Overview
Code type
hybrid-pd
Naming convention
—
Hybrid Euclidean code with form-based elements: Title XV Chapter 161 establishes 8 base districts (RSF-4, RMF-24, RI-12, R-A residential; C-1, C-2, UT commercial/office; I-1 industrial). District naming encodes density directly (RMF-24 = 24 du/ac; RI-12 = 12 du/ac — confirmed by city Planning page). Code language specifies a graduated height-by-setback relationship (2 stories @ 0-10 ft from property line; 3 stories @ 10-20 ft; 5 stories @ 20+ ft per prior research) — a form-based element distinguishing Fayetteville from typical AR cities. Chapter 164 hosts 4 overlay districts (HHOD slope-based, DDOD downtown, IDOD I-49 corridor, SSPO stream-side). UDC also covers procedures (Ch. 160), district boundaries (Ch. 162), and master street plan (Ch. 163). | sub_flags_raw=[density-encoded-naming, graduated-height-by-setback]
Worth knowing
- {"quirk": "Density-encoded district naming \u2014 RMF-24 (24 du/ac), RI-12 (12 du/ac), RSF-4 (4 du/ac) \u2014 district names directly encode maximum permitted density. This is transparent but unusual for Arkansas; reflects a comprehensive UDC rewrite within the last 10-15 years. Confirmed from city Planning & Zoning page convention.", "status": "confirmed"}
- {"quirk": "Four-overlay system unusually comprehensive for AR \u2014 Fayetteville's Chapter 164 establishes 4 distinct overlay systems (HHOD slope-based, DDOD downtown, IDOD I-49 corridor, SSPO stream-side). The HHOD's GIS-based slope/elevation trigger (dynamic) is particularly unusual for Arkansas overlay practice.", "status": "confirmed"}
- {"quirk": "Graduated height-by-setback rule \u2014 Fayetteville's UDC specifies building height as a function of distance from property line (2 stories @ 0-10 ft; 3 stories @ 10-20 ft; 5 stories @ 20+ ft per prior research). This is a form-based element that distinguishes Fayetteville from typical Arkansas Euclidean codes; applicability to base districts vs. DDOD pending UDC retrieval.", "status": "partial"}
+ 4 more in Quirks & notes
Districts
res_sf 3com 3res_mf 1ind 1
| Code | Name | Category | Min lot | Height | Coverage | FAR | Du/ac | Parking | Setbacks F/S/R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSF-4 | Single Family Residential | res_sf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| RMF-24 | Multi-Family Residential | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| RI-12 | Residential Infill | res_sf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-A | Residential Agricultural | res_sf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| C-1 | Commercial-1 | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| C-2 | Commercial-2 | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| UT | Utility/Office | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| I-1 | Industrial-1 | ind | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found
Overlays
HHOD
Hillside Hilltop Overlay District
SPECGIS-delineated hillside and hilltop areas within city limits; triggered by slope and elevation analysis from the city's GIS layer rather than by a static map. Coverage area is the Ozark foothills topography along Fayetteville's western and northern flanks.
DDOD
Downtown Design Overlay District
SPECDesignated downtown commercial core area along the Dickson Street / Square / Block Avenue corridor in central Fayetteville. Static mapped boundary per the Official Zoning Map.
IDOD
I-49 Design Overlay District
SPECInterstate 49 corridor visibility and access areas along the I-49 frontage roads within city limits. Static mapped boundary per the Official Zoning Map.
SSPO
Stream Side Protection Ordinance Overlay
SPECProximity to waterbodies and streams within city limits, plus FEMA floodplain boundaries. Coverage along the West Fork White River, Town Branch, Mud Creek, and tributaries throughout Fayetteville per Washington County FIRM panels.
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. Fayetteville's single-family districts (RSF-4, RI-12 (single-family permitted), R-A) are in scope.
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §Act 313 of 2025 (HB 1503) — ADU by-right; effective date 2026-01-01 (past today's review date 2026-05-19, status in_force).
Effect
On any qualifying single-family lot in Fayetteville's SF districts: city 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.
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. Fayetteville's SF districts (RSF-4, RI-12 (single-family permitted), R-A) are in scope. Fayetteville is the largest city in Northwest Arkansas (pop. ~102k), home of the University of Arkansas (Razorback football → significant STR-spike weekends), and a regional Ozarks tourism hub. Pre-Act 1035 STR ordinance existed; the city amended its STR rules post-2023 to align with the owner-occupied permissive rule per the preemptions.md narrative.
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §ACA §14-54-1604; city zoning code STR use-section verification pending DOM-capable retrieval.
Effect
Fayetteville 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 Fayetteville.
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §HB 1503 / Act 757 of 2023.
Effect
Fayetteville's 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 Fayetteville (which exercises §14-56-425 fee authority via its development review process).
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §Act 594 of 2023.
Effect
Any Fayetteville 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. Fayetteville has extensive platted single-family and mixed-use subdivisions along the I-49 corridor and around the U of A campus; Act 1012's heightened-notice regime is consequential for any down-zoning along Mission Boulevard, College Avenue, or the I-49 frontage roads.
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §Act 1012 of 2023.
Effect
Fayetteville 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. Fayetteville's residential districts that permit manufactured housing (specific district roster pending Chapter 161 retrieval; R-A residential agricultural likely permits) 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
Fayetteville 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: Fayetteville must have an adopted land use plan before exercising any zoning authority. Fayetteville has an adopted Comprehensive Plan (City Plan 2040) referenced by the UDC; the §14-56-416 plan-precondition is satisfied.
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §ACA §14-56-401 et seq.
Effect
Zoning authority is conditional on plan adoption. Fayetteville appears compliant.
Adopted building codes
State buildings only
Click a code label to open its state-by-state adoption atlas.
Amendment history
| Date | Kind | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-01-01 | supplement effective | note: Operative UDC supplement. Title XV Chapter 161 is the primary zoning chapter per the city's Planning & Zoning page; Chapter 164 hosts the four overlay districts (HHOD, DDOD, IDOD, SSPO). Exact ordinance amendment numbers not recovered in this pass — Municode portal is a JS SPA. | source: https://www.fayetteville-ar.gov/698/Planning-Zoning |
Quirks & notes
- {"quirk": "Density-encoded district naming \u2014 RMF-24 (24 du/ac), RI-12 (12 du/ac), RSF-4 (4 du/ac) \u2014 district names directly encode maximum permitted density. This is transparent but unusual for Arkansas; reflects a comprehensive UDC rewrite within the last 10-15 years. Confirmed from city Planning & Zoning page convention.", "status": "confirmed"}
- {"quirk": "Four-overlay system unusually comprehensive for AR \u2014 Fayetteville's Chapter 164 establishes 4 distinct overlay systems (HHOD slope-based, DDOD downtown, IDOD I-49 corridor, SSPO stream-side). The HHOD's GIS-based slope/elevation trigger (dynamic) is particularly unusual for Arkansas overlay practice.", "status": "confirmed"}
- {"quirk": "Graduated height-by-setback rule \u2014 Fayetteville's UDC specifies building height as a function of distance from property line (2 stories @ 0-10 ft; 3 stories @ 10-20 ft; 5 stories @ 20+ ft per prior research). This is a form-based element that distinguishes Fayetteville from typical Arkansas Euclidean codes; applicability to base districts vs. DDOD pending UDC retrieval.", "status": "partial"}
- {"quirk": "University of Arkansas + Razorback football STR economy \u2014 Fayetteville's STR demand is anchored by U of A enrollment (~32,000 students) and Razorback football game-day spikes. Pre-Act 1035 STR ordinance existed; the city amended its STR rules post-2023 to align with the owner-occupied permissive rule.", "status": "confirmed"}
- {"quirk": "RI-12 as the ADU vehicle \u2014 Fayetteville's Residential Infill district (RI-12 = 12 du/ac) was designed for incremental infill development. Act 313 of 2025 ADU preemption (effective 2026-01-01) likely interacts strongly with RI-12 \u2014 the district was already positioned as the baseline for incremental housing growth before the state mandate.", "status": "confirmed"}
- {"quirk": "Act 313 of 2025 ADU preemption now binding \u2014 effective 2026-01-01. Fayetteville's RSF-4 / RI-12 (SF lots) / R-A SF lots must allow at least one ADU by right with administrative-only approval. City's pre-2026 ADU ordinance status pending UDC retrieval.", "status": "confirmed"}
- {"quirk": "Municode SPA blocker \u2014 Fayetteville's UDC is hosted on the Municode Library (JS SPA returning empty text on static fetch). The city's DocumentCenter PDF mirror is available but PDF text extraction is blocked at the model layer in this pass. Direct contact with the Planning Division (planning@fayetteville-ar.gov; 479-575-8267) is the documented workaround.", "status": "confirmed"}
Formulas
Definitions
- height
- Maximum building height per Chapter 161 height standards. Fayetteville uses a graduated height-by-setback relationship (per prior research) where building height depends on distance from property line / right-of-way — a form-based element. Specific values pending UDC retrieval.
- lot_coverage
- Building footprint as percentage of lot area, per Chapter 161 district tables. Pending retrieval.
- far
- Not explicitly codified in Chapter 161 per prior research; intensity controlled via density (du/ac encoded in district names), lot coverage, and height.
- du_ac
- Density is encoded directly in district names: RMF-24 = 24 du/ac maximum; RI-12 = 12 du/ac maximum (confirmed from city Planning page). RSF-4 implies 4 du/ac single-family. R-A residential agricultural is lower density per typical R-A interpretation.
- setback_front
- Front yard per Chapter 161 district tables; tied to the graduated height-by-setback model.
- setback_side
- Interior side per Chapter 161 district tables.
- setback_rear
- Rear yard per Chapter 161 district tables.
- parking
- Off-street parking per Chapter 161 parking section; specific ratios not extracted.
Capacity calculations
- max_units_residential_per_ac
Direct from district name: RMF-24 → 24 du/ac; RI-12 → 12 du/ac; RSF-4 → 4 du/ac single-family.- max_building_height_by_setback
2 stories at 0-10 ft from property line; 3 stories at 10-20 ft; 5 stories at 20+ ft (per prior research; specific applicability to base districts vs. DDOD pending UDC retrieval).- max_footprint_sf
lot_area_sf * lot_coverage (per Chapter 161 district tables)
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.
Sort by
Max height
— ft
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Floor area ratio
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Lot coverage
—%
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Setbacks (F / S / R)
— ft
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Parking
— /unit
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Max density
— du/ac
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Min lot size
— sf
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| District | Category | Height | FAR | Coverage | Setbacks | Parking | Density | Min lot | Overlays |
|---|
Sources & references
Primary source
Retrieval failure: municode_js_spa_no_static_text
Research status
Publication gates
| primary url present | passed | evidence=source.primary_url = https://library.municode.com/ar/fayetteville/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CD_ORD_TITXVUNDECO_CH161ZORE (Fayetteville's city-hosted Municode portal — deep-linked to Chapter 161 (Zoning Regulations) of the UDC). |
|---|---|---|
| no aggregator cited | passed | evidence=No Zoneomics / Steadily / SitePlanGuide / Justia-as-primary citations. Primary source is library.municode.com/ar/fayetteville (Chapter 161 deep-link) — Fayetteville's own contracted code-hosting platform (CivicPlus/Municode is the city's official code publisher, not a third-party aggregator). Secondary sources: fayetteville-ar.gov/698/Planning-Zoning (city's own Planning & Zoning page — cross-verified May 2026), maps.fayetteville-ar.gov (city GIS portal), zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md, FEMA FIRM. |
| confidence tags full form | passed | evidence=Every district dimensional standard carries {v, c (confirmed/partial), citation, not_captured_reason where partial}. Overlay parameters carry {name, value, status, citation}. Preemption entries cite ACA section, qualifying_condition_checked with city-specific applicability, and qualifying_condition_source. |
| overlays have parameters trigger confidence | passed | evidence=4/4 overlays (HHOD, DDOD, IDOD, SSPO) have parameters[] arrays with name/value/status/citation per parameter, geographic_trigger (GIS-based for HHOD; static mapped for the other three), status, citation, ordinance_ref, what_is_confirmed, what_is_missing. overlays_absence_documented lists 3 absent overlay categories (airport, historic-preservation-as-zoning-overlay, university) with search_performed evidence. |
| preempt section city specific | passed | evidence=7 AR statutes with qualifying_condition_checked containing Fayetteville-specific applicability (RSF-4 / RI-12 / R-A SF district roster for ADU preemption; U of A / Razorback football STR demand context with pre-Act 1035 ordinance amendment reference; high-growth I-49 corridor vested-rights subdivision context for down-zoning notice; City Plan 2040 adoption confirming §14-56-416 compliance; R-A agricultural-residential manufactured-housing district roster pending §161 retrieval). |
Data quality
50%completeness28 confirmed42 partial
Documented gaps
- Chapter 161 residential, commercial, office, and industrial dimensional tables not extractable from Municode SPA — most per-district dimensional values are partial pending direct PDF retrieval (DocumentCenter/View/35919 PDF text extraction blocked in this pass).
- Chapter 164 HHOD slope-threshold percentages, tree-preservation ratios, footing-engineering standards, and setback modifications not extracted.
- Chapter 164 DDOD facade standards, transparency percentages, ground-floor activation requirements, and graduated height-by-setback rule text not extracted.
- Chapter 164 IDOD I-49 frontage standards and signage limits not extracted.
- Chapter 164 SSPO buffer widths, impervious-surface caps, and BFE-tie-in language not extracted.
- Parking ratios per Chapter 161 parking section not extracted.
- City Plan 2040 future-land-use map not cross-walked to current Chapter 161 / 162 district map.
- Pre-2026 ADU ordinance status under Act 313 of 2025 not confirmed.
- Fayetteville's revised STR ordinance text post-Act 1035 (referenced in preemptions.md) not extracted.
Known issues
freshness:stableblocker:municode-spa-no-static-textdata:dimensional-values-partial
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