Zoning › Arkansas › Benton County › Bentonville

Bentonville, AR Zoning

Euclidean-zoning. 22 districts · 4 overlays · 7 applicable state preemptions.

Overview

Code type
euclidean
Naming convention
—

Classic Euclidean: Appendix A organizes the city into Agricultural (A), Residential (R), Downtown Neighborhood (DN), Commercial (C), Downtown (D), and Industrial (I) districts plus PUD/PRD planned-development overlays and two airport overlays (Municipal Airport + XNA). The 2026 Community Code rewrite combines zoning + LDC but retains the underlying Euclidean district structure per the consolidating ordinance preface; form-based elements appear only within the DN and Downtown (D) districts (block-end / mid-block building-type matrix in DN, no setback/height tiering except by district).

Worth knowing
  • {"quirk": "Walmart-HQ anchor city \u2014 Bentonville's R-4 (multi-family) permits 800 sf/du minimum (highest density floor in any AR city in this corpus), reflecting corporate-housing demand. R-C3 permits 0' front setback and 1,200 sf/du for townhomes/multi-family \u2014 these two districts together provide the corporate-density pathways without an overlay overlay.", "status": "confirmed"}
  • {"quirk": "Twin airport overlays \u2014 both Bentonville Municipal Airport (Sec. 401.12) AND XNA Regional Airport (Sec. 401.13) have separate, codified overlay districts with their own zone maps and FAA review requirements. XNA's RPZ/ISTZ/OSZ/TPZ four-zone model is the more restrictive of the two and overlays Bentonville's NW corridor along Highway 102.", "status": "confirmed"}
  • {"quirk": "Form-based elements present in DN districts only \u2014 Downtown Neighborhood (DN-1 through DN-4) districts use a building-type matrix (single-family, cottage court, two-family, townhouse, multi-family, mixed-use \u00d7 block-end vs. mid-block) per Sec. 401.07-B rather than a single dimensional table, but the rest of the code is conventional Euclidean.", "status": "confirmed"}

+ 4 more in Quirks & notes

Districts

res_mf 7res_sf 5mu 4com 2ind 2spec 1off 1
CodeNameCategory Min lotHeight CoverageFAR Du/acParking Setbacks F/S/R
A-1Agriculturalspec217,800 sf[3]40 ft[4]————30[1] / — / 30[2]
R-EResidential Estateres_sf87,120 sf[8]36 ft[9]————30[5] / 30[6] / 30[7]
R-1Low Density Single-Family Residentialres_sf6,000 sf[13]36 ft[14]————20[10] / 7[11] / 20[12]
R-2Medium Density Two-Family and Townhome Residentialres_mf—36 ft[18]————20[15] / 7[16] / 20[17]
R-3Medium-High Density Multifamily Residentialres_mf—40 ft[22]————20[19] / 10[20] / 20[21]
R-4High Density Multifamily Residentialres_mf—50 ft[26]————20[23] / 10[24] / 20[25]
R-MHManufactured Home Residentialres_sf—36 ft[29]————20[27] / — / 20[28]
R-ZLZero Lot Lineres_sf4,000 sf[33]36 ft[34]————20[30] / 12[31] / 20[32]
R-OResidential Officeoff—40 ft[37]————— / 7[35] / 20[36]
R-C2Central Residential - Moderate Densityres_mf4,000 sf[41]40 ft[42]————20[38] / 7[39] / 20[40]
R-C3Central Residential - High Densityres_mf—40 ft[46]————0[43] / 0[44] / 5[45]
DN-1Downtown Low-Density Residentialres_sf——————— / — / —
DN-2Downtown Medium-Density Residentialres_mf——————— / — / —
DN-3Downtown High Density Residentialres_mf——————— / — / —
DN-4Downtown Mixed-use Residentialmu——————— / — / —
C-1Neighborhood Commercialcom7,000 sf[47]40 ft[48]————— / — / —
C-2General Commercialcom7,000 sf[49]60 ft[50]————— / — / —
C-3Mixed-Use Commercialmu—[52]60 ft[53]————0[51] / — / —
DCDowntown Coremu—[56]80 ft[57]————— / 0[54] / 0[55]
DEDowntown Edgemu—50 ft[59]————— / — / 7[58]
I-1Light Industrialind20,000 sf[60]60 ft[61]————— / — / —
I-2Heavy Industrialind20,000 sf[62]60 ft[63]————— / — / —

Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found

Overlays

MAOD
Municipal Airport Overlay District
SPEC
Bentonville Zoning Code Appendix A, Sec. 401.12

Land beneath approach, transitional, horizontal, and conical surfaces of Bentonville Municipal Airport (airport elevation 1,296 feet AMSL). Mapped on the Official Municipal Airport Zoning Ordinance Map maintained in the mayor's office.

XNAOD
Northwest Arkansas Regional (XNA) Airport Overlay District
SPEC
Bentonville Zoning Code Appendix A, Sec. 401.13

Land within Zones 1-4 surrounding XNA Runway 16/34. Zone 1 (RPZ) trapezoidal area beyond runway ends; Zone 2 (ISTZ) ~5,000 ft triangular along each side of Zone 1 in 60-degree sector; Zone 3 (OSZ) 1,000 ft wide × ~5,000 ft beyond Zone 2; Zone 4 (TPZ) ~6,000 ft on each side of runway. Mapped on the official XNA Overlay Zones Map.

PUD
PUD, Planned Unit Development
SPEC
Bentonville Zoning Code Appendix A, Sec. 401.10

Site-specific: applicant petition with master site plan. Becomes a zoning district by ordinance once approved.

PRD
PRD, Planned Residential Development
SPEC
Bentonville Zoning Code Appendix A, Sec. 401.11

Site-specific: applicant petition with master site plan AND architectural elevation renderings.

State preemptions

Act 313 of 2025 (HB 1503) — ADU by-rightapplies
Qualifying condition
Statewide preemption: every Arkansas municipality must allow at least one ADU by right on any lot containing a single-family home in any single-family zoning district, with administrative approval only, ADU size capped at lesser of 75% of primary dwelling floor area or 1,000 sf, zero parking required, and a $250 cap on combined municipal application fees. Bentonville's R-E, R-1, R-2 single-family permitted lots, and DN-1/DN-2 single-family permitted lots are all in scope.
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.json rule ar-act-313-2025-adu-by-right; effective date 2026-01-01 (past today's review date 2026-05-18, status in_force).
Effect
On any qualifying single-family lot in R-E, R-1, R-2, R-MH, R-ZL, R-O, R-C2, R-C3, DN-1, DN-2 (and any other district where single-family is a permitted use): Bentonville must approve at least one ADU administratively, may not require parking, may not enforce size restrictions beyond the state cap, and may not charge >$250 in combined application fees. Bentonville's prior Appendix A Zoning Code did not have a unified ADU-by-right pathway; the Community Code rewrite (effective 2026-05-14) is being reviewed for Act 313 conformance.
Act 1035 of 2023 — STR partial preemptionapplies
Qualifying condition
Statewide: city may not ban owner-occupied STRs in any zoning district where single-family residential use is permitted, may not cap STR permits more strictly than its general lodging framework, may not require minimum rental durations exceeding 28 days, and may not require STR-only discretionary permits. Bentonville's R-1/R-2/R-3/R-4 districts (single-family permitted) and DN districts are all in scope. Bentonville has no pre-2011 STR ordinance of record that would grandfather more restrictive rules.
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §ACA §14-54-1604; Bentonville Appendix A Zoning Code use table does not list STR as a separately regulated use as of the 2021-233 amendment.
Effect
Bentonville may register STRs and collect equivalent hotel-occupancy tax; may not ban owner-occupied STRs in residential districts or impose STR-only discretionary review.
Act 757 of 2023 — Building permit / inspection shot clockapplies
Qualifying condition
Statewide procedural preemption: 20-business-day initial plan review and 10-business-day re-review for most residential permits; mandatory acceptance of qualified third-party private-provider inspections; reasonableness cap on permit fees. Applies to all AR municipalities including Bentonville.
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §HB 1503 / Act 757 of 2023.
Effect
Bentonville's Development Services permit review must conform to the statutory shot-clock and accept third-party inspectors. Substantive zoning regulation is not preempted — only procedure.
Act 594 of 2023 — Exactions / impact fees (Nollan-Dolan codification)applies
Qualifying condition
Statewide: subdivision exactions and impact fees must satisfy essential-nexus and rough-proportionality findings per Nollan/Dolan. Applies to all AR cities including Bentonville (which exercises §14-56-425 fee authority).
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §Act 594 of 2023.
Effect
Any Bentonville impact fee or exaction must be supported by a study demonstrating nexus and proportionality, or it is challengeable as a regulatory taking.
Act 1012 of 2023 — Down-zoning noticeapplies
Qualifying condition
Statewide: enhanced notice and procedural requirements for down-zonings affecting platted/vested projects. Bentonville's high-growth Walmart-HQ corridor has multiple vested-rights subdivision plats; any down-zoning of these areas triggers the heightened notice regime.
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §Act 1012 of 2023.
Effect
Bentonville must issue heightened notice before adopting any down-zoning that affects a platted or vested project.
ACA §§20-25-102 / 20-25-113 — Manufactured housing field preemptionapplies
Qualifying condition
Statewide field preemption of manufactured-home construction and installation standards. Bentonville's R-MH (Manufactured Home Residential) district must accept HUD-code compliant homes; appearance standards (Class A/B distinction) permitted only on compatibility grounds.
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §Manufactured Housing Preemption section.
Effect
Bentonville may zone manufactured homes by district and impose compatibility-based appearance standards but may not impose construction/installation standards differing from HUD or AMHC code.
ACA §14-56-416 — Land use plan preconditionapplies
Qualifying condition
Modified Dillon's Rule: Bentonville must have an adopted land use plan before exercising any zoning authority. Bentonville has an adopted comprehensive plan supporting Appendix A Zoning Code authority; the 2026 Community Code consolidation explicitly references the comprehensive plan as its policy foundation.
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §ACA §14-56-401 et seq.
Effect
Zoning authority is conditional on plan adoption. Bentonville is currently compliant.

Adopted building codes

State buildings only

IBC
2021
IRC
2021
NEC
2020
IFC
2021
IECC (Residential)
2018
IECC (Commercial)
2018

Click a code label to open its state-by-state adoption atlas.

Amendment history

DateKindCitation
2026-05-14supplement effectivenote: Bentonville Community Code adopted by City Council April 14, 2026; effective May 14, 2026 — combines zoning and land development regulations. Supersedes prior Appendix A Zoning Code (last amended Ord. 2021-233 on 11/9/2021). | source: https://www.bentonville.ar.gov/880/Development-Codes
2021-11-09amendment effectivenote: Final amendment to Appendix A (Ord. No. 2021-233) before 2026 rewrite. | source: https://bentonville.municipalcodeonline.com/book?type=ordinances#name=APPENDIX_A_ZONING_CODE
2018-03-27amendment effectivenote: Ord. 2018-62 reformatted classification of districts §401.02 — last full-text codification visible in the public municipalcodeonline portal. | source: https://bentonville.municipalcodeonline.com/book?type=ordinances#name=Sec_401.02_Classification_Of_Districts

Quirks & notes

  • {"quirk": "Walmart-HQ anchor city \u2014 Bentonville's R-4 (multi-family) permits 800 sf/du minimum (highest density floor in any AR city in this corpus), reflecting corporate-housing demand. R-C3 permits 0' front setback and 1,200 sf/du for townhomes/multi-family \u2014 these two districts together provide the corporate-density pathways without an overlay overlay.", "status": "confirmed"}
  • {"quirk": "Twin airport overlays \u2014 both Bentonville Municipal Airport (Sec. 401.12) AND XNA Regional Airport (Sec. 401.13) have separate, codified overlay districts with their own zone maps and FAA review requirements. XNA's RPZ/ISTZ/OSZ/TPZ four-zone model is the more restrictive of the two and overlays Bentonville's NW corridor along Highway 102.", "status": "confirmed"}
  • {"quirk": "Form-based elements present in DN districts only \u2014 Downtown Neighborhood (DN-1 through DN-4) districts use a building-type matrix (single-family, cottage court, two-family, townhouse, multi-family, mixed-use \u00d7 block-end vs. mid-block) per Sec. 401.07-B rather than a single dimensional table, but the rest of the code is conventional Euclidean.", "status": "confirmed"}
  • {"quirk": "Downtown (DC + DE) base districts, not overlay \u2014 Sec. 401.8-B treats downtown as two base districts (DC = Downtown Core / DE = Downtown Edge) with build-to-line setbacks, height ceilings (DC max 80', DE max 50'), and use mixing built into the district rather than overlaid on a generic commercial district.", "status": "confirmed"}
  • {"quirk": "Community Code rewrite effective 2026-05-14 (4 days before this v2 ship) \u2014 Bentonville adopted a unified Community Code combining zoning + LDC on 2026-04-14, effective 2026-05-14. Dimensional standards in this profile are from Appendix A Zoning Code (still operative for dimensional reference until Community Code combined tables are verified). The Community Code PDF exceeds the WebFetch 10MB ceiling; re-verification queued.", "status": "confirmed"}
  • {"quirk": "Height exception clause adds setback for every foot over max \u2014 all base districts permit exceeding their maximum height in exchange for one additional foot of setback per additional foot of height (residential) or two additional feet of setback per additional foot of height (commercial). The exception is structurally important for projects clearing the 36 ft / 40 ft residential ceilings.", "status": "confirmed"}
  • {"quirk": "Act 313 of 2025 ADU preemption now binding \u2014 effective 2026-01-01, statewide. Bentonville's single-family districts (R-1, R-2 SF lots, R-MH, R-ZL, R-O SF, DN-1/DN-2 SF) must allow at least one ADU by right with administrative-only approval, no parking, size capped at lesser of 75% primary or 1,000 sf, fee cap $250. Appendix A does not codify an ADU pathway \u2014 the Community Code rewrite is being reviewed for conformance.", "status": "confirmed"}

Formulas

Definitions

height
Maximum building height per Sec. 401.07 / 401.08 / 401.09 (residential / commercial / industrial). Measured from grade. Each district has an exception clause permitting greater height with proportional setback addition (one additional foot of setback per one foot above max — residential; two additional feet of setback per one foot above max — commercial).
lot_coverage
Building footprint as percentage of lot area; differentiates interior vs. exterior/corner lot (corner higher per Sec. 401.07 R district table). 'Ground Coverage Ratio' definition in Sec. 201.02 excludes garages and carports in R-1 and R-2.
far
Not codified as a separate FAR table in Appendix A; Bentonville regulates intensity through lot coverage, height, and setback rather than FAR. Community Code (2026-05-14) implementation TBD.
du_ac
Implicit via Min. Land Area / Dwelling Unit column in R-district lot-and-area table (Sec. 401.07). Smallest land/du value in code is 800 sf (R-4 multi-family) = ~54 du/ac theoretical maximum; DN-4 mixed-use building type permits highest practical density.
setback_front
Front yard per Sec. 401.07 (residential) / Sec. 401.08 (commercial) / Sec. 401.09 (industrial). Setback applies from property line.
setback_side
Interior side per district table. R-1/R-2 = 7'; R-3/R-4 = 10'; R-4 increases to 30' when adjacent to single-family.
setback_rear
Rear yard per district table; R-1 through R-4 all = 20' interior.
parking
Off-street parking per Article 501 (Off-Street Parking and Loading). Specific use-by-use ratios not extracted in this pass.

Capacity calculations

max_footprint_sf
lot_area_sf * lot_coverage (per district table; differs interior vs. exterior/corner)
max_units_residential_per_lot
lot_area_sf / min_land_area_per_dwelling_unit (R-4 multifamily: lot_area / 800 sf)
max_building_height_ft_per_district
RE/R-1/R-2/R-MH/R-ZL = 36; R-3/R-C2/R-C3/R-O = 40; R-4 = 50; C-1 = 40; C-2/C-3 = 60; I-1/I-2 = 60; DC = 80; DE = 50

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.

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Setbacks (F / S / R)
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Parking
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Max density
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Min lot size
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District Category Height FAR Coverage Setbacks Parking Density Min lot Overlays

Sources & references

Primary source
https://www.bentonville.ar.gov/882/Zoning-Code

Retrieval failure: community_code_pdf_exceeds_10mb_fetch_limit

Citations
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Research status

Publication gates

primary url presentpassedevidence=source.primary_url = https://www.bentonville.ar.gov/882/Zoning-Code (city-hosted, non-aggregator)
no aggregator citedpassedevidence=No Zoneomics / Steadily / SitePlanGuide / Justia-as-primary citations. Primary source is bentonville.ar.gov; secondary source is bentonville.municipalcodeonline.com (CivicPlus document portal, not an aggregator).
confidence tags full formpassedevidence=Every district dimensional standard carries {v, c (confirmed/partial), citation} with Sec. 401.x reference. All overlay parameters carry status + citation. Preemption entries cite ACA section and qualifying-condition source.
overlays have parameters trigger confidencepassedevidence=4/4 overlays (MAOD, XNAOD, PUD, PRD) have parameters[] + geographic_trigger + status + citation + ordinance_ref.
preempt section city specificpassedevidence=7 AR statutes with qualifying_condition_checked containing city-specific applicability (R-MH district roster, Walmart corridor vested-rights mention, comprehensive plan adoption status, SF district list for ADU and STR preemption).

Data quality

78%completeness142 confirmed4 partial
Documented gaps
  • Bentonville Community Code (effective 2026-05-14) dimensional tables not independently verified — Appendix A is the operative reference until DOM-capable fetcher or paginated PDF re-fetch.
  • DN-3 / DN-4 dimensional rows truncated in this pass — only DN-1 / DN-2 fully captured.
  • Section 501 (Off-Street Parking) per-use ratios not extracted.
  • Sign Ordinance (Article 801 / 802) parameters not extracted.
  • Specific PUD common-open-space minimum (referenced in Sec. 401.10 but exact percentage not captured).

Known issues

freshness:volatiledata:community-code-pending-verificationblocker:community-code-pdf-exceeds-fetch-limit

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