Chicago zoning comparison · auto-oriented vs employment commercial
C2-2 vs C3-2: which lets you build more?
C2-2 and C3-2 share the same bulk numbers — the difference is what they allow: C2-2 permits ground-floor retail, multi-unit residential, mixed-use buildings and light industrial uses, while C3-2 permits ground-floor retail, multi-unit residential, mixed-use buildings and light industrial uses.
Figures originally read from a Title 17 excerpt in a third-party zoning report dated 18 September 2024. On 24 August 2026 the bulk standards — floor area ratio, lot area per unit, building height and minimum lot area — were re-checked against the current adopted edition 2026-S-73 and found unchanged. Setbacks and parking ratios were not part of that pass and still rest on the 2024 reading. Data snapshot generated 2026-08-24. How this data is produced and checked →
Side by side
| C2-2 Motor Vehicle-Related Commercial 2 | C3-2 Commercial, Manufacturing and Employment 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Max FAR | 2.2 | 2.2 |
| Max height | 50 ft | 50 ft |
| Lot area per unit | 1,000 sf | 1,000 sf |
| Units on a standard 25×125 ft lot | 3 | 3 |
| Min lot area | — | — |
| Residential parking / unit | 1 | 1 |
| Max lot coverage | 70% | 70% |
| Permitted uses | ground-floor retail, multi-unit residential, mixed-use buildings and light industrial uses | ground-floor retail, multi-unit residential, mixed-use buildings and light industrial uses |
| Connected Communities bulk bonus tier | No | No |
Green marks the more permissive value. Setbacks are contextual in both districts and omitted here — see the district pages for the working scalars and the governing formulas.