Overview
Residential districts use R-1 through R-8 sequential index (use-type-index for res), commercial uses B-1 through B-5 and H-1 through H-4 (letter-code). Numbers are sequential index not dimensional encoding. Office series O-1/O-2/O-3 and industrial I-1/I-2/I-3 also sequential. Lincoln is Nebraska's primary-class city (Chapter 15), operates under home-rule charter.
- Lincoln is Nebraska's only primary-class city (Neb. Rev. Stat. Chapter 15). It operates under a home-rule charter (constitutional home-rule, not statutory) while remaining subject to uniform state-law floors including §19-904 manufactured home parity and LB 866 reporting requirements.
- Capitol Environs overlay (Chapter 27.56 + Neb. Rev. Stat. §§90-301–90-310) creates 5 distinct height zones around the State Capitol, capping heights at 45 or 57 ft depending on zone. This uniquely constrains Downtown Lincoln (B-4 and O-1 districts) well below their base district limits.
- Lincoln and Lancaster County share a joint planning department (Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Department). Title 27 applies within the 3-mile ETJ per §15-902; county zoning is preempted within ETJ.
+ 4 more in Quirks & notes
Districts
| Code | Name | Category | Min lot | Height | Coverage | FAR | Du/ac | Parking | Setbacks F/S/R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AG | Agriculture District | res_sf | —[4] | —[5] | —[6] | —[7] | —[8] | —[9] | —[1] / —[2] / —[3] |
| AGR | Agricultural Residential District | res_sf | —[13] | —[14] | —[15] | —[16] | — | — | —[10] / —[11] / —[12] |
| R-1 | Residential District | res_sf | 9,000 sf[20] | 35 ft[21] | —[22] | —[23] | —[24] | —[25] | 30[17] / 10[18] / 20[19] |
| R-2 | Residential District | res_sf | 6,000 sf[29] | 35 ft[30] | —[31] | —[32] | — | — | 25[26] / 5[27] / 20[28] |
| R-3 | Residential District | res_sf | 6,000 sf[36] | 35 ft[37] | —[38] | —[39] | — | — | 20[33] / 5[34] / 20[35] |
| R-4 | Residential District | res_sf | 5,000 sf[43] | 35 ft[44] | —[45] | —[46] | — | — | 25[40] / 5[41] / 20[42] |
| R-5 | Residential District | res_mf | 5,000 sf[50] | 35 ft[51] | —[52] | —[53] | — | — | 20[47] / 5[48] / 30[49] |
| R-6 | Residential District | res_mf | 4,000 sf[57] | 35 ft[58] | —[59] | —[60] | — | — | 20[54] / 5[55] / 30[56] |
| R-7 | Residential District | res_mf | 4,000 sf[64] | 45 ft[65] | —[66] | —[67] | — | — | 20[61] / 5[62] / 30[63] |
| R-8 | Residential District | res_mf | 4,000 sf[71] | 75 ft[72] | —[73] | —[74] | — | — | 10[68] / 10[69] / 20[70] |
| R-T | Residential Transition District | res_sf | 4,000 sf[78] | 28 ft[79] | —[80] | —[81] | — | — | 10[75] / 0[76] / 0[77] |
| O-1 | Office District | off | 220 sf[85] | 75 ft[86] | —[87] | —[88] | — | — | 0[82] / 0[83] / 0[84] |
| O-2 | Suburban Office District | off | 4,000 sf[92] | 28 ft[93] | —[94] | —[95] | — | — | 20[89] / 10[90] / 40[91] |
| O-3 | Office Park District | off | 4,000 sf[99] | 45 ft[100] | —[101] | —[102] | — | — | 30[96] / 15[97] / 40[98] |
| B-1 | Local Business District | com | 2,000 sf[106] | 40 ft[107] | —[108] | —[109] | — | — | —[103] / —[104] / —[105] |
| B-2 | Planned Neighborhood Business District | com | 2,000 sf[113] | 45 ft[114] | —[115] | —[116] | — | — | —[110] / —[111] / —[112] |
| B-3 | Commercial District | com | 1,000 sf[120] | [{'variant': 'standard', 'value': 45, 'citation': '§27.72.030(a)'}, {'variant': 'abutting-R1-R2-R3', 'value': 35, 'citation': '§27.72.030(a)'}] ft[121] | —[122] | —[123] | — | — | —[117] / —[118] / —[119] |
| B-4 | Lincoln Center Business District | com | —[127] | 40 ft[128] | —[129] | —[130] | — | — | —[124] / —[125] / —[126] |
| B-5 | Planned Regional Business District | com | —[134] | 40 ft[135] | —[136] | —[137] | — | — | —[131] / —[132] / —[133] |
| H-1 | Interstate Commercial District | com | 5,000 sf[141] | 55 ft[142] | —[143] | —[144] | — | — | 20[138] / 5[139] / 30[140] |
| H-2 | Mixed-Use Corridor District | mu | 0 sf[148] | 55 ft[149] | —[150] | —[151] | — | — | 20[145] / 5[146] / 30[147] |
| H-3 | Heavy Commercial District | com | 0 sf[155] | 55 ft[156] | —[157] | —[158] | — | — | 20[152] / 15[153] / 30[154] |
| H-4 | General Commercial District | com | 15,000 sf[162] | 55 ft[163] | —[164] | —[165] | — | — | 20[159] / 20[160] / 20[161] |
| I-1 | Industrial District | ind | 0 sf[169] | 75 ft[170] | —[171] | —[172] | — | — | 15[166] / 0[167] / 0[168] |
| I-2 | Industrial Park District | ind | 43,560 sf[176] | 55 ft[177] | —[178] | —[179] | — | — | 20[173] / 20[174] / 20[175] |
| I-3 | Employment Center District | ind | 0 sf[183] | 35 ft[184] | —[185] | —[186] | — | — | 20[180] / 20[181] / 20[182] |
| P | Public Use District | spec | —[190] | —[191] | —[192] | —[193] | — | — | —[187] / —[188] / —[189] |
Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found
Overlays
Properties within the Nebraska Capitol Environs boundary (generally 5th to 24th Streets, H to S Streets in Lincoln, divided into 5 height zones per Neb. Rev. Stat. §90-303)
Locally-designated historic landmarks and landmark districts in Lincoln; boundaries established per individual designation ordinances
Properties within noise contours of Lincoln Airport (Lincoln Airport, LNK) and any other designated airports; noise zone boundaries per adopted contour maps
Properties within FAA Part 77 imaginary surface areas associated with Lincoln Airport runways; height restrictions apply to structures within specific zones
Properties within FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map Special Flood Hazard Areas (Zone A, AE, etc.) within Lincoln
not_found
not_found
not_found
South Haymarket neighborhood (generally 1st–7th Streets, N–S or per adopted boundary map)
State preemptions
Non-applicable laws (1)
Adopted building codes
NEC statewide; others local
Click a code label to open its state-by-state adoption atlas.
Amendment history
| Date | Kind | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-26 | retrieved at | EncodePlus Lincoln Municipal Code Title 27 Zoning, secid=11778 |
Quirks & notes
- Lincoln is Nebraska's only primary-class city (Neb. Rev. Stat. Chapter 15). It operates under a home-rule charter (constitutional home-rule, not statutory) while remaining subject to uniform state-law floors including §19-904 manufactured home parity and LB 866 reporting requirements.
- Capitol Environs overlay (Chapter 27.56 + Neb. Rev. Stat. §§90-301–90-310) creates 5 distinct height zones around the State Capitol, capping heights at 45 or 57 ft depending on zone. This uniquely constrains Downtown Lincoln (B-4 and O-1 districts) well below their base district limits.
- Lincoln and Lancaster County share a joint planning department (Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Department). Title 27 applies within the 3-mile ETJ per §15-902; county zoning is preempted within ETJ.
- South Haymarket design standards are in a separate Title 3 Design Standards document (online.encodeplus.com/regs/lincoln-ne-ds/), not in Title 27 Zoning. A second separate code system (Lincoln-Lancaster County Zoning Regulations, online.encodeplus.com/regs/lincoln-ne-lcz/) covers the joint ETJ territory.
- R-1 district has the largest minimum lot size (9,000 sf) in the residential hierarchy — use-type-index NOT lot-size-encoded. R-8 has the most permissive height (75 ft), unlike cities where R-8 would be the most restrictive.
- FAR and lot coverage percentages are not included in Chapter 27.72 dimensional tables for most districts. Dimensional regulation is primarily through setbacks, height, and minimum lot size rather than FAR or coverage ratios.
- Airport overlay has two separate chapters: Chapter 27.58 (Airport Environs Noise District — land use compatibility) and Chapter 27.59 (Airport Zoning Regulations — height restrictions). Lincoln Airport (LNK) is a commercial facility, not a military base; no AICUZ applies (Offutt AFB AICUZ covers Bellevue/Sarpy County, not Lincoln/Lancaster County).
Formulas
Definitions
- height
- Grade to highest point of structure (§27.02).
- lot_coverage
- Building footprint / lot area.
- far
- Gross floor area / lot area.
- du_ac
- Dwelling units per gross acre.
- 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 parking spaces per unit/use as specified in Chapter 27.67.
Capacity calculations
- max_footprint_sf
lot_area_sf * lot_coverage- max_gfa_sf
lot_area_sf * far- buildable_width_ft
lot_width_ft - setback_side_ft * 2- buildable_depth_ft
lot_depth_ft - setback_front_ft - setback_rear_ft- max_stories_approx
max_height_ft / 10
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.
| District | Category | Height | FAR | Coverage | Setbacks | Parking | Density | Min lot | Overlays |
|---|
Sources & references
- [1] §27.72.010
- [2] §27.72.120
- [3] §27.72.010
- [4] §27.72.010
- [5] §27.72.010
- [6] n
- [7] n
- [8] n
- [9] n
- [10] §27.72.010
- [11] §27.72.010
- [12] §27.72.010
- [13] §27.72.010
- [14] §27.72.010
- [15] n
- [16] n
- [17] §27.72.020(a)
- [18] §27.72.020(a)
- [19] §27.72.020(a)
- [20] §27.72.020(a)
- [21] §27.72.020(a)
- [22] n
- [23] n
- [24] n
- [25] n
- [26] §27.72.020(a)
- [27] §27.72.020(a)
- [28] §27.72.020(a)
- [29] §27.72.020(a)
- [30] §27.72.020(a)
- [31] n
- [32] n
- [33] §27.72.020(a)
- [34] §27.72.020(a)
- [35] §27.72.020(a)
- [36] §27.72.020(a)
- [37] §27.72.020(a)
- [38] n
- [39] n
- [40] §27.72.020(a)
- [41] §27.72.020(a)
- [42] §27.72.020(a)
- [43] §27.72.020(a)
- [44] §27.72.020(a)
- [45] n
- [46] n
- [47] §27.72.020(b)
- [48] §27.72.020(b)
- [49] §27.72.020(b)
- [50] §27.72.020(b)
- [51] §27.72.020(b)
- [52] n
- [53] n
- [54] §27.72.020(b)
- [55] §27.72.020(b)
- [56] §27.72.020(b)
- [57] §27.72.020(b)
- [58] §27.72.020(b)
- [59] n
- [60] n
- [61] §27.72.020(b)
- [62] §27.72.020(b)
- [63] §27.72.020(b)
- [64] §27.72.020(b)
- [65] §27.72.020(b)
- [66] n
- [67] n
- [68] §27.72.020(b)
- [69] §27.72.020(b)
- [70] §27.72.020(b)
- [71] §27.72.020(b)
- [72] §27.72.020(b)
- [73] n
- [74] n
- [75] §27.72.030(a)
- [76] §27.72.030(a)
- [77] §27.72.030(a)
- [78] §27.72.030(a)
- [79] §27.72.030(a)
- [80] n
- [81] n
- [82] §27.72.030(a)
- [83] §27.72.030(a)
- [84] §27.72.030(a)
- [85] §27.72.030(a)
- [86] §27.72.030(a)
- [87] n
- [88] n
- [89] §27.72.030(a)
- [90] §27.72.030(a)
- [91] §27.72.030(a)
- [92] §27.72.030(a)
- [93] §27.72.030(a)
- [94] n
- [95] n
- [96] §27.72.030(a)
- [97] §27.72.030(a)
- [98] §27.72.030(a)
- [99] §27.72.030(a)
- [100] §27.72.030(a)
- [101] n
- [102] n
- [103] §27.72.030(a)
- [104] §27.72.030(a)
- [105] §27.72.030(a)
- [106] §27.72.030(a)
- [107] §27.72.030(a)
- [108] n
- [109] n
- [110] §27.72.030(a)
- [111] §27.72.030(a)
- [112] §27.72.030(a)
- [113] §27.72.030(a)
- [114] §27.72.030(a)
- [115] n
- [116] n
- [117] §27.72.030(a)
- [118] §27.72.030(a)
- [119] §27.72.030(a)
- [120] §27.72.030(a)
- [121] §27.72.030(a)
- [122] n
- [123] n
- [124] §27.72.030(a)
- [125] §27.72.030(a)
- [126] §27.72.030(a)
- [127] §27.72.030(a)
- [128] §27.72.030(a)
- [129] n
- [130] n
- [131] §27.72.030(a)
- [132] §27.72.030(a)
- [133] §27.72.030(a)
- [134] §27.72.030(a)
- [135] §27.72.030(a)
- [136] n
- [137] n
- [138] §27.72.040(a)
- [139] §27.72.040(a)
- [140] §27.72.040(a)
- [141] §27.72.040(a)
- [142] §27.72.040(a)
- [143] n
- [144] n
- [145] §27.72.040(a)
- [146] §27.72.040(a)
- [147] §27.72.040(a)
- [148] §27.72.040(a)
- [149] §27.72.040(a)
- [150] n
- [151] n
- [152] §27.72.040(a)
- [153] §27.72.040(a)
- [154] §27.72.040(a)
- [155] §27.72.040(a)
- [156] §27.72.040(a)
- [157] n
- [158] n
- [159] §27.72.040(a)
- [160] §27.72.040(a)
- [161] §27.72.040(a)
- [162] §27.72.040(a)
- [163] §27.72.040(a)
- [164] n
- [165] n
- [166] §27.72.050(a)
- [167] §27.72.050(a)
- [168] §27.72.050(a)
- [169] §27.72.050(a)
- [170] §27.72.050(a)
- [171] n
- [172] n
- [173] §27.72.050(a)
- [174] §27.72.050(a)
- [175] §27.72.050(a)
- [176] §27.72.050(a)
- [177] §27.72.050(a)
- [178] n
- [179] n
- [180] §27.72.050(a)
- [181] §27.72.050(a)
- [182] §27.72.050(a)
- [183] §27.72.050(a)
- [184] §27.72.050(a)
- [185] n
- [186] n
- [187] n
- [188] n
- [189] n
- [190] n
- [191] n
- [192] n
- [193] n
Research status
Publication gates
| primary url present | passed | source.primary_url = https://online.encodeplus.com/regs/lincoln-ne/doc-viewer.aspx?secid=11778 — https, not an aggregator domain, live EncodePlus city-hosted municipal code |
|---|---|---|
| no aggregator cited | passed | scan clean — no references to Zoneomics, Steadily, SitePlanGuide, SitePlanCreator, Propwire, Zonara, or Unzoned in this record |
| confidence tags full form | passed | 48 confirmed fields all carry §-citations (e.g. c§27.72.020(a), c§27.72.030(a), c§27.72.040(a), c§27.72.050(a), c§27.56, c§90-303). Partial fields carry status=partial with retrieval_failure_reason. No bare [confirmed] tags without citation. |
| overlays have parameters trigger confidence | passed | All 9 overlay types documented: historic/CE (confirmed, parameters populated), historic/HP (confirmed), airport/AEND (confirmed), airport/AZR (confirmed), floodplain/FP (partial with retrieval reason), tod/TOD (not_found with search_performed), environmental/ENV (not_found with search_performed), affordable_housing/AHB (not_found with search_performed), corridor/SH (partial with what_is_confirmed + what_is_missing). Every overlay has geographic_trigger, status, and citation. |
| preempt section city specific | passed | Nebraska is not in the Gate 5 mandatory list (CA/TX/FL/OR/WA/CO/MN/MT/UT/AZ/NJ/CT). However, 8 state preemption laws evaluated with city-specific qualifying_condition_checked — all contain numeric inputs, vintage, and threshold comparison. Capitol Environs state overlay uniquely Lincoln-specific with statute citation confirmed. |
Data quality
- AG/AGR Table 27.72.010(a) dimensional values not captured — EncodePlus ereader pages show table reference but render only text portions; table values in image format
- B-1 through B-5 setbacks (front/side/rear) not captured — §27.72.030(a) table partially rendered; height and min lot confirmed but setbacks missing
- Public Use (P) district dimensional standards not captured — §27.28 et seq. governs but not in accessible ereader pages reviewed
- FAR and lot coverage not specified for most districts in Lincoln Title 27 (structural code feature, not retrieval failure)
- Floodplain freeboard not confirmed — flood damage prevention ordinance may exist outside Title 27
Other cities in this state
Nearest-alphabetical profiles. Click through to compare zoning patterns side-by-side.