Overview
Code type
euclidean
Naming convention
mixed
| residential | hierarchical-numeric (R-1 SF detached through R-5; density increases with number) |
|---|---|
| commercial | hierarchical-numeric (C-1 neighborhood through C-4 CBD) plus CO-1/CO-2 commercial-office variants |
| industrial | hierarchical-numeric (M-1 light through M-3 heavy/port) |
| agricultural | letter (A) |
| waterfront | letter (W-R waterfront residential/recreation; W-I waterfront industrial) |
| airport | letter (AIR) |
| planned_unit_development | letter (PUD floating district) |
Joint APC for City + County + Darmstadt. Code runs on codepublishing.com platform (not Municode). District inventory broader than v1 captured: R-5 and CO-1/CO-2 and A and W-R/W-I/AIR all listed on APC portal, but standards for these beyond the R-1..R-4, C-1..C-4, M-1..M-3 set were not retrieved this pass. | sub_flags_raw=[joint-city-county-apc]
Worth knowing
- Joint Evansville-Vanderburgh County-Darmstadt APC governance: single APC administers Title 18 (City) and Chapter 17 (County); jurisdiction follows political boundary, not APC seat. — [APC zoning-info portal April 2026]
- codepublishing.com (not Municode, not ecode360, not amlegal) is the canonical platform for Evansville + Vanderburgh County; aggregator sites must not be cited. — [Code Publishing Company hosts both Title 18 and County Chapter 17]
- District inventory larger than v1 captured: R-5, CO-1, CO-2, W-R, W-I, AIR, A, PUD appear on APC portal but v1 omitted or collapsed them; standards not_found this pass. — [APC portal April 2026 vs v1 extraction]
+ 7 more in Quirks & notes
Districts
spec 4com 3res_sf 2res_mf 2ind 2cbd 1ag 1
| Code | Name | Category | Min lot | Height | Coverage | FAR | Du/ac | Parking | Setbacks F/S/R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-1 | Single-Family | res_sf | 6,000 sf | 35 ft | 0.4 | 0.4 | — | — | 15 / 8 / 20 |
| R-2 | Two-Family | res_sf | 4,500 sf | 40 ft | 0.5 | 0.6 | — | — | 12 / 6 / 15 |
| R-3 | Multi-Family Low-Medium | res_mf | 3,000 sf | 50 ft | 0.6 | 0.9 | — | — | 10 / 5 / 10 |
| R-4 | Multi-Family High | res_mf | 1,500 sf | 75 ft | 0.75 | — | — | — | 8 / 3 / 8 |
| R-5 | Residential (R-5, fifth class) | spec | —[4] | —[5] | —[6] | —[7] | — | — | —[1] / —[2] / —[3] |
| C-1 | Neighborhood Commercial | com | 3,500 sf | 45 ft | 0.6 | 0.8 | — | — | 15 / 5 / 5 |
| C-2 | General Commercial | com | 10,000 sf | 55 ft | 0.7 | 1.1 | — | — | 20 / 10 / 10 |
| C-3 | Highway Commercial | com | 15,000 sf | 60 ft | 0.65 | 1.2 | — | — | 25 / 15 / 15 |
| C-4 | Downtown / CBD Commercial | cbd | 5,000 sf | 85 ft | 0.8 | — | — | — | 0 / 0 / 10 |
| CO-1 | Commercial Office — Low | spec | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| CO-2 | Commercial Office — High | spec | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| M-1 | Light Industrial | ind | 20,000 sf | 50 ft | 0.7 | 0.6 | — | — | 20 / 15 / 15 |
| M-2 | General Industrial | ind | 30,000 sf | 60 ft | 0.65 | 0.8 | — | — | 25 / 20 / 20 |
| M-3 | Heavy / Port Industrial | spec | 50,000 sf | 75 ft | 0.6 | — | — | — | 50 / 30 / 30 |
| A | Agricultural | ag | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found
Overlays
FP
Ohio River Floodplain
FPFEMA FIRM 100-year and 500-year flood zones along Ohio River and Pigeon Creek; ~18-22% of city area; riverfront downtown, West Evansville, Riverside Drive corridor
HD
Historic District
HP6 city-designated historic districts (~350 contributing buildings) + NRHP Downtown Historic District (~22 blocks), Riverside Historic District (~8 blocks), and ~15 isolated NRHP sites
AIR
Airport Overlay (Evansville Regional Airport EVV)
APFAA Part 77 approach/transitional/horizontal/conical surfaces of Evansville Regional Airport (EVV); approach corridors extend ~5 miles N/S of runway 18/36 alignment; ~8% of city area
W-R
Waterfront Residential/Recreation
SPECOhio River and Pigeon Creek frontage parcels; riverfront recreation/residential adaptive-reuse emphasis
W-I
Waterfront Industrial
SPECOhio River port/barge-terminal industrial parcels
PUD
Planned Unit Development
SPECAny site >=5 acres (v1 threshold, not re-confirmed) for which a master plan is proposed and adopted
State preemptions
IN-36-7-4applies
Qualifying condition
Evansville is a second-class Indiana city exercising zoning authority through the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Area Plan Commission under IC 36-7-4 area-plan provisions. All Title 18 adoptions and amendments must comply with 600-series procedure (comprehensive-plan prerequisite, notice/hearing, 90-day legislative action).
Effect
Procedural preemption: non-compliance with c§36-7-4-601 (comprehensive plan), c§36-7-4-602 (adoption/amendment procedure), c§36-7-4-603 (required considerations), c§36-7-4-604 (notice/hearing) voids the ordinance.
IN-36-1-24applies
Qualifying condition
Evansville is not Carmel or Fishers, so the Jan-2028 transition window does not apply; full HEA-1210 compliance runs from July 1, 2026. Owner-occupied STRs are a permitted residential use in any residential district (R-1..R-5); non-owner-occupied STRs may require special exception but cannot be effectively prohibited. | strengthened_date=2026-07-01 (HEA 1210 of 2025)
Effect
Owner-occupied STRs cannot be banned in residential districts per c§36-1-24-8 IC. Non-owner-occupied STRs may be conditioned on special exception per c§36-1-24-9 but not effectively prohibited. Permit fee capped at $150. Numeric caps/quotas on residential rental properties are prohibited (HEA-1210 effective 2026-07-01). Registration permits are non-transferable (c§36-1-24-17).
IN-36-7-4-1106applies
Qualifying condition
All Indiana units, including Evansville, must treat manufactured homes >=950 sf occupied as permitted residential dwellings in any district where any other dwelling is permitted. Aesthetic regulation limited to permanent-foundation compatibility.
Effect
Title 18 may not exclude manufactured homes >=950 sf from R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5, or A. May not require more than one foundation system. Foundation-system requirements must be structurally compatible with the manufactured home.
IN-32-31-1-20applies
Qualifying condition
All Indiana units. No General Assembly authorization for Evansville rent control or mandatory IZ. Privately-owned rental property receiving government funds for express below-market rent purpose is carved out.
Effect
Title 18 may not regulate rental rates or require price-controlled set-asides through zoning (mandatory inclusionary zoning is preempted). Voluntary incentive-based density bonuses for affordable units remain permissible. LIHTC/HUD-assisted/local-fund-assisted units are statutorily carved out.
Adopted building codes
Statewide; NEC updating to 2023
Click a code label to open its state-by-state adoption atlas.
Quirks & notes
- Joint Evansville-Vanderburgh County-Darmstadt APC governance: single APC administers Title 18 (City) and Chapter 17 (County); jurisdiction follows political boundary, not APC seat. — [APC zoning-info portal April 2026]
- codepublishing.com (not Municode, not ecode360, not amlegal) is the canonical platform for Evansville + Vanderburgh County; aggregator sites must not be cited. — [Code Publishing Company hosts both Title 18 and County Chapter 17]
- District inventory larger than v1 captured: R-5, CO-1, CO-2, W-R, W-I, AIR, A, PUD appear on APC portal but v1 omitted or collapsed them; standards not_found this pass. — [APC portal April 2026 vs v1 extraction]
- Ohio River floodplain covers ~18-22% of incorporated Evansville; FP overlay triggers on FEMA FIRM (2018 update) BFE 318-322 ft NAVD88. — [c§FEMA FIRM Vanderburgh County 2018]
- FAA Part 77 conical slope correction: v1 recorded 5:1, which conflicts with 14 CFR 77.19(b) (20:1, 4,000 ft horizontal). Corrected slope value in v2; v2 cited subsection (d) in error — (d) is the approach surface, not conical. Subsection corrected to (b) in v2.1 audit. — [c§14 CFR 77.19(b)]
- Riverside Historic District overlaps FEMA floodplain; EHPC + Floodplain Commission stacking adds 2-4 weeks to review for riverfront historic adaptive reuse. — [partial §Title 18 historic and floodplain chapters]
- R-4 adaptive-reuse height waiver available with EHPC + Floodplain Commission approval (historic-adjacent mixed-use); discretionary. — [partial §Title 18 R-4 / EHPC procedure]
- STR regime pivot 2026-07-01: Title 18 STR provisions inconsistent with c§36-1-24-8/-9 IC become unenforceable; numeric caps prohibited; fee capped at $150. — [c§36-1-24-8 IC; c§36-1-24-9 IC; HEA 1210 (2025)]
- Manufactured-housing preemption (c§36-7-4-1106 IC) not surfaced in v1; Title 18 cannot exclude manufactured homes >=950 sf from residential districts permitting any dwelling. — [c§36-7-4-1106 IC; c§36-7-2-12 IC]
- No mandatory IZ permissible under c§32-31-1-20 IC; Evansville may pursue voluntary density-bonus AH programs (e.g., historic adaptive reuse), but cannot impose price-controlled set-asides on private development. — [c§32-31-1-20 IC]
Formulas
Definitions
- height
- Grade to highest point of structure per Title 18 definitions (v1 text retained). c§Title 18 definitions (partial)
- lot_coverage
- Building footprint divided by lot area. c§Title 18 definitions (partial)
- far
- Gross floor area divided by lot area. c§Title 18 definitions (partial)
- du_ac
- Dwelling units per gross acre. Not explicitly stated in Title 18 base district tables; max du/ac in profile is inferred from FAR and typical per-unit GFA.
- setback_front
- Front property line to nearest building face.
- setback_side
- Side property line to nearest building face.
- setback_rear
- Rear property line to nearest building face.
- parking
- Off-street spaces per dwelling unit (residential) or per 1000 sf GFA (non-residential) unless noted. c§Title 18 parking chapter (partial; not re-fetched this pass)
Capacity calculations
- max_footprint_sf
lot_area_sf * lot_coverage- max_gfa_sf
lot_area_sf * far- max_units
lot_area_sf / 43560 * du_ac
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
——
Floor area ratio
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Lot coverage
—%
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Setbacks (F / S / R)
— ft
——
Parking
— /unit
——
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
Citations
- [1] n
- [2] n
- [3] n
- [4] n
- [5] n
- [6] n
- [7] n
Research status
Publication gates
| primary url present | passed | |
|---|---|---|
| no aggregator cited | passed | |
| confidence tags full form | passed | |
| overlays have parameters trigger confidence | passed | |
| preempt section city specific | passed |
Data quality
78%completeness
Verification
| last_verified_at | 2026-04-18T19:30:00Z |
|---|---|
| verifier_specialist | verification-pass |
| verifier_version | 1.0 |
| verification_result | passed |
| atomic_claims_checked | 38 |
| atomic_claims_passed | 38 |
| atomic_claims_failed | 0 |
| notes | All confirmed claims carry c§ or FAA Part 77 or FEMA FIRM citations; partial claims carry explicit partial_reason and narrative_ref; not_found claims carry search_performed. No bare [confirmed] tags. No aggregators cited. |
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