Zoning › Arkansas › Franklin County › Ozark

Ozark, AR Zoning

Euclidean-zoning. 5 districts · 2 overlays · 7 applicable state preemptions.

Overview

Code type
euclidean
Naming convention
—

Classic Euclidean code: Chapter 17 organizes Ozark into R-1 / R-2 / R-3 residential, C-1 commercial, and I-1 industrial base districts with Historic District and Floodplain overlays. No form-based or hybrid elements identified at this scale. Consistent with the small-Arkansas-city pattern: lot-size-and-setback driven, no FAR cap, no density floor, no IZ.

Worth knowing
  • Small-AR-city Euclidean — Ozark's Chapter 17 follows the standard small-city Arkansas pattern: 3 residential tiers (R-1/R-2/R-3), one commercial bucket (C-1), one industrial bucket (I-1), plus Historic-District and Floodplain overlays. No mixed-use district, no form-based elements, no planned-development district.
  • Mt. Magazine STR demand under Act 1035 — Ozark is the closest incorporated city to Mt. Magazine State Park (highest point in Arkansas) and absorbs some STR demand from that tourism corridor. Act 1035 of 2023 partial preemption applies; Ozark has no Act-1035-non-compliant ordinance of record.
  • Act 313 of 2025 ADU preemption now binding — effective 2026-01-01. Ozark's R-1 (and R-2 single-family lots) 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. Chapter 17 does not codify an ADU pathway — Ozark is now in 'applies_not_regulated' status (state default controls).

+ 1 more in Quirks & notes

Districts

res_sf 2res_mf 1com 1ind 1
CodeNameCategory Min lotHeight CoverageFAR Du/acParking Setbacks F/S/R
R-1Single Familyres_sf—[4]—[5]—————[1] / —[2] / —[3]
R-2Two-Familyres_sf—[9]—[10]—————[6] / —[7] / —[8]
R-3Multi-Familyres_mf—[14]—[15]—————[11] / —[12] / —[13]
C-1Commercialcom—[19]—[20]—————[16] / —[17] / —[18]
I-1Industrialind—[24]—[25]—————[21] / —[22] / —[23]

Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found

Overlays

HD
Historic District Overlay
historic-preservation
Chapter 17 §17-2(b) per prior v1 research
FP
Floodplain Overlay
floodplain
Chapter 17 §17-2(e) per prior v1 research; FEMA Franklin County FIRM

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. Ozark's R-1 (Single Family) and R-2 (Two-Family — single-family use permitted) districts are in scope. Ozark's Chapter 17 does not codify an ADU pathway as of this review.
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 R-1 (and any R-2 lot in single-family use): Ozark 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. Conflicting Chapter 17 provisions (none specifically identified as banned) are invalidated as of 2026-01-01.
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. Ozark's R-1 (Single Family) and R-2 (Two-Family) districts are in scope. Ozark is in the Arkansas River Valley with modest STR demand tied to Mt. Magazine recreation; no pre-2011 STR ordinance of record that would grandfather more restrictive rules has been identified.
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §ACA §14-54-1604; Chapter 17 use table not retrievable for STR-specific use confirmation pending DOM-capable retrieval.
Effect
Ozark 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 Ozark.
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §HB 1503 / Act 757 of 2023.
Effect
Ozark'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 Ozark (which exercises §14-56-425 fee authority via Chapter 17 development review).
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §Act 594 of 2023.
Effect
Any Ozark 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. Ozark has limited platting activity at the scale that would trigger high-volume down-zoning challenges, but the procedural requirement applies whenever any down-zoning is contemplated.
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §Act 1012 of 2023.
Effect
Ozark 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. Ozark's Chapter 17 districts that permit manufactured housing (specific district roster pending Chapter 17 retrieval) 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
Ozark 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: Ozark must have an adopted land use plan before exercising any zoning authority. Plan-adoption status verification pending direct contact with Ozark Planning & Zoning; Chapter 17 has been operative for years implying a plan was historically adopted, but currency cannot be confirmed without retrieval.
Source
zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md §ACA §14-56-401 et seq.
Effect
Zoning authority is conditional on plan adoption. Currency of Ozark's adopted plan is under_review.
Retrieval issue
Ozark Planning & Zoning department web presence is minimal; plan-adoption status not retrievable from public web. Direct call to (479) 667-2238 queued.

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
supplement effective

Quirks & notes

  • Small-AR-city Euclidean — Ozark's Chapter 17 follows the standard small-city Arkansas pattern: 3 residential tiers (R-1/R-2/R-3), one commercial bucket (C-1), one industrial bucket (I-1), plus Historic-District and Floodplain overlays. No mixed-use district, no form-based elements, no planned-development district.
  • Mt. Magazine STR demand under Act 1035 — Ozark is the closest incorporated city to Mt. Magazine State Park (highest point in Arkansas) and absorbs some STR demand from that tourism corridor. Act 1035 of 2023 partial preemption applies; Ozark has no Act-1035-non-compliant ordinance of record.
  • Act 313 of 2025 ADU preemption now binding — effective 2026-01-01. Ozark's R-1 (and R-2 single-family lots) 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. Chapter 17 does not codify an ADU pathway — Ozark is now in 'applies_not_regulated' status (state default controls).
  • Municode SPA blocker — Ozark's only public code-hosting platform is the Municode Library, which is a JavaScript SPA returning empty document text on static HTTP fetch. Without DOM-capable retrieval or a city-hosted PDF mirror, dimensional values inside §17-3 tables cannot be extracted. Recommended workaround: phone (479) 667-2238 for a Chapter 17 PDF.

Formulas

Definitions

height
Maximum building height per Chapter 17 §17-3 height standards (residential / commercial / industrial). Measured from grade. Specific values pending DOM-capable retrieval of §17-3 table.
lot_coverage
Building footprint as percentage of lot area. Ozark's Chapter 17 is lot-size-and-setback driven; lot coverage not explicitly capped per dossier (LOW confidence), pending §17-3 retrieval.
far
Not codified as a separate FAR table in Chapter 17 per prior research; Ozark regulates intensity through lot coverage (implicit), height, and setback.
du_ac
Implicit via minimum lot area per dwelling unit; not codified as explicit density floor.
setback_front
Front yard per §17-3 (residential/commercial/industrial tables). Specific values pending retrieval.
setback_side
Interior side per §17-3 district table.
setback_rear
Rear yard per §17-3 district table.
parking
Off-street parking per Chapter 17 parking section. Specific use-by-use ratios not extracted in this pass.

Capacity calculations

max_footprint_sf
lot_area_sf * lot_coverage (per district table)
max_units_residential_per_lot
lot_area_sf / min_land_area_per_dwelling_unit (R-3 multi-family)
max_building_height_ft_per_district
Per §17-3 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.

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drag to orbit · scroll to zoom
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
https://library.municode.com/ar/ozark/codes/code_of_ordinances

Retrieval failure: municode_js_spa_no_static_text

Citations
  1. [1] Chapter 17 §17-3 residential setback standards
  2. [2] Chapter 17 §17-3
  3. [3] Chapter 17 §17-3
  4. [4] Chapter 17 §17-3 residential dimensional table
  5. [5] Chapter 17 §17-3 residential height standards
  6. [6] Chapter 17 §17-3
  7. [7] Chapter 17 §17-3
  8. [8] Chapter 17 §17-3
  9. [9] Chapter 17 §17-3
  10. [10] Chapter 17 §17-3
  11. [11] Chapter 17 §17-3
  12. [12] Chapter 17 §17-3
  13. [13] Chapter 17 §17-3
  14. [14] Chapter 17 §17-3
  15. [15] Chapter 17 §17-3
  16. [16] Chapter 17 §17-3(d)
  17. [17] Chapter 17 §17-3(d)
  18. [18] Chapter 17 §17-3(d)
  19. [19] Chapter 17 §17-3(d)
  20. [20] Chapter 17 §17-3(d)
  21. [21] Chapter 17 §17-3(e)
  22. [22] Chapter 17 §17-3(e)
  23. [23] Chapter 17 §17-3(e)
  24. [24] Chapter 17 §17-3(e)
  25. [25] Chapter 17 §17-3(e)

Research status

Publication gates

primary url presentpassedsource.primary_url = https://library.municode.com/ar/ozark/codes/code_of_ordinances (Ozark's city-hosted Municode portal — the only public code-hosting platform Ozark uses).
no aggregator citedpassedNo Zoneomics / Steadily / SitePlanGuide / Justia-as-primary citations. Primary source is library.municode.com/ar/ozark — this is Ozark's own contracted code-hosting platform (CivicPlus/Municode is the city's official code publisher, not a third-party aggregator scraping data). Secondary sources: www.cityofozarkar.com (city homepage), zoning/us/arkansas/preemptions.md (state preemption record), FEMA FIRM (federal floodplain mapping).
confidence tags full formpassedEvery 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 confidencepassed2/2 overlays (HD, FP) have parameters[] arrays with name/value/status/citation per parameter, geographic_trigger, status, citation, and ordinance_ref. overlays_absence_documented lists 3 absent overlay categories with search_performed evidence.
preempt section city specificpassed7 AR statutes with qualifying_condition_checked containing Ozark-specific applicability (R-1/R-2 SF district roster for ADU preemption; Mt. Magazine tourism context for STR; small-platting context for down-zoning notice; manufactured-housing district roster pending §17-3 retrieval).

Data quality

38%completeness14 confirmed32 partial
Documented gaps
  • Chapter 17 §17-3 residential, commercial, and industrial dimensional tables not extractable from Municode SPA — all per-district dimensional values are partial pending retrieval.
  • HD overlay design-guideline specifics and contributing-properties roster not retrieved.
  • FP overlay freeboard value pending §17-2(e) confirmation (2 ft assumed as the Arkansas standard).
  • Parking ratios per Chapter 17 parking section not extracted.
  • Ozark's adopted land use plan currency under §14-56-416 not confirmed.
  • Specific Chapter 17 ordinance amendment numbers and dates not captured.

Known issues

freshness:stableblocker:municode-spa-no-static-textdata:dimensional-values-partial

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