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Aurora, Illinois · city zoning districts · 15 districts

Aurora, IL zoning map & districts

Aurora is Illinois's second-largest city, a home-rule municipality whose boundaries cross Kane, DuPage, Will, and Kendall counties. The Aurora Zoning Ordinance is administered by the city's Building & Development Services Planning & Zoning Division, with the Plan Commission reviewing rezonings, special uses, and planned developments before final City Council action. Because parcels can sit in any of four counties, developers should confirm which county's recorder and assessor records apply — zoning and permitting authority is always the City of Aurora regardless of county line.

The code Aurora Zoning Ordinance

Aurora zoning map

  • Residential 23
  • Commercial 14
  • Special purpose 12
  • Industrial 8
  • Downtown / core 6
  • Other / unclassified 1

Source: City of Aurora, IL Zoning viewer (GIS portal, linked from Zoning and Planning page), retrieved 2026-09-04. Basemap: © OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.

District lookup only. No bulk standards and no ordinance citations are held for this city yet. Not a zoning verification.

Source: the official City of Aurora, IL Zoning viewer (GIS portal, linked from Zoning and Planning page) , retrieved 2026-09-04 — the authoritative source for current boundaries.

Aurora's zoning map and the full Zoning Ordinance text are maintained by Building & Development Services' Planning & Zoning Division; parcel-specific zoning is confirmed through the city's GIS zoning map viewer or by request to that division.

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 Aurora

Downtown Aurora, along the Fox River, carries TIF-district incentives and heightened design-review expectations layered on top of base zoning, and the city has routed several riverfront and near-west-side redevelopment sites through planned-unit-development approval rather than by-right zoning. Multifamily and mixed-use infill outside downtown typically requires a rezoning or PUD, since much of the city's older housing stock sits on single-family districts.

Aurora zoning districts by family

The 15 district codes below are the ones that decide most projects in Aurora, grouped by what they are for rather than by the order the ordinance prints them.

Key districts in the Aurora Zoning Ordinance — a curated reference, not the exhaustive list. Confirm against the current adopted code.
Code District What it is for
Residential 5 districts
R-1 One-Family Residence District Standard-lot single-family; the base district across most established neighborhoods.
R-2 One-Family Residence District Smaller minimum lot size than R-1.
R-3 One-Family Dwelling District zoneomics.com/code/aurora-IL: "R-3: One-Family Dwelling District". Prior curated name "Multiple-Family Residence District" was wrong; family residential unchanged.
R-4 Two-Family Dwelling District zoneomics.com/code/aurora-IL: "R-4: Two-Family Dwelling District". Prior curated name "Multiple-Family Residence District" was wrong; family residential unchanged.
E Estate District Large-lot estate residential confirmed in city GIS; was missing.
Commercial 5 districts
B-1 Local Business District zoneomics.com/code/aurora-IL: "B-1: Business District--Local Retail" -- a retail business district, not mixed-use. Name "Local Business District" already matched (kept unchanged) per the audit's own NAME-agreement judgment; only family was wrong.
B-2 General Business District Larger-format retail and auto-oriented commercial corridors.
B-3 Business And Wholesale District zoneomics.com/code/aurora-IL: "B-3: Business And Wholesale District". Aurora's actual downtown core district is DC, not B-3; prior curated name "Central Business District" was wrong. Family commercial unchanged.
NC Neighborhood Commercial District Confirmed in city GIS; was missing from prior list.
O Office District Confirmed in city GIS; was missing from prior list.
Downtown / core 1 district
DC Downtown Core District Confirmed in city GIS as a code distinct from B-3; was missing.
Industrial 2 districts
M-1 Limited Manufacturing District Light industrial, warehousing, and flex space.
M-2 General Manufacturing District Heavier industrial and manufacturing uses.
Special purpose 2 districts
OS-1 Open Space District Confirmed in city GIS; was missing from prior list.
PDD Planned Development District City GIS shows the current code is 'PDD' — the prior list's 'PUD' does not appear in Aurora's zoning data.

Aurora zoning — common questions

What does R-2 zoning mean in Aurora, Illinois?
R-2 is a One-Family Residence District allowing detached single-family homes on smaller minimum lots than R-1. It's common in Aurora's older, denser neighborhoods rather than newer subdivisions.
How do I find the zoning for a specific address in Aurora?
Use the City of Aurora's online GIS zoning map, searchable by address, or contact the Planning & Zoning Division directly — since Aurora spans four counties, the city, not the county, is always the zoning authority.
Can I build multifamily housing on a B-2 zoned lot in Aurora?
B-2 is a commercial district built around retail and business uses; multifamily typically requires a residential or mixed-use district, or a rezoning/PUD approval to add housing above or alongside commercial use.

Keep reading

← Illinois zoning — who holds the zoning power in Illinois, under which enabling statute, and the reforms that override local rules.

Other Illinois cities

The zoning reference → — every state, plus city-level district guides like this one.

Aurora zoning summaries on this page are provided for information, not legal advice. Confirm every project against the current adopted code for the jurisdiction.