Madison Housing: Where It’s Being Built and Where It’s Legal

Zoning District Reference

Source: Zoning District Summary, October 17, 2025. Density = max dwelling units/acre. Stories marked * allow additional with Conditional Use approval. “Height Map” = determined by Downtown Height Map. “By plan” = determined by Master Plan / PD. Contact: zoning@cityofmadison.com | 608-266-4551

Residential

	Code	District	Permitted	Conditional	Stories	Density
▸	TR-R	Traditional Residential - Rustic Single family and 2-3 unit buildings. Select other uses like schools, parks, places of worship and daycares, etc. The lot size, lot width, and building setbacks decrease as you go down the list.	Single family building, 2-unit building		3	4-8
	SR-C1	Suburban Residential - Consistent 1	Single family building, 2 unit building		2	7-14
	SR-C2	Suburban Residential - Consistent 2	Single family building, 2 unit building		2	8-17
	SR-C3	Suburban Residential - Consistent 3	Single family building, 2 unit building		2	8-17
	TR-C1	Traditional Residential - Consistent 1	Single family building, 2 unit building		2	8-17
	TR-C2	Traditional Residential - Consistent 2	Single family building, 2 unit building		2	10-21
	TR-C3	Traditional Residential - Consistent 3	Single family building, 2 unit building		2	14-29
	TR-C4	Traditional Residential - Consistent 4	Single family building, 2-3 unit building		2	10-32
▸	SR-V1	Suburban Residential - Varied 1 Ranges from single family to townhomes and small multifamily buildings, and select other uses like schools, parks, places of worship and daycares, etc. Mixed-use buildings are also allowed but are limited to uses like a daycare, church or gym.	Single family building, 2-3 unit building, 3-4 unit townhome, 4-8 unit multifamily	>4 unit townhome, Mixed-use building	3	8-29
	TR-V1	Traditional Residential - Varied 1	Single family building, 2-3 unit building, 3-4 unit townhome, 4 unit multifamily	Mixed-use building	2	14-43
▸	SR-V2	Suburban Residential - Varied 2 Ranges from single family to large multifamily buildings, and select other uses like schools, parks, places of worship and daycares, etc. Mixed-use buildings are also allowed but are limited to uses like a daycare, church or gym.	Single family building, 2-3 unit building, 3-8 unit townhome, 4-24 unit multifamily	>8 unit townhome, >24 unit multifamily, Mixed-use building	4	8-29
	TR-V2	Traditional Residential - Varied 2	Single family building, 2-3 unit building, 3-4 unit townhome, 4-12 unit multifamily	>4 unit townhome, 13-60 unit multifamily, Mixed-use building	3	14-43
▸	TR-U1	Traditional Residential - Urban 1 Ranges from single family to large multifamily buildings, and select other uses like schools, parks, places of worship and daycares, etc. These residential districts have the highest maximum allowed density. Mixed-use buildings are also allowed but are limited to uses like a daycare, church or gym.	Single family building, 2-3 unit building, 3-8 unit townhome, 4-24 unit multifamily	>8 unit townhome, >24 unit multifamily, Mixed-use building	5*	14-58
	TR-U2	Traditional Residential - Urban 2	3 unit building, 3-8 unit townhome, 4-36 unit multifamily	Single family building, 2 unit building, >8 unit townhome, >36 unit multifamily	6*	14-124
▸	TR-P	Traditional Residential - Planned Large areas that provide a mix of housing types, and select other uses like schools, parks, places of worship and daycares, etc. Sites that are more than 10 acres require approval of a Master Plan by Common Council.	Single family building, 2-3 unit building, 5-8 unit townhome, >60 unit multifamily		4	15-72

Mixed-Use & Commercial

	Code	District	Permitted	Conditional	Stories	Density
▸	LMX	Limited Mixed-Use Small-scale mixed-use development within or adjacent to residential areas. Building size is limited to 5,000 square feet.	Live-work unit, 1 to 2-unit mixed-use buildings		2	Determined by building use
▸	NMX	Neighborhood Mixed-Use Medium-scale mixed-use areas	Live-work unit, 4-12 unit multifamily, 1-24 unit mixed-use building	Single family building, 2-3 unit building, 3 or > unit townhome, 13-24 unit multifamily, >24 unit mixed-use building	3*	87
▸	TSS	Traditional Shopping Street Mixed-use street corridors	Live-work unit, 5-24 unit multifamily, 1-48 unit mixed-use building	Single family building, 2-3 unit building, 3 or > unit townhome, 4 unit multifamily, >24 unit multifamily, >48 unit mixed-use building	3*	124
▸	CC-T	Commercial Corridor - Transitional Historically auto-oriented commercial corridors that should become mixed-use corridors	Live-work unit, 5-36 unit multifamily, 1-60 unit mixed-use building	Single family building, 2-3 unit building, 3 or > unit townhome, 4 unit multifamily, >36 unit multifamily, >60 unit mixed-use building	5*	87
▸	CC	Commercial Center Historically auto-oriented, large-format retail and office sites that should become mixed-use centers	Live-work unit	3 or > unit townhome, 4 or > multifamily, 1 or > unit mixed use building	5*	58
▸	RMX	Regional Mixed Use High-intensity mixed-use centers with a variety of multifamily housing options and commercial activities that serve the needs of the region. These areas typically include large-scale sites with multistory buildings and should be the most intensively developed areas in the city outside of the downtown.	Live-work unit, 3 or > unit townhome, 4 or > multifamily, 1 or > unit mixed use building		5*	No maximum
▸	MXC	Mixed-Use Center Used to redevelop or establish new compact, mixed-use centers. This zoning district requires approval of a Master Plan.	Live-work unit, 3 or > unit townhome, 4-36 unit multifamily, 1-60 unit mixed-use building	>36 unit multifamily, >60 unit mixed-use building	Determined by Master Plan	Determined by Master Plan
▸	THV	Tiny House Village More than 3 tiny houses on one property. Can include a community building for residents. Limited commercial and manufacturing uses are allowed.	Tiny houses		25 ft	Determined by approved plans

Downtown & Urban

	Code	District	Permitted	Conditional	Stories	Density
▸	DR1	Downtown Residential 1 Areas in Downtown with smaller residential buildings. There is a maximum building width of 60 feet. Mixed-use buildings are also allowed but are limited to uses like a daycare or church.	Single family building, 2-3-unit building, 3-8 unit townhome, 4 unit multifamily	>4 unit multifamily, Mixed-use building	Determined by Downtown Height Map	3,000 sq ft minimum lot size for all uses
▸	DR2	Downtown Residential 2 Areas in Downtown with smaller residential buildings. Limited commercial uses are permitted in mixed-use buildings.	Single family building, 2-3-unit building, 3-8 unit townhome, 4-8 unit multifamily	>8 unit multifamily, Mixed-use building	Determined by Downtown Height Map	3,000 sq ft minimum lot size for all uses
▸	UOR	Urban Office Residential Areas in Downtown that have a combination of office uses and multifamily residential uses in close proximity to residential only areas.	Live-work unit, 3 or > unit townhome, 4-24 unit multifamily, 1-24 unit mixed-use building	>24 unit multifamily, >24 unit mixed-use building	Determined by Downtown Height Map	No maximum
▸	UMX	Urban Mixed Use High-density mixed-use areas	Live-work unit, 3 or > unit townhome, 4 or > unit multifamily, Mixed-use building		Determined by Downtown Height Map	No maximum
▸	DC	Downtown Core High-density mixed-use areas that includes the Capitol Square, the State Street corridor, and surrounding properties. Residential uses are appropriate in some locations or in combination with other uses. This district is intended to allow intensive development with high-quality architecture and urban design.	Live-work unit, 4 or > unit multifamily, Mixed-use building		Determined by Downtown Height Map	No maximum

Employment

	Code	District	Conditional	Stories	Density
▸	SE	Suburban Employment Employment areas that can include limited industrial uses. Residential requires conditional use approval. The minimum lot size is larger than the TE District.	Live-work unit, >8 unit townhome, Multifamily building, Mixed-use building	5*	21
▸	TE	Traditional Employment Employment areas that can include limited industrial uses. Residential requires conditional use approval. The minimum lot size is smaller than the SE District.	Live-work unit, >8 unit townhome, Multifamily building, Mixed-use building	5*	21
▸	EC	Employment Campus Large areas that function as a campus, with a mix of employment and specialized manufacturing. Residential requires conditional use approval. This zoning district requires approval of a Master Plan by Common Council.	Live-work unit, >8 unit townhome, Multifamily building, Mixed-use building	Determined by Master Plan	29
▸	SEC	Suburban Employment Center Used for existing office and business parks. Properties are no longer rezoned to this zoning district. This zoning district requires approval of a Master Plan by Common Council.	Mixed-use building	Determined by Master Plan	Determined by Master Plan
▸	IL	Industrial Limited Light industrial uses, offices, warehousing and limited commercial uses			Not limited
▸	IG	Industrial General Heavy industrial uses, offices, warehousing and limited commercial uses			Not limited

Special

	Code	District	Permitted	Conditional	Stories	Density
▸	A	Agriculture Cultivation and other agricultural uses. Farm houses are allowed.	Single family building			1 unit per 5 acres
▸	UA	Urban Agriculture Smaller-scale agricultural uses within developed areas				25 ft
▸	CN	Conservancy Natural areas with limited recreational uses. Areas can also be used for stormwater.				2
▸	PR	Parks and Recreation Active outdoor and indoor recreation uses, institutional uses				2*
▸	AP	Airport For Dane County Regional Airport uses				5
▸	ME	Nonmetallic Mineral Extraction Nonmetallic mining operations				Not limited
▸	MC	Mission Camp A campground for temporary or permanent tents and portable shelters operated by a non-profit or government entity. Intended for people experiencing homelessness.	Government operated	Non-profit operated		25 ft
▸	CI	Campus Institutional For educational and medical institutions. Requires approval of a Master Plan by Common Council when a property is rezoned to CI or a new property is created and zoned CI.	Dormitories, Student and faculty housing		3*
▸	PDi	Planned Development Property-specific district where allowable uses, height, density, building placement, and design are defined only for that site. Planned Development Districts require approval by Common Council.	Determined by Planned Development District	Determined by Planned Development District	Determined by Planned Development District	Determined by Planned Development District
▸	PMHP	Planned Mobile Home Park Property-specific district for mobile home parks. There are different requirements for new and existing mobile home parks. Planned Development Districts require approval by Common Council.	Mobile homes		Determined by Planned Development District	10-12