] §3.7.2 Table 3.7.2 (tiered to residential proximity: 42 ft within 0-50 ft of residential, 55 ft 51-75 ft, 81 ft >75 ft)
  51. [51] §3.8.2 Table 3.8.2
  52. [52] §3.8.2 Table 3.8.2
  53. [53] §3.8.2 Table 3.8.2
  54. [54] §3.8.2 Table 3.8.2
  55. [55] §3.9.4 Table 3.9.4 (max front setback 15 ft — build-to regime)
  56. [56] §3.9.4 Table 3.9.4
  57. [57] §3.9.4 Table 3.9.4 (max front setback 20 ft)
  58. [58] §3.9.4 Table 3.9.4

Research status

Publication gates

primary url presentpassedhttps://www.leaguecitytx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3230/UDC---Article-3-Zoning-Reguations (city-hosted authoritative PDF, Last Updated 2026-04-06)
no aggregator citedpassedAll citations are to city-hosted UDC PDFs, the Municode primary URL (referenced not parsed), or elaws.us mirror (referenced not parsed). No zoneomics/steadily/siteplanguide/propwire/unzoned/zonara/sitedesignguide refs.
confidence tags full formpassedAll 16 district dimensional fields use {v, c} short-form citations to specific UDC sections (Sec. 3.3.2, Sec. 3.4.2, Sec. 3.5.2, Sec. 3.6.2, Sec. 3.7.2, Sec. 3.8.2, Sec. 3.9.4, Sec. 3.11.4) or expanded {v, status, citation} where confirmation is derived. Code-type, naming-convention, code-dates all confirmed with citations. Overlay parameters cite ordinance table cells.
overlays have parameters trigger confidencepassedThree confirmed UDC overlays (PUD, CRC, HCD) each with status, citation, geographic_trigger, and non-empty parameter array — all parameters confirmed against UDC tables. Floodplain documented as cross-cutting Chapter-50 regulation (not UDC overlay) with 24-inch freeboard confirmed. Six not_found overlays each have search_performed narrative explaining why.
preempt section city specificpassed2 Texas state laws evaluated with city-specific qualifying_condition_checked (SB 840 not_applicable with numeric city-pop 115000 < 150000 gate; SB 15 applicable with ≤4,000 sf lot trigger interlocking with RSF-2's 2,000 sf min). Federal Part 77 conflict flag documented for SB 840 height-floor / Ellington proximity.

Data quality

99%completeness236 confirmed2 partial6 not found
Documented gaps
  • RMF minimum lot area not specified in Table 3.4.2 (lot regulated via lot width + density cap)
  • OS minimum lot area not specified in Table 3.8.2
  • Industrial parking ratios are use-specific (per Table 4.19.4) — base district summary value not applicable
  • Olde Towne max height varies per Building Heights Map (graphical reference only)
  • FAR not used anywhere in the UDC — bulk governed by impervious surface coverage + height + setbacks instead

Known issues

status:shippedpriority:mediumcohort:phaseB-coastal-txdata:high-confidence-from-city-pdf

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