Overlay Districts

A parking lots and homes sit on a bluff above a large beach on Pacific coast in Southern California.

Meeting Housing Goals by Loosening Commercial Zoning

Torrance, a city on the coast of Southern California in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, recently adopted a zoning overlay that will relax commercial zones to allow more residential development.

August 28, 2023 - The Real Deal

Colorfu rowhouses in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Examining Philadelphia’s Zoning Overlay Districts

A decades-old policy allowing hyperlocal zoning exemptions and restrictions creates a confusing patchwork of zoning regulations across the city.

May 4, 2023 - Philadelphia Inquirer

"You are entering Jackson's downtown historic district" brown sign

What Is an Overlay District?

A zoning overlay district superimposes an additional set of regulations over an existing zoning district, or multiple zoning districts.

June 15, 2022 - Diana Ionescu

A view up Santa Fe Drive in Denver. Stores and construction are visible along the street, and Downtown Denver looms in the background.

Denver Wants Ground Floor Retail, Sidewalk Extensions to Achieve Main Street 'Vibe'

The Arts District on Santa Fe Drive is considered one of Denver's final frontiers for revitalization. Local stakeholders are targeting zoning changes as a potential solution.

March 13, 2022 - The Denver Post

Mobile home park in Orange County, California

Seattle Weighs Protections for Mobile Home Parks

To protect a valuable source of affordable housing, Seattle's city council will consider creating a 'mobile home overlay district' that would preserve housing and regulate new development.

December 10, 2021 - The Urbanist

https://picryl.com/media/strawberry-mansion-philadelphia-philadelphia-county-pa

Philadelphia Neighborhoods Leverage Zoning Overlays for Local Control

Overlay districts provide a tool for guiding the future of development and environmental controls at the neighborhood level.

February 3, 2021 - WHYY

Residential Neighborhood

Making Sense of San Antonio's Infill Development Plans

San Antonio is changing, and the city's land use regulations aren't living up to the desires of the city's communities, according to one local architect and planner.

August 22, 2017 - Rivard Report

Proposed Ordinance Would Rework Dallas’ Conservation Districts

Dallas is mulling changes to the process by which neighborhoods can seek and obtain conservation district status. As city staff considers the changes, one former councilwoman for the city asks, “if it ain’t broke…”

February 28, 2014 - Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate

The Potential for Rail Station Overlay Districts

A House bill in Maryland that would have created overlay districts around train stations failed to pass, but N.J. Slabbert writes that the ideas were solid and should find new life in a different form.

April 15, 2011 - The Baltimore Sun

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