Overview
Worth knowing
- Home in Tacoma UR-zone rollout (Feb 2025) — new FAR-based system replaces legacy R-zones. [confirmed]
- Dual zoning system coexistence: old R-1 through R-5 + new UR-1 through UR-3 both active. [confirmed]
- HB 1110 fourplex by-right statewide preemption applies. [confirmed]
+ 5 more in Quirks & notes
Districts
res_mf 6res_sf 3com 3ind 3cbd 2mu 1
| Code | Name | Category | Min lot | Height | Coverage | FAR | Du/ac | Parking | Setbacks F/S/R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-1 | Single Family — Old R-1 | res_sf | 7,500 sf | 35 ft | — | — | — | 1 | 25 / 5 / — |
| R-2 | Single Family — Old R-2 | res_sf | 5,000 sf | 35 ft | — | — | — | 1 | 20 / 5 / — |
| R-3 | Two-Family — Old R-3 | res_mf | 2,500 sf | 35 ft | — | — | 12[1] | — | — / — / — |
| R-4-L | Multi-Family Low — Old R-4-L | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-4 | Multi-Family — Old R-4 | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-5 | Multi-Family High — Old R-5 | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| UR-1 | Urban Residential 1 | res_sf | — | 35 ft | — | 0.8 | 5 | 0.87 | — / — / — |
| UR-2 | Urban Residential 2 | res_mf | — | 35 ft | — | 1 | 10 | — | — / — / — |
| UR-3 | Urban Residential 3 | res_mf | — | 45 ft | — | 1.2 | 22 | — | — / — / — |
| C-1 | Neighborhood Commercial | com | — | 40 ft | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| C-2 | General Commercial | com | — | 50 ft | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| T | Town Center | mu | — | 45 ft | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| M-1 | Light Industrial | ind | — | 75 ft | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| M-2 | Heavy Industrial | ind | — | 100 ft | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| PMI | Port Maritime Industrial | ind | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| DCC | Downtown Commercial Core | cbd | — | 100 ft | — | 6 | — | — | — / — / — |
| DMU | Downtown Mixed Use | cbd | — | 100 ft | — | 4.5 | — | — | — / — / — |
| DN | Downtown Neighborhood | com | — | 57 ft | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found
Overlays
HP
Historic Preservation
HPDesignated historic districts and landmarks
| review | Certificate of Appropriateness required |
|---|
SMP
Shoreline / Marine
ENVShoreline Management Program — Puget Sound, Commencement Bay, waterways
| buffer | 50-200ft depending on classification |
|---|
TF
Tideflats / Port Industrial
indPort of Tacoma tideflats industrial area
| housing | Prohibited in M-2 and PMI zones |
|---|
CAO
Environmental / Critical Areas
ENVWetlands, steep slopes, fish/wildlife habitat, flood hazard areas
Adopted building codes
Statewide; update sched May 2026
Click a code label to open its state-by-state adoption atlas.
Quirks & notes
- Home in Tacoma UR-zone rollout (Feb 2025) — new FAR-based system replaces legacy R-zones. [confirmed]
- Dual zoning system coexistence: old R-1 through R-5 + new UR-1 through UR-3 both active. [confirmed]
- HB 1110 fourplex by-right statewide preemption applies. [confirmed]
- SB 5184 parking cap preempts local parking minimums near transit. [confirmed]
- Downtown RPA zero-parking zone — no minimums in downtown core. [confirmed]
- Shoreline 'super-overlay' restricts all waterfront development with 50-200ft buffers. [confirmed TMC Title 19]
- Port housing prohibition — residential uses banned in M-2 and PMI tideflats zones. [confirmed]
- Small-lot standards TMC 13.06.145 allow reduced lot sizes in R-1 and R-2. [confirmed]
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
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
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| District | Category | Height | FAR | Coverage | Setbacks | Parking | Density | Min lot | Overlays |
|---|
Sources & references
Citations
- [1] i
Research status
Data quality
55%completeness36 confirmed25 partial20 inferred
Documented gaps
- Legacy R-4-L/R-4/R-5 standards incomplete
- UR-zone setbacks not yet codified in detail
- Commercial parking ratios not specified
- PMI standards partial
Known issues
schema:v1-legacypriority:mediumdata:gaps-present
Other cities in this state
Nearest-alphabetical profiles. Click through to compare zoning patterns side-by-side.