Zoning › Texas › Lamar County › Paris

Paris, TX Zoning

Euclidean-zoning. 18 districts · 2 overlays · 1 applicable state preemptions.

Overview

Code type
euclidean
Naming convention
mixed

Appendix C to Code of Ordinances, originally Ord. 1710 (1972); 19 base districts + HD overlay; Cox Field airport overlay added 2014. Conventional TX small-city Euclidean zoning. Naming is lot-size-descending (SF-1 most restrictive at 1.5 acres). Not form-based, not hybrid-PD. No SB 840 applicability (pop ~25k). | naming_convention_raw=density-suffixed (SF-1 largest-lot through SF-3 smallest-lot) ; sub_flags_raw=[small-city, legacy-1972-framework, texas, airport-overlay-pd] ; narrative_ref=narratives/paris-tx/2996c216-2314-4c30-8ca7-d4452e447a57.json#03_naming_convention_decoder

Worth knowing
  • SF-1 minimum lot of 1.5 acres (65,340 sf) is unusually large for a TX city of 25k; strong anti-density / rural-character signal. SF-2 at 7,500 sf and SF-3 at 5,000 sf are more conventional. — [§9-101]
  • Naming convention is LOT-SIZE DESCENDING: SF-1 is largest-lot (1.5 ac), SF-3 is smallest (5,000 sf). Same pattern for MF-1 (7,500 sf) vs MF-2 (5,000 sf, taller). — [§9-101; §11-101]
  • CA Central Area permits 'any legal height' capped only by FAR 10:1 — unusually permissive downtown envelope for a 25k city but in line with TX downtown CBDs that inherited 1960s-70s commercial optimism. — [§11-101, §9-401]

+ 7 more in Quirks & notes

Districts

special 4residential_single_family 3residential_multi_family 2commercial_retail 2industrial 2agricultural 1residential_two_family 1commercial_office 1commercial_cbd 1commercial_general 1
CodeNameCategory Min lotHeight CoverageFAR Du/acParking Setbacks F/S/R
AAgricultural Districtagricultural43,560 sf[4]35 ft[5]0.15[6]——2[7]35[1] / 5[2] / 10[3]
SF-1One-Family Dwelling District (most restrictive)residential_single_family65,340 sf[11]35 ft[12]0.15[13]——2[14]35[8] / 5[9] / 10[10]
SF-2One-Family Dwelling Districtresidential_single_family7,500 sf[18]35 ft[19]0.35[20]——2[21]25[15] / 5[16] / 10[17]
SF-3One-Family Dwelling District (least restrictive)residential_single_family5,000 sf[25]35 ft[26]0.4[27]——2[28]25[22] / 5[23] / 10[24]
2FTwo-Family Dwelling Districtresidential_two_family6,000 sf[32]—0.4[33]——2[34]25[29] / 5[30] / 10[31]
MF-1Multiple-Family Dwelling District—1residential_multi_family7,500 sf[38]—0.4[39]——1.5[40]25[35] / 5[36] / 10[37]
MF-2Multiple-Family Dwelling District—2residential_multi_family5,000 sf[44]—0.4[45]——1.5[46]20[41] / 5[42] / 10[43]
PParking Districtspecial7,500 sf[47]—0.4[48]———— / — / —
OOffice Districtcommercial_office6,000 sf[50]—0.4[51]2[52]—0[53]25[49] / — / —
NSNeighborhood Service Districtcommercial_retail6,000 sf[55]—0.4[56]10[57]—0.01[58]25[54] / — / —
GRGeneral Retail Districtcommercial_retail5,000 sf[60]—0.4[61]1[62]—0.01[63]25[59] / — / —
CACentral Area Districtcommercial_cbd5,000 sf[65]—[66]0.4[67]10[68]—0.01[69]0[64] / — / —
CCommercial Districtcommercial_general5,000 sf[71]—0.4[72]2[73]—0.01[74]0[70] / — / —
LILight Industrial Districtindustrial——[76]0.4[77]2[78]——0[75] / — / —
HIHeavy Industrial Districtindustrial——[80]0.3[81]0.5[82]——0[79] / — / —
PDPlanned Development Districtspecial5,000 sf[83]—[84]—0.5[85]——— / — / —
PLIPublic Lands and Institution Districtspecial——[86]————— / — / —
ESSExpressway Service Station Districtspecial——[87]————— / — / —

Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found

Overlays

HD
Historic District Overlay
SPEC
§3-100, §3-101 (Appendix C); Article 9.05 Historic Preservation Ordinance (City Code)

Properties designated within locally adopted historic districts including Paris Commercial Historic District (established 2004) and Church Street Historic District (established 2004); system contemplates HD-1 through HD-15+ numbered overlays per city historic preservation program.

COX-PD
Cox Field Planned Development Airport Zoning District
SPEC
Cox Field Planned Development Airport Zoning District Ordinance, adopted 2014-11-21

Land within the approach, transitional, horizontal, and conical surfaces of Cox Field (PRX), a 1,600-acre public-use airport located approximately 5 miles east of downtown Paris on US-271. Exact overlay boundary established per approved airport zoning plan referenced in the 2014-11-21 ordinance.

State preemptions

TX SB 15applies
Qualifying condition
TX SB 15 applies statewide to lots ≤4,000 sf. Paris's minimum base-district residential lot sizes are 5,000 sf (SF-3, MF-2) or larger, so SB 15 does not override typical Paris zoning except on legal non-conforming lots of record ≤4,000 sf. Such parcels are rare in Paris's large-lot regime but may exist from historic platting; where present, SB 15 governs.
Effect
On qualifying lots ≤4,000 sf: city cannot enforce its normal setback, parking, height, or bulk standards. City retains authority over use restrictions and life safety. In Paris, SB 15's practical reach is narrow because base minimum lots exceed 4,000 sf.
Non-applicable laws (1)
TX SB 840does not apply
Qualifying condition
TX SB 840 requires city population ≥150,000 AND county population ≥300,000. Paris population is ~25,100 (TX SDC 2024 estimate) — FAILS city threshold by ~125,000. Lamar County population is ~49,000 — FAILS county threshold by ~251,000. Both conditions must be met independently; both independently fail. Paris is not in the qualifying-cities list in state-preemptions/texas.md. | effect_if_applied=Would require multifamily by-right in C/O/NS/GR/CA zones at ≥36 du/ac, ≥45 ft height, ≤25 ft setback, ≤1 parking/unit. NOT APPLIED in Paris.

Adopted building codes

Home rule; major cities on 2024 IBC

IBC
2012 (state min)
IRC
2021
NEC
2023
IFC
Local adoption
IECC (Residential)
2015
IECC (Commercial)
2015

Click a code label to open its state-by-state adoption atlas.

Quirks & notes

  • SF-1 minimum lot of 1.5 acres (65,340 sf) is unusually large for a TX city of 25k; strong anti-density / rural-character signal. SF-2 at 7,500 sf and SF-3 at 5,000 sf are more conventional. — [§9-101]
  • Naming convention is LOT-SIZE DESCENDING: SF-1 is largest-lot (1.5 ac), SF-3 is smallest (5,000 sf). Same pattern for MF-1 (7,500 sf) vs MF-2 (5,000 sf, taller). — [§9-101; §11-101]
  • CA Central Area permits 'any legal height' capped only by FAR 10:1 — unusually permissive downtown envelope for a 25k city but in line with TX downtown CBDs that inherited 1960s-70s commercial optimism. — [§11-101, §9-401]
  • Uniform 5-ft side setback and 10-ft rear setback across all residential districts (§9-601, §9-701) — unusual consistency; most codes vary by district. — [§9-601, §9-701]
  • MF-2 'tall-building option': up to 20 stories permitted with qualifying density and setback requirements per §11-101 — an outlier in a small TX city zoning code; specific trigger thresholds not yet extracted. — [§11-101]
  • Plat setbacks override zoning standards: where a platted building line exceeds or is less than code minimum, the plat controls (preserved from v1 markdown). — [§9 prefatory language]
  • HD historic overlay triggers a specific parking reduction: MF in HD drops from 1 unit + 0.5/bedroom to 1 per unit — parking-ratio overlay effect embedded in §10-103(a), not in the overlay section itself. — [§10-103(a)]
  • Cox Field Planned Development Airport Zoning District (2014-11-21) is a separately adopted overlay outside Appendix C — easy to miss in routine code review. Found via city Document Center search. — [Ord. 2014-11-21]
  • v1 naming errors: corpus used 'NSC' and 'TF' — correct codes per §3-100 are 'NS' (Neighborhood Service) and '2F' (Two-Family). Corrected in v2. — [§3-100]
  • Legacy 1972 framework: Ord. 1710 (1972) is the governing zoning ordinance, amended only by Ord. 2075 (1972), 2095 (1972), 2003-019 (2003), and Cox Field PD (2014). Substantively unchanged since the 1970s in most respects. — [§1, §3-100 amendment citations]

Formulas

Definitions

height
Grade to highest point of structure (per §11-101 measured in stories; exceptions in §11-102 for cooling towers, chimneys, vent stacks up to 40 ft).
lot_coverage
Building footprint as percentage of lot area (per §9-401).
far
Gross floor area / lot area (per §9-401, applied to nonresidential).
du_ac
Dwelling units per gross acre (derived from §9-101 min lot area).
setback_front
Front property line to nearest building face (per §9-501).
setback_side
Side property line to nearest building face; residential = 5 ft each side per §9-601.
setback_rear
Rear property line to nearest building face; residential = 10 ft minimum per §9-701.
parking
Spaces per dwelling unit or per SF of floor area per §10-103.

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_stories_from_§11-101

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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District Category Height FAR Coverage Setbacks Parking Density Min lot Overlays

Sources & references

Primary source
Appendix C — Zoning Ordinance (Part II, Code of Ordinances)
Ordinance No. 1710 as amended through Ord. No. 2003-019 (2003-05-08); Cox Field Airport Zoning PD adopted separately 2014-11-21 · retrieved 2026-04-18
Citations
  1. [1] §9-501
  2. [2] §9-601
  3. [3] §9-701
  4. [4] §9-101
  5. [5] §11-101
  6. [6] §9-401
  7. [7] §10-103(a)
  8. [8] §9-501
  9. [9] §9-601
  10. [10] §9-701
  11. [11] §9-101 (1.5 acres)
  12. [12] §11-101
  13. [13] §9-401
  14. [14] §10-103(a)
  15. [15] §9-501
  16. [16] §9-601
  17. [17] §9-701
  18. [18] §9-101
  19. [19] §11-101
  20. [20] §9-401
  21. [21] §10-103(a)
  22. [22] §9-501
  23. [23] §9-601
  24. [24] §9-701
  25. [25] §9-101
  26. [26] §11-101
  27. [27] §9-401
  28. [28] §10-103(a)
  29. [29] §9-501
  30. [30] §9-601
  31. [31] §9-701
  32. [32] §9-101
  33. [33] §9-401
  34. [34] §10-103(a)
  35. [35] §9-501
  36. [36] §9-601
  37. [37] §9-701
  38. [38] §9-101
  39. [39] §9-401
  40. [40] §10-103(a) (non-HD); reduces to 1/unit in HD
  41. [41] §9-501
  42. [42] §9-601
  43. [43] §9-701
  44. [44] §9-101
  45. [45] §9-401
  46. [46] §10-103(a) (non-HD); reduces to 1/unit in HD
  47. [47] §9-101
  48. [48] §9-401
  49. [49] §9-501
  50. [50] §9-101
  51. [51] §9-401
  52. [52] §9-401 (2:1)
  53. [53] §10-103(a)
  54. [54] §9-501
  55. [55] §9-101
  56. [56] §9-401
  57. [57] §9-401 (10:1)
  58. [58] §10-103(a)
  59. [59] §9-501
  60. [60] §9-101
  61. [61] §9-401
  62. [62] §9-401 (1:1)
  63. [63] §10-103(a)
  64. [64] §9-501 (None Required)
  65. [65] §9-101
  66. [66] §11-101
  67. [67] §9-401
  68. [68] §9-401 (10:1)
  69. [69] §10-103(a)
  70. [70] §9-501 (None Required)
  71. [71] §9-101
  72. [72] §9-401
  73. [73] §9-401 (2:1)
  74. [74] §10-103(a)
  75. [75] §9-501 (None Required)
  76. [76] §11-101
  77. [77] §9-401
  78. [78] §9-401 (2:1)
  79. [79] §9-501 (None Required)
  80. [80] §11-101
  81. [81] §9-401
  82. [82] §9-401 (1:2)
  83. [83] §9-101
  84. [84] §11-101
  85. [85] §9-401 (1:2)
  86. [86] §11-101, §12
  87. [87] §11-101

Research status

Publication gates

primary url presentpassed
no aggregator citedpassed
confidence tags full formpassed
overlays have parameters trigger confidencepassed
preempt section city specificpassed

Verification

last_verified_at2026-04-19T00:00:00Z
verifier_specialist09-verification-pass
verifier_version1.1
verification_resultpassed
atomic_claims_checked7
atomic_claims_passed7
atomic_claims_failed0
audit_2026_04_19{"context": "FM-10 self-grading guard: independent re-fetch of 7 confirmed claims via paris-tx.elaws.us mirror (post-V2 Wave-1 audit that found Waco/Mansfield/Flower Mound/McAllen TX v1 records had wrong chapter numbers).", "atomic_results": [{"claim": "Zoning is in Appendix C (NOT a numbered chapter)", "source": "paris-tx.elaws.us coor_ptii_apxc index + ecode360 PA6438 catalog", "result": "MATCH", "evidence": "Heading is 'Appendix C. Zoning Ordinance' — Paris does not use a numbered chapter. The TX-v1 chapter-number bug class does not apply because there is no chapter number to be wrong about."}, {"claim": "§3-100 establishes 19 districts; correct codes are NS (not NSC) and 2F (not TF)", "source": "paris-tx.elaws.us/code/coor_ptii_apxc_sec3", "result": "MATCH", "evidence": "Section 3-100 confirms 'Neighborhood Service District' = NS and 'Two-Family Dwelling District' = 2F; v1 'NSC'/'TF' errors corrected in v2."}, {"claim": "SF-1 minimum lot = 1.5 acres (65,340 sf)", "source": "City of Paris Single-Family Quick Reference + secondary cross-check", "result": "MATCH", "evidence": "Quick Reference states 'A minimum lot size of one and one half (1-1/2) acres is required in a single-family residential zoning district'."}, {"claim": "§9-101 SF-2=7,500 / SF-3=5,000 / 2F=6,000 / MF-1=7,500 / MF-2=5,000 sf", "source": "paris-tx.elaws.us/code/coor_ptii_apxc_sec9", "result": "MATCH", "evidence": "All five values verified verbatim from §9-101 schedule."}, {"claim": "§9-401 FAR: CA=10:1, C=2:1, GR=1:1, HI=1:2", "source": "paris-tx.elaws.us/code/coor_ptii_apxc_sec9", "result": "MATCH", "evidence": "All four FAR values confirmed verbatim from §9-401 nonresidential coverage schedule."}, {"claim": "§11-101 height: 2.5 stories standard; MF-2 3-stories OR 20-stories conditional", "source": "paris-tx.elaws.us/code/coor_ptii_apxc_sec11", "result": "MATCH", "evidence": "§11-101: 'Two and one-half (2½) stories except as noted in 11-102'; MF-2: 'Three (3) stories or to twenty (20) stories when additional density and set back requirements are observed'."}, {"claim": "TX SB 840 NOT applicable (city ~25k FAILS 150k; Lamar County ~49k FAILS 300k)", "source": "Census QuickFacts pariscitytexas + lamarcountytexas, V2024 PEP arithmetic", "result": "MATCH", "evidence": "Paris 2024 PEP ~25,037 (24,775 ACS 5-yr; 24,969 2023 PEP); Lamar County 2024 PEP ~49,000. Both thresholds independently fail by very wide margins (~125k for city, ~251k for county). Per FM-9 discipline this is computed-from-primary, not roster-trusted."}], "overall": "All 7 spot-checks MATCH. paris-tx is genuinely 'best shape' per V2 Wave-1 — no FM-10 violations found. The 'best shape' label is not artifact of self-grading."}
noteAtomic-claim verification of 7 representative claims passed all 7 against independent re-fetches. All 19 base-district claims sourced to verbatim §9/§10/§11 fetches against the paris-tx.elaws.us public mirror (plain-text of Ord. 1710). HD overlay confirmed from §3-100/§3-101 + §10-103 parking modifier. Cox Field overlay confirmed to exist with partial status (PDF 404 at city Document Center View 1217 — FM-P platform tooling, not content failure).
narrative_refnarratives/paris-tx/2996c216-2314-4c30-8ca7-d4452e447a57.json#09_verification_pass

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