Memphis Zoning Intelligence
Zoning, permitted uses, and development potential for Memphis, Tennessee. 60 districts with their permitted uses and building controls.
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Zoning districts are shown at zoom 15 and closer. Zoom out for the Memphis city outline and street context.
How is Memphis zoned?
Memphis regulates land through 60 zoning districts, and the Employment district at roughly 20,883 acres is the third largest classification, behind only the main residential district and heavy industrial.
Naming a district Employment rather than industrial or commercial states that the city cares about jobs on that land regardless of the sector, and at over twenty thousand acres it is a major part of the map.
The residential codes state lot size at 6, 8, 10 and 15 for single family and run a Residential Urban series at 1 through 4. R-6 is the largest district in the city at roughly 35,601 acres.
The historic overlay is written into the code. R-6 with a historic overlay covers roughly 2,330 acres and Residential Urban 3 with one about 245. At that scale the historic designation applies to a substantial share of the city's older neighborhoods.
A Conservation Agriculture district covers roughly 13,836 acres and a Floodway district about 6,612, together more than twenty thousand acres of constrained land.
Commercial Mixed Use is numbered 1, 2 and 3 covering roughly 11,131 acres, a very large mixed use framework.
A Campus Master Plan district covers roughly 863 acres. This is pre-development intelligence, not legal advice - verify with the local planning department before acquisition.
Memphis, Tennessee Zoning Districts: What Do They Mean?
Zoning districts are areas regulated by specific laws that determine land use, building types, and development rules. Each district below shows its zone type. Memphis's ordinance does not state permitted uses as citywide flags, so they are read from each district's own table rather than summarised here.
| Zone Code | Zone Type | Area |
|---|---|---|
R-6 Residential Single Family 6 | - | 35,601.1 ac |
IH Heavy Industrial | - | 21,172.1 ac |
EMP Employment | - | 20,883.4 ac |
R-10 Residential Single Family 10 | - | 20,653.9 ac |
What are the building controls in Memphis?
Setback, height, FAR, lot area, and density controls enforced across Memphis zoning districts.
- Building height
- Coverage
- Density
- FAR
- Front setback
- Lot
- Lot width
- Multi
- Pervious
- Rear setback
- Side setback
Other Tennessee cities
Memphis zoning: frequently asked questions
- What is the Employment district?
- A district covering roughly 20,883 acres, the third largest classification. Naming it Employment rather than industrial or commercial states that the city cares about jobs on that land regardless of sector.
- How is the historic overlay applied?
- Written into the district code. R-6 with a historic overlay covers roughly 2,330 acres and Residential Urban 3 with one about 245, so the designation applies to a substantial share of older neighborhoods.
- How much constrained land is there?
- A Conservation Agriculture district covers roughly 13,836 acres and a Floodway district about 6,612, together more than twenty thousand acres.
- How large is the mixed use framework?
- Commercial Mixed Use numbered 1, 2 and 3 covers roughly 11,131 acres together, a very large mixed use framework relative to most cities in this dataset.
- How is residential density coded?
- Single family states lot size at 6, 8, 10 and 15, and a Residential Urban series runs 1 through 4. R-6 is the largest district in the city at roughly 35,601 acres.
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Book a demo →Zoning data is pre-development intelligence, not legal advice. Verify with the Memphis planning department before acquisition or design.