Citywide Housing Zoning Amendments
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Introduction
At the conclusion of the 2020 Downtown & Surrounding Neighborhood Housing Study & Strategy, staff from the Tulsa Planning Office continued meeting with community members to discuss how to address Zoning Code barriers to new housing development in existing neighborhoods. After hearing from residents and local home builders about several regulations that apply citywide were identified as barriers, we’re proposing these citywide changes to make it easier to build new housing. In addition to the citywide changes, a new overlay is proposed for the older neighborhoods closest to downtown that would allow housing to be built more easily on the smaller lots commonly found in that area.
Join us for a virtual public meeting on May 6 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to discuss these citywide changes.
Learn more about the project and timeline on the main project page.
What would the citywide housing Zoning Code amendments do?
The citywide zoning changes are meant to promote the development new housing in existing neighborhoods in the following zoning districts: RS-3, RS-4, RS-5, RD, RT, RM-0, RM-1, RM-2, and RM-3.
Current regulations make it difficult to build duplexes, townhouses, and cottage house developments. The proposed citywide changes would ease minimum requirements including lot area, lot area per unit, lot widths, and street setbacks to make building new housing more feasible, giving property owners a little more flexibility in building homes.
Below you’ll find a draft of the propose overlay text, which would be adopted as a text amendment to the zoning code.
Draft Citywide Zoning Code Amendment Language
5.030-A Table of Regulations
The lot and building regulations of Table 5-3 apply to all principal uses and structures in R districts, except as otherwise expressly stated in this zoning code. General exceptions to these regulations and rules for measuring compliance can be found in Chapter 90 Regulations governing accessory uses and structures can be found in Chapter 45.
Table 5-3: R District Lot and Building Regulations
| Regulations | RS-1 | RS-2 | RS-3 | RS-4 | RS-5 | RD | RT | RM-0 | RM-1 | RM-2 | RM-3 | RMH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Lot Area (sq. ft.) | |||||||||||||
| Detached house | 13,500 | 9,000 | 6,900 | 5,500 | 3,300 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | |
| Patio house | – | – | 6,900 | 5,500 | 3,300 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | – | |
| Townhouse | – | – | 4,500 | 4,500 | 2,200 | 2,750 | 1,600 | 1,600 | 1,600 | 1,600 | 1,600 | – | |
| Cottage house dev’t | – | – | – | – | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | – | |
| Duplex | – | – | 6,900 | 5,500 | 3,300 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | – | |
| Multi-unit house | – | – | – | – | 3,300 | 6,900 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | – | |
| Apartment/condo | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10,000 | 10,000 | 6,000 | 24,000 | – | |
| Mobile home park | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | [1] | |
| Other allowed buildings/uses | |||||||||||||
| Permitted by right | 13,500 | 9,000 | 6,900 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | |
| Special exceptions | 13,500 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | |
| Min. Lot Area per Unit (sq. ft.) | |||||||||||||
| Detached house | 13,500 | 9,000 | 6,900 | 5,500 | 3,300 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | – | |
| Patio house | – | – | 6,900 | 5,500 | 3,300 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | – | |
| Townhouse | – | – | 4,500 | 4,500 | 2,200 | 2,750 | 1,600 | 1,600 | 1,600 | 1,600 | 1,600 | – | |
| Cottage house dev’t | – | – | – | – | 2,500 | 2,500 | 2,500 | 2,500 | 2,500 | 2,500 | 2,500 | – | |
| Duplex | – | – | 3,450 | 2,750 | 1,650 | 2,750 | 2,750 | 2,750 | 2,750 | 2,750 | 2,750 | – | |
| Multi-unit house | – | – | – | – | 1,100 | 1,800 | 1,800 | 1,800 | 1,375 | 1,100 | 900 | – | |
| Apartment/condo | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2,900 | 1,750 | 1,100 | 400 | – | |
| Other allowed buildings/uses | |||||||||||||
| Permitted by right | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | 5,500 | |
| Special exceptions | 13,500 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | |
| Minimum Lot Width (ft.) | |||||||||||||
| Detached house | 100 | 75 | 60 | 50 | 30 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | – | |
| Patio house | – | – | 60 | 50 | 30 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | – | |
| Townhouse | – | – | 30 | 25 | 20 | 25 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | – | |
| Cottage house dev’t | – | – | – | – | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 | – | |
| Duplex | – | – | 60 | 50 | 30 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | – | |
| Multi-unit house | – | – | – | – | 30 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | – | |
| Apartment/condo | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 100 | 100 | 50 | 100 | – | |
| Other allowed buildings/uses | |||||||||||||
| Permitted by right | 100 | 75 | 60 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | |
| Special exceptions | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | |
| Minimum Street Frontage | |||||||||||||
| Residential bdgs/uses [2] | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | |
| Min. Building Setbacks (ft.) | |||||||||||||
| Street [3] | |||||||||||||
| Arterial or fwy service rd. | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
|
| Other streets | 35 | 30 | 25 | 20 | 20 | 25 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 25 | |
| Side (interior) [4] | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 [5] | 5 [6] | 5 [6] | 5 [6] | 5 [7] | 10 | |
| Rear [4] | 25 | 25 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 20 | 15 | |
| Min. Open Sp./Unit (sq. ft.) | 7,000 | 5,000 | 4,000 [8] | 2,500 | 600 | 2,000 | 1,200 | 1,200 | 600 | 200 | – | 2,500 | |
| Max. Building Height (feet) | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | – | 35 | |
What it means / does
A detached house and a duplex are typically similar in overall size and require the same amount of land to be built. The highlighted changes will align the land required for a duplex with a detached house, and ease requirements for cottage house developments. It also reduces the minimum street setback in RM-0, RM-1, RM-2, and RM-3 to allow more flexibility in the placement of the building, and slightly reduces the minimum lot widths for townhouses in RS-4 districts.
All of these changes are intended to make it easier to build new housing. Text highlighted in yellow are changes from the existing code. Use the scrollbar at the bottom of the table to scroll right and left, and view more columns.
5.030-B Table Notes
The following notes refer to the bracketed numbers (e.g.,” [1]”) in Table 5-3:
[1] See Section 40.240 for detailed regulations governing mobile home parks.
[2] Minimum street frontage requirements apply to townhouse developments, not to individual townhouse units. Cottage house developments require minimum street frontage of 75 feet. Minimum street frontage requirements do not apply to nonresidential uses.
[3] For detached houses and duplexes on corner lots, the minimum side street setback along a non-arterial street may be reduced to 15 feet, provided that the minimum setback for street-facing garage doors is 20 feet or 20 feet from the back of the sidewalk, whichever is greater. The street setback specified in Table 5-3 applies along the other street.
[4] Non-residential Uuses requiring special exception approval in R zoning districts require minimum 25-foot building setback from R-zoned lots occupied by residential uses.
[5] No side setback is required for interior units in townhouse developments. Side setback applies to end units (see Figure 5-2).
[6] Minimum interior side setback is 10 feet for apartment/condo and permitted nonresidential buildings.
[7] Minimum interior side setback is 25 feet for apartment/condo and permitted nonresidential buildings.
[8] Minimum required open space for duplex in RS-3 is 2,500 square feet per unit.
What it means / does
Maintaining an appropriate distance between buildings with different uses can be important, such as a house and a bed and breakfast, library, or school; however, extra distances between similar building types within the same use category, such as a duplex and a townhouse is unnecessary. This change clarifies separation from residential uses, requiring an additional setback only when an adjacent non-residential use is considered.
Text highlighted in yellow are changes from the existing code.