City of Carrollton, TX
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Look Up Zoning
Use this link: https://cityofcarrollton.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=8b6700688d5f48599991550dc98a04fa
General Zoning Information
The applicant should consult with the Planning Department to discuss the feasibility of the request and any additional requirements before submitting an application. (meeting and application deadline schedule)
Zoning divides the City into districts for the purpose of regulating land use and development. Zoning addresses items such as the types of uses allowed, building height, setbacks from property lines, lot coverage and minimum lot area.
A Special Use Permit (SUP) allows a use, requiring additional review to determine if it is appropriate at a specific site.
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Ordinances for Special Use Permits and Planned Development districts |
Approval of a Technical Site Plan by the Planning & Zoning Commission is required prior to the issuance of a building permit for Multi-Family development and drive through windows. If the Commission determines that the use complies with the requirements of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance and is compatible with he surrounding area, then the technical site plan may be approved. City Council approval of the technical site plan is not required in most instances. Consult the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance and the Planned Development District (if applicable) for the zoning requirements. These requirements cannot be varied by the Technical Site Plan.
A Miscellaneous Development request may be submitted for consideration by the Planning and Zoning Commission for the following items:
- a sidewalk waiver;
- removing a deed restriction, if the City of Carrollton is a party to it;
- creation of a joint parking area;
- classification of a new or unlisted use in accordance with Article V. of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance;
- variances to specific aspects of the General Engineering Design Standards;
- variances to specific aspects of the Driveway Ordinance;
- amending the Comprehensive Plan;
- amending the Transportation Plan, and;
- other miscellaneous requests
If the Commission approves the miscellaneous development application, no further process is normally required, with the exception of Comprehensive Plan amendments and alternate facade requests, which must also be approved by the City Council.
Application & Approval Process
Miscellaneous development requests and technical site plans require approximately 60 days to be completed (measured from the application deadline).
All other requests require approximately 90 days to be completed (measured from the application deadline).
All applications follow the following process:
| Application |
The applicant must submit a completed application form, drawings converted to pdf or jpeg and payment through our CityView portal: https://cityserve.cityofcarrollton.com/CityViewPortal. Prior to the processing of an application, any delinquent property taxes must be paid.
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| Staff Review |
The request is distributed to city departments for review. After that review, City staff will make recommendations to the Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council based on the appropriateness of the proposed request and its compliance with the Comprehensive Plan. A copy of the staff recommendation will be provided to the applicant approximately six (6) days prior to the Commission meeting.
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| Planning & Zoning Commission |
The Planning & Zoning Commission meets on the 1st Thursday of each month (meeting schedule) and makes the final decision on technical site plans and miscellaneous development cases. The Commission will review the request at a public hearing. The Commission may either approve or deny the request for a technical site plan or miscellaneous development request.
For rezoning or SUP requests, the Commission may either recommend approval or denial. If the request is recommended for approval, it will be forwarded to the City Council. If the request is recommended for denial, the application is deemed denied, and no further action will be taken unless City Council requests a hearing or the applicant requests an appeal of the Commission's decision to the City Council.
The appeal must be in writing and submitted to the Planning Department within ten (10) days after the recommendation of the Planning & Zoning Commission. A favorable vote of three-fourths (3/4) of all members of City Council is required to overrule a recommendation of denial. (See Article XXXI of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance.) |
| City Council |
The City Council meets on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month and makes the final decision on zoning and SUP cases. The City Council will review the rezoning or SUP request at a public hearing. If the rezoning or SUP application is approved, the Council will ratify an ordinance enacting the new zoning or SUP approximately four (4) weeks later. In some instances, the ordinance may be ratified on the same agenda as the public hearing.
Property is NOT rezoned and SUPs are NOT in effect until their ordinance is ratified by City Council. |
Zoning Verification Letters
Please mail a request for a zoning verification letter which includes the following:
- Street address of the subject property
- Legal description of the subject property
- Location map showing where the property is located
- Fee (see fee list below).
- The request must be submitted through our CityView portal: https://cityserve.cityofcarrollton.com/CityViewPortal
- IF paying through the portal use a credit card. If paying by check, it should be made out to "City of Carrollton" and mailed to:
Planning Department
City of Carrollton
1945 E. Jackson Road
Carrollton, Texas 75006
Here is an example of the zoning verification letter. Please note that its language has been approved by our City Attorney and will not be changed.
Each letter will be accompanied by any relevant zoning or special use permit ordinances.
Zoning Verification Letter Fees
Mailed within one week $50
How to Look Up Zoning
How can I find out what uses are allowed on my property?
First, use the Interactive Map Viewer to find which zoning district your property is in.
Then open Article 5 of the Zoning Ordinance and look for the spreadsheets with the uses and zoning districts. Read vertically down the "types of uses" column on the left until you find a particular use, then horizontally across the row until you find the correct zoning district column, and see what is in the cell at the intersection of the use row and the zoning district column.
A "dot" in the cell means the use is permitted. An "S" in the cell means you must apply for and receive a Special Use Permit for that use. A blank cell means the use is not permitted.
The zoning map says "PD" something. What does that mean?
"PD" stands for "Planned Development." Planned development districts are numbered in the order they were created (for example, "PD-38" was the thirty-eighth planned development created). You should also see a zoning district category nearby, in parentheses. This is the "base zoning."
A planned development has additional requirements above and beyond the "base zoning." Sometimes a planned development changes permitted uses, adding or removing some. Sometimes a planned development imposes additional design or landscaping requirements.
To determine what these additional requirements or regulations are, contact the Planning Department.
What do the other initials and numbers in the zoning district labels mean?
This Legend explains the initials. "SF" districts are "single-family" residential districts; "LR" districts are "local retail" districts, etc. Higher numbers indicate that more intense uses are allowed.
What about "SUP" followed by a number? What does that mean?
"SUP" stands for "Special Use Permit." These are uses that are allowed at a specific location if they meet certain additional requirements. SUPs are numbered to keep track of them as they are created. Here is a list of SUP's.
How do I know what my building setbacks or height limits are, or how much brick has to be on the building?
The development standards (building setbacks, height limits, brick requirements, etc.) are found in the appropriate article of the Zoning Ordinance. For example, the standards for the "LR-2" zoning district are found in Article 14, which deals with the "LR-2" zoning district.
Parking and landscaping requirements for all zoning districts are found in Articles 24 and 25 of the Zoning Ordinance, respectively.
| EXAMPLE: |
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| Suppose you were curious about the vacant land at the northwest corner of Josey Lane and Trinity Mills Road (the President George Bush Turnpike). The Interactive City Map would tell you that this intersection is in PD-28 and the "base zoning" (shown in parentheses) is "LR-2." Since the Legend says "LR" is "local retail," you know this land is generally zoned for retail uses, and since it is "2" and not "1," it is the more intense of the two local retail districts. You can then look in Article 5.2 (use chart for non-residential districts) of the Zoning Ordinance to see if the use you propose is normally allowed in the "LR-2" district. You can go to the Zoning Ordinance and download or open Article 14 - which deals with the "LR-2" district - for most development standards and requirements (as noted above, parking and landscaping requirements have their own articles). Since this land is in a Planned Development, you need to determine what additional development standards are required and if a particular use has been added or removed from the list of permitted uses for this area. |
How do I find out the particular requirements for a Planned Development?
For a quick answer to a simple question (such as "is use "X" permitted in this Planned Development?") you can phone, write or e-mail the Urban Development Department.
However, for more complete information you should contact the Building Inspection Department. It is our "one-stop-shop" for development, and they will let you know everything you need to know in order to open or build a business at a particular location.
Sign Regulations
Sign regulations in Carrollton are not part of the Zoning Ordinance. They are administered by the Building Inspection Department.
Go to the Signs and Banners page. At the bottom of that page are links to two downloadable versions (Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat PDF) of the sign ordinance.
Tree Preservation
On June 6, 2000, City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2520 first establishing a tree protection ordinance. Strictly speaking, the Tree Ordinance is not a part of the Zoning Ordinance, but it may affect development.
You can download a copy of the latest version of the ordinance, read a summary of it or see answers to ten frequent questions. Each is in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format.
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