Overview
Code type
euclidean
Naming convention
—
Classic Euclidean code with two notable features: (1) Multifamily districts encode density directly in district codes — MF-6 (6 du/ac), MF-12 (12 du/ac), MF-18 (18 du/ac), MF-24 (24 du/ac) — making density the primary zoning control for multifamily. (2) Design overlays are deployed in distinct named areas (River Market, Chenal/Financial, Central City Redevelopment, Midtown, Highway 10 Scenic Corridor) rather than as a single comprehensive DOD; each operates independently with its own design standards. The historic-preservation regime runs through a separate Historic District Commission rather than as a Chapter 36 overlay. Chapter 13 (Floods) is administered separately by Civil Engineering. Recent Ord. 22,695 (2025-12-16) updated the Urban Use Zoning District — likely a new mixed-use district inserted into Article V. | sub_flags_raw=[density-encoded-multifamily-naming, named-design-overlays-fragmented]
Worth knowing
- {"quirk": "Density-encoded multifamily naming (MF-6 / MF-12 / MF-18 / MF-24) \u2014 Little Rock's multifamily district codes directly encode maximum density: 6, 12, 18, 24 du/ac respectively. This is transparent but implies density is the primary zoning control for multifamily. Confirmed from city Planning page convention.", "status": "confirmed"}
- {"quirk": "Five named DODs operating independently \u2014 Little Rock deploys design overlays in distinct named districts (Chenal/Financial, River Market with Design Review Committee, Central City Redevelopment Corridor, Midtown, Highway 10 Scenic Corridor) rather than a single comprehensive DOD. Each operates with its own design standards. The fragmentation reflects project- or area-specific standards rather than city-wide design control.", "status": "confirmed"}
- {"quirk": "Historic Preservation runs outside Chapter 36 \u2014 Historic preservation is administered through a separate Historic District Commission (HDC) rather than as a Chapter 36 overlay. Planning & Development Department provides staff support to both the HDC and the River Market Design Review Committee.", "status": "confirmed"}
+ 6 more in Quirks & notes
Districts
res_mf 10com 4res_sf 3off 3ind 3spec 1
| Code | Name | Category | Min lot | Height | Coverage | FAR | Du/ac | Parking | Setbacks F/S/R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-1 | Single-family residence (R-1) | res_sf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-2 | Single-family residence (R-2) | res_sf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-3 | Single-family residence (R-3) | res_sf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-4 | Two-family residence (R-4) | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-4A | Low-density residential (R-4A) | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-5 | Urban residence (R-5) | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-6 | High-rise apartment (R-6) | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-7 | Manufactured homes (R-7) | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-7A | Manufactured homes age-restricted (R-7A) | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| MF-6 | Multifamily apartments (MF-6) | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| MF-12 | Multifamily apartments (MF-12) | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| MF-18 | Multifamily apartments (MF-18) | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| MF-24 | Multifamily apartments (MF-24) | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| C-1 | Neighborhood commercial (C-1) | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| C-2 | Shopping center (C-2) | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| C-3 | General commercial (C-3) | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| C-4 | Open display (C-4) | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| O-1 | Quiet office (O-1) | off | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| O-2 | Office and institutional (O-2) | off | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| O-3 | General office (O-3) | off | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| I-1 | Industrial park (I-1) | ind | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| I-2 | Light industrial (I-2) | ind | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| I-3 | Industrial (I-3) | ind | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| PR | Park and recreation (PR) | spec | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found
Overlays
DOD-multiple
Design Overlay Districts (multiple named)
SPECApplied to named corridors and districts. Five named DOD overlays per prior research: (a) Chenal/Financial Center DOD, (b) River Market DOD (with dedicated River Market Design Review Committee), (c) Central City Redevelopment Corridor DOD, (d) Midtown DOD, (e) Highway 10 Scenic Corridor DOD. Each has its own static mapped boundary.
FP
Floodplain Overlay District
SPECProperties within FEMA-mapped Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), 100-year and 500-year floodplains, per Pulaski County FIRM panels. Coverage concentrated along the Arkansas River, Fourche Creek, Rock Creek, and tributaries throughout Little Rock.
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. Little Rock's single-family districts (R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4 (two-family — SF permitted), R-4A, R-5) 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 Little Rock'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. Little Rock's SF districts (R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4 (two-family — SF permitted), R-4A, R-5) are in scope. Little Rock is the Arkansas state capital and the largest city in the state (~206k). STR demand is anchored by state-government travel (Capitol, agencies), tourism (River Market, Clinton Presidential Library), and convention activity. The city amended its STR rules post-Act 1035 of 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
Little Rock 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 Little Rock.
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §HB 1503 / Act 757 of 2023.
Effect
Little Rock'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 Little Rock (which exercises §14-56-425 fee authority via its development review process).
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §Act 594 of 2023.
Effect
Any Little Rock 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. Little Rock has the most extensive platted subdivision and vested-rights commercial footprint of any AR city; Act 1012's heightened-notice regime is consequential for any down-zoning along I-30, I-40, I-440, I-630, or the Chenal Parkway corridor.
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §Act 1012 of 2023.
Effect
Little Rock 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. Little Rock's R-7 (manufactured homes) and R-7A (manufactured homes, age-restricted) districts must accept HUD-code compliant homes; appearance standards (Class A/B distinction) permitted only on compatibility grounds. R-7 and R-7A are explicit manufactured-housing districts.
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §Manufactured Housing Preemption section.
Effect
Little Rock 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: Little Rock must have an adopted land use plan before exercising any zoning authority. Little Rock has an adopted Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use Plan referenced by Chapter 36; 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. Little Rock 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-12-16 | amendment effective | note: Ord. 22,695 — Urban Use Zoning District updates adopted by Board of Directors on December 16, 2025. City's Planning & Development page notes: 'As of December 16, 2025, the City of Little Rock adopted updates to the Urban Use Zoning District. The updates are not yet fully reflected in Municode.' PDF available at the cited city-hosted URL; full text extraction blocked in this pass (PDF returned binary). | source: https://littlerock.gov/wp-content/uploads/planninganddevelopment/22695-3.pdf |
| 2024-01-01 | supplement effective | note: Operative Chapter 36 supplement (pre-Ord. 22,695). Municode is Little Rock's official code publisher. Article V (District Regulations) Sections 36-251 et seq. host the dimensional tables. Chapter 13 (Floods) is administered separately by Civil Engineering Division. | source: https://library.municode.com/ar/little_rock/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH36ZO |
Quirks & notes
- {"quirk": "Density-encoded multifamily naming (MF-6 / MF-12 / MF-18 / MF-24) \u2014 Little Rock's multifamily district codes directly encode maximum density: 6, 12, 18, 24 du/ac respectively. This is transparent but implies density is the primary zoning control for multifamily. Confirmed from city Planning page convention.", "status": "confirmed"}
- {"quirk": "Five named DODs operating independently \u2014 Little Rock deploys design overlays in distinct named districts (Chenal/Financial, River Market with Design Review Committee, Central City Redevelopment Corridor, Midtown, Highway 10 Scenic Corridor) rather than a single comprehensive DOD. Each operates with its own design standards. The fragmentation reflects project- or area-specific standards rather than city-wide design control.", "status": "confirmed"}
- {"quirk": "Historic Preservation runs outside Chapter 36 \u2014 Historic preservation is administered through a separate Historic District Commission (HDC) rather than as a Chapter 36 overlay. Planning & Development Department provides staff support to both the HDC and the River Market Design Review Committee.", "status": "confirmed"}
- {"quirk": "Floodplain administered by Civil Engineering (not Planning) \u2014 Chapter 13 (Floods) is administered separately from Chapter 36 (Zoning) by the Civil Engineering Division. Creates a parallel review track for floodplain development; project that triggers both zoning amendments and floodplain development must navigate two department processes.", "status": "confirmed"}
- {"quirk": "Ord. 22,695 \u2014 Urban Use Zoning District (2025-12-16) \u2014 Little Rock adopted updates to the Urban Use Zoning District on December 16, 2025; per the city Planning page these updates 'are not yet fully reflected in Municode.' The Urban Use District is likely a new mixed-use district being inserted into Article V. Specific districts modified pending PDF retrieval of Ord. 22,695.", "status": "partial"}
- {"quirk": "Act 313 of 2025 ADU preemption now binding \u2014 effective 2026-01-01. Little Rock's R-1 / R-2 / R-3 (SF) and R-4 / R-4A / R-5 (where SF is permitted) districts must allow at least one ADU by right with administrative-only approval. City was actively voting on ADU rules in August 2025 (per Arkansas Times reporting cited in prior research); final ADU ordinance status pending confirmation.", "status": "partial"}
- {"quirk": "R-7 / R-7A explicit manufactured-housing districts \u2014 Little Rock is one of few AR cities that maintains explicit manufactured-housing residential districts. ACA \u00a7\u00a720-25-102 / 20-25-113 field preemption applies: HUD code controls construction; appearance standards must be compatibility-based only.", "status": "confirmed"}
- {"quirk": "Act 314 of 2025 ETJ repeal \u2014 effective August 5, 2025. Little Rock's extraterritorial jurisdiction over unincorporated Pulaski County areas (previously up to 5 miles per ACA \u00a714-56-413) is eliminated. City zoning authority now ends at the corporate boundary.", "status": "confirmed"}
- {"quirk": "Municode SPA blocker \u2014 Little Rock's Chapter 36 is hosted on Municode (JS SPA; returned empty text on static fetch). The Ord. 22,695 PDF is city-hosted at littlerock.gov but PDF text extraction was blocked at the model layer. Direct contact with zoning at lrzoning@littlerock.gov / (501) 371-4844 is the documented workaround.", "status": "confirmed"}
Formulas
Definitions
- height
- Maximum building height per Chapter 36 Article V height standards. Specific values per district pending DOM-capable retrieval of §36-251 et seq.
- lot_coverage
- Building footprint as percentage of lot area, per Chapter 36 Article V district tables.
- far
- Not codified as a separate FAR table per prior research; intensity controlled via lot coverage, height, and (for multifamily) density.
- du_ac
- Multifamily districts encode density directly: MF-6 = 6 du/ac max; MF-12 = 12 du/ac max; MF-18 = 18 du/ac max; MF-24 = 24 du/ac max (confirmed per city Planning page convention).
- setback_front
- Front yard per Chapter 36 Article V district tables.
- setback_side
- Interior side per Chapter 36 Article V district tables.
- setback_rear
- Rear yard per Chapter 36 Article V district tables.
- parking
- Off-street parking per Chapter 36 §36-502 (per city Planning page reference); specific use-by-use ratios not extracted in this pass.
Capacity calculations
- max_units_residential_per_ac
MF-6 → 6 du/ac; MF-12 → 12 du/ac; MF-18 → 18 du/ac; MF-24 → 24 du/ac (district naming convention)- max_footprint_sf
lot_area_sf * lot_coverage (per Chapter 36 Article V district tables)- max_building_height_ft_per_district
Per Chapter 36 Article V height standards; specific values pending retrieval
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
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Max density
— du/ac
——
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/little_rock/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH36ZO (Little Rock's city-hosted Municode portal — deep-linked to Chapter 36 (Zoning)). |
|---|---|---|
| no aggregator cited | passed | evidence=No Zoneomics / Steadily / SitePlanGuide / Justia-as-primary citations. Primary source is library.municode.com/ar/little_rock (Chapter 36 deep-link) — Little Rock's own contracted code-hosting platform. Secondary sources include the city-hosted Ord. 22,695 PDF at littlerock.gov/wp-content/uploads/planninganddevelopment/22695-3.pdf (city's own domain), the city Planning & Development page at littlerock.gov/for-residents/planning-and-development/, zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md, FEMA FIRM, and Arkansas Times reporting cited in prior research for ADU ordinance status. |
| 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=2/2 overlay categories (Multiple-named DODs aggregated as one entry + FP via Chapter 13) have parameters[] arrays with name/value/status/citation per parameter (5 named DOD overlays itemized within parameters), geographic_trigger, status, citation, ordinance_ref, what_is_confirmed, what_is_missing. overlays_absence_documented lists 3 absent overlay categories (HD-as-zoning-overlay, airport, downtown-form-based) with search_performed evidence. |
| preempt section city specific | passed | evidence=7 AR statutes with qualifying_condition_checked containing Little-Rock-specific applicability (R-1 through R-5 SF / two-family district roster for ADU preemption; state-capital + River Market + Clinton Library STR demand context with post-Act 1035 ordinance amendment reference; high-volume vested-rights subdivision context across I-30/I-40/I-440/I-630/Chenal Parkway corridors for down-zoning notice; R-7 / R-7A explicit manufactured-housing district roster for §§20-25-102 / 20-25-113 field preemption; Comprehensive Plan adoption confirming §14-56-416 compliance). |
Data quality
45%completeness36 confirmed96 partial
Documented gaps
- Chapter 36 Article V §36-251 et seq. residential, office, commercial, and industrial dimensional tables not extractable from Municode SPA — all per-district dimensional values are partial pending direct retrieval.
- Ord. 22,695 PDF text extraction blocked at model layer in this pass — Urban Use Zoning District updates not fully captured; specific districts modified pending PDF re-fetch with paginated tooling.
- Five named DOD design-standard text, boundary geometries, and Design Review Committee composition not retrieved.
- Chapter 13 (Floods) freeboard value, substantial-improvement language, and Chapter 36 cross-reference text not retrieved.
- Parking ratios per Chapter 36 §36-502 not extracted.
- Final ADU ordinance status post-Act 313 of 2025 not confirmed (city was actively voting in August 2025).
- Post-Act 1035 STR ordinance amendment text not retrieved.
- Post-Act 314 ETJ-repeal implementation in city zoning map not cross-walked.
- Specific Chapter 36 ordinance amendment numbers for pre-2025 supplements not captured.
Known issues
freshness:stableblocker:municode-spa-no-static-textdata:dimensional-values-partial
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