Fort Smith, Arkansas · city zoning districts · 6 districts
Fort Smith, AR zoning map & districts
Fort Smith, the regional hub for western Arkansas, zones under a conventional zoning ordinance administered by the city's Development Services Department. Rezonings are reviewed by the Planning Commission before Board of Directors action, following the same municipal-planning-chapter framework used across Arkansas cities.
The code Fort Smith Zoning Ordinance
Fort Smith zoning map
Confirm current district boundaries through City of Fort Smith - Check My Zoning (Planning & Zoning Dept.) .
The Fort Smith Development Services Department administers the zoning ordinance and maintains the city's zoning map; parcel-specific zoning is confirmed directly with the department or through the city's GIS mapping application.
A published summary is never the authority. The adopted ordinance and the city's official zoning map govern, and both change — verify the district and every standard on your parcel before you rely on it.
How zoning works in Fort Smith
Arkansas has no statewide ADU or missing-middle housing mandate, so Fort Smith sets its own residential-density and accessory-unit rules locally through the UDO's base zoning districts, which follow a fairly conventional single-family, two-family, multifamily, commercial, and industrial structure.
Fort Smith zoning districts by family
The 6 district codes below are the ones that decide most projects in Fort Smith, grouped by what they are for rather than by the order the ordinance prints them.
| Code | District | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Residential 3 districts | ||
| RS-1 | Single-Family Residential District | Standard single-family residential zoning. |
| RT-1 | Two-Family Residential District | Allows duplexes in addition to single-family homes. |
| RM-1 | Multi-Family Residential District | General multifamily residential zoning. |
| Commercial 1 district | ||
| C-3 | General Commercial District | General commercial corridor zoning. |
| Industrial 2 districts | ||
| I-1 | Light Industrial District | Warehousing and light manufacturing. |
| I-2 | Heavy Industrial District | Heavier manufacturing and industrial processing uses. |
Fort Smith zoning — common questions
- What zoning districts does Fort Smith use?
- Fort Smith's zoning ordinance uses a conventional structure: single-family (RS) and two-family (RT) residential districts, multifamily (RM) districts, general commercial (C) districts, and light and heavy industrial (I) districts, administered by the Development Services Department.
- How do I find the zoning for a parcel in Fort Smith?
- Contact the Fort Smith Development Services Department or use the city's GIS mapping application to confirm the current zoning district for a given address before assuming any entitlement.
- Does Fort Smith have an ADU ordinance?
- Arkansas has no statewide ADU mandate, so accessory dwelling unit rules in Fort Smith are set locally under the zoning ordinance's residential district standards; confirm current allowances with Development Services before planning a project.
Keep reading
← Arkansas zoning — who holds the zoning power in Arkansas, under which enabling statute, and the reforms that override local rules.
Other Arkansas cities
The zoning reference → — every state, plus city-level district guides like this one.
Fort Smith zoning summaries on this page are provided for information, not legal advice. Confirm every project against the current adopted code for the jurisdiction.