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- The zoning district
- Its permitted uses, where read
- The Score and every factor
Zoning
Zoning from the city’s own map, cited.
The district, free, from the city’s map or the parcel record. Your lot’s standards and buildable envelope are in the report.
Free · About 20 seconds · No signup
Every district, from the city’s own map.
East Austin, from the city’s own zoning layer. Tap any district.
Tab into the map, then use the arrow keys to move from district to district. Each district's code and status appear in the panel.
Loading the city’s layer…
East Austin · City of Austin open zoning layer (Current_Zoning_gdb), read Nov 2, 2026. Codes and outlines only. Acknowledgment of City of Austin, Geospatial Services – Data Development.
The district is free. Your lot’s numbers are in the report.
Property Report
$99 per report
- Max height██ ftIn the report
- Setbacks (front / side / rear)██ ft / █ ft / ██ ftIn the report
- Max lot coverage██%In the report
- Min lot size█,███ sq ftIn the report
- Buildable envelope fitted to this lot█,███ sq ft buildableIn the report
Standards and the envelope appear where the city’s code has been read. The Zoning Atlas lists where.
Go deeper
Zoning, in full
How much zoning weighs, how it is scored, what the code says for the districts we have read, and where we have read it.
Zoning is 16% of the Score, 14% in Texas
By default zoning is tied with flood and behind only terrain. Austin parcels are scored with the Texas weights, where utilities (24%) and terrain (15%) both outrank zoning.
| Factor | Default | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| Terrain | 20% | 15% |
| Zoning | 16% | 14% |
| Flood | 16% | 14% |
| Soil | 12% | 12% |
| Wildfire | 12% | 12% |
| Utilities | 12% | 24% |
| Lot geometry | 11% | 10% |
| Seismic | Context | Context |
| Radon | Context | Context |
Zoning is 14% in Florida and 22% in California. Seismic and radon are regional context: read, scored and shown on the report, not averaged into the number.
Sourcepackages/score · v3.ts·DEFAULT_WEIGHTS·REGIONAL_WEIGHTS
How the zoning factor is scored
- Inputs
- Max FAR, max lot coverage and minimum lot size, each read on a permissiveness curve and averaged. More permissive standards score higher; larger minimum lots score lower.
- Unknown
- With no dimensional standards on record, the factor is left out of the Score and the report says so. A district name alone is never scored.
- Free tier
- The server’s own reading of the same standards feeds the Score; the numbers themselves open with the full report.
Sourcepackages/score · v3.ts·evalZoning
Austin’s read districts, standard by standard
The base table of § 25-2-492(D), read July 18, 2026. District standards are public in the Atlas; the report fits them to your lot.
| Standard | SF-3 | SF-2 | SF-1 | RR | LA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Min lot size (sq ft) | 5,750 | 5,750 | 10,000 | 43,560 | 43,560 |
| Max height (ft) | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 |
| Front yard (ft) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 40 | 40 |
| Interior side yard (ft) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 |
| Rear yard (ft) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 20 |
| Max building coverage | 40% | 40% | 35% | 20% | — |
| Max impervious cover | 45% | 45% | 40% | 25% | Not read |
| Max dwelling units per lot | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
— means the table sets no standard (LA building coverage). “Not read” is a footnote cell the engine refuses to align (LA impervious cover). There is no FAR row we can read. Overlays (NP, HD and others) are not read; results there say to verify with the city.
Sourcepackages/score · law/austin.ts·§ 25-2-492(D)·Zoning Atlas
Permitted uses
- SF-1, SF-2, SF-3 Single-family, duplex, two-unit and three-unit residential, each permitted by right (P).
- LA, RR Single-family only, by right.
Sourcepackages/score · law/austin.ts·§ 25-2-491(C)·read July 18, 2026
What we flag but don’t decide
Rules the engine knows exist but cannot check yet. They surface as open questions on the result, never as a guess.
- Subchapter F Residential design and compatibility standards may cap floor area inside a mapped boundary that is not checked here. Shown on every SF-1, SF-2 and SF-3 result.
- § 25-2-773 Two- and three-unit uses carry their own site standards (15 ft front yard, 40% building coverage, 45% impervious cover) that supersede the base table. Shown on every SF-1, SF-2 and SF-3 result.
- HOME Phase 2 The 2024 amendments allow smaller single-family lots in SF-1, SF-2 and SF-3. Shown when a lot is below the table’s minimum: that check becomes “verify with the city”, never a fail.
Sourcepackages/score · law/austin.ts·SF_ADVISORIES·AUSTIN_SMALL_LOT_PATH·determination.ts
Where the code has been read
The district comes back free everywhere. The Zoning Atlas lists every city and district whose code has been read, each standard quoted to its section.
The engine checks its hand-read tables first, then the rest of the Atlas. Hand-read today: Austin, TX · Denver, CO · Garden City, UT · Tulsa, OK · Raleigh, NC · Cheyenne, WY · Kenosha, WI · South Jordan, UT · Heber City, UT.
Where a city’s code has not been read, the Score can still use FAR, coverage or minimum lot from the parcel’s own record. Zoning drops out only when no dimensional standard is on record.
Sourcepackages/score · law/registry.ts·JURISDICTIONS·lib/lawAtlas.ts·resolveLawStandards
City hall, held against one report
What decoding a district by hand costs, beside one report.
| Reading the code yourself | With Buildability | |
|---|---|---|
| Time to an answer | 2–3 weeks of calls and PDFs | About 20 seconds |
| Format | Ordinance text, read by hand | Plain-English envelope |
| Uses | Cross-referenced across code sections | By-right and conditional, labeled |
| Citations | Rarely included | Every finding names its source |
A screening standard, not a substitute for entitlement counsel on the deal you pursue.
Sourcefeatures/zoning-analysis·COMPARISON
Three terms that decide what you can build
- FAR
- Floor Area Ratio: total building floor area divided by lot size. A FAR of 2.0 on a 5,000 sq ft lot caps you at 10,000 sq ft of floor area.
- Setbacks
- Minimum distances between a building and the property lines: front, side, and rear. They directly determine your buildable area.
- Variance
- A locally governed request for relief from a zoning standard. Required findings, hearings, timing, and approval rules vary by jurisdiction.
Sourcecheck-zoning·TERMS·Glossary
Geo answers zoning questions by running the engine
What is 1444 Tennyson St zoned, and what does that allow?
Likely yes. 1444 Tennyson St, Denver scores 89 (Strong). It's zoned U-SU-C2. No blocking constraint was identified in the records checked. Local requirements and site conditions still need verification. What fits on it depends on the city’s rules.
A real read of 1444 Tennyson St, Denver on Nov 7, 2026. Every figure is the engine’s output for this lot. The live answer is rebuilt from each fresh read.
Sourcelib/landing/geoDemoTurns.ts·heroTurns
Questions
The data
Where does the zoning data come from?
The district comes from the city’s own zoning map where we read one, otherwise the parcel record. The standards come from the city’s published code, quoted to the section in the Zoning Atlas. Every finding cites its source.
What does the analysis include?
The designation from the record; permitted and conditional uses, setbacks, height, FAR, lot coverage and minimum lot size where the city’s code has been read. Austin’s § 25-2-492(D) table has no FAR row we can read, so Austin results carry none. The standards feed the zoning sub-score, 16% of the Score by default and 14% in Texas.
Which districts have their code read?
The Zoning Atlas lists every city and district. In Austin today: LA, RR, SF-1, SF-2 and SF-3, from § 25-2-492(D) as read July 18, 2026. Elsewhere the district still comes back free, and zoning drops out of the Score only when no dimensional standard is on record.
What if zoning cannot be determined for my parcel?
The factor drops out of the Score and the report says so; the other factors carry the verdict. A district name alone is never scored, and nothing is guessed.
Checking zoning yourself
How do I check the zoning for a property?
First confirm whether a city or county governs the parcel. Use that jurisdiction’s official zoning map to identify the base and overlay districts, then read the current ordinance for permitted uses and development standards.
What do zoning codes mean?
A zoning label points to a local set of rules. The label alone does not answer what can be built; the ordinance, overlays, use tables, dimensional standards, project details, and prior approvals complete the answer.
Can zoning change?
Yes. A jurisdiction may amend its code or map, and a parcel may also be affected by pending cases or site-specific approvals. Check source and effective dates and ask the jurisdiction about pending changes.
What is a zoning variance?
A variance is a locally governed request for relief from a zoning standard. Required findings, notice, hearings, and timing differ by jurisdiction, and approval is not guaranteed.
Using it
Can I test a rezone?
Not as a modelled score. Ask Geo about the target district and it reads that district’s standards from the city’s code, cited to the section, so you can set them beside today’s.
Is the result official, or legal advice?
No. It is a screening standard, not a substitute for entitlement counsel. Use it to kill bad sites fast, then verify with the jurisdiction and counsel on the deal you pursue, before a purchase, loan, design or permit application.
Cost
What does it cost?
The Score is free: every factor, cited, no card. One Property Report is $99, falling to $79 each at volume (10 or more). The report adds the owner of record and APN, plus the district’s height, setbacks and FAR on this lot and the buildable envelope wherever the code has been read.
MoreAudit the sources·How the Score is built·Zoning lookup by city·Lot-subdivision rules by state·Glossary
Know the zoning first.
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