New Orleans, Louisiana · city zoning districts · 18 districts
New Orleans, LA zoning map & districts
New Orleans zoning is set by the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (CZO), administered by the City Planning Commission and organized into articles by neighborhood character rather than a single citywide district table: Historic Core Neighborhoods (French Quarter/Vieux Carré), Historic Urban Neighborhoods (Marigny, Bywater, Treme, and similar), Suburban Neighborhoods, Commercial Center & Institutional Campus districts, Centers for Industry, and Central Business Districts each get their own article with tailored district codes. Historic districts face an additional layer of design review from the Vieux Carré Commission (French Quarter) or the Historic District Landmarks Commission (other historic areas), on top of CZO zoning approval.
The code Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (CZO)
New Orleans zoning map
The City Planning Commission administers the CZO; parcel-level zoning is available through the New Orleans Property Viewer, the city's official GIS lookup tool, with the full CZO text published on the Commission's dedicated code website.
There is no link to the official map here yet — confirm current district boundaries directly with the New Orleans planning or zoning department.
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 New Orleans
The Central Business District downtown is itself subdivided into seven CBD sub-districts (CBD-1 through CBD-7) with distinct intensity and use profiles, from the Core CBD-1 through the Bio-Science CBD-7 district near the medical corridor. Developers working in New Orleans should identify both the CZO district and any overlapping historic-district design-review jurisdiction before scoping a project.
New Orleans zoning districts by family
The 18 district codes below are the ones that decide most projects in New Orleans, grouped by what they are for rather than by the order the ordinance prints them.
| Code | District | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Residential 5 districts | ||
| VCR-1 | Vieux Carré Residential District | French Quarter residential district, subject to Vieux Carré Commission design review. |
| HMR-2 | Historic Marigny/Tremé/Bywater Residential District | Residential district covering the historic downtown-adjacent neighborhoods. |
| HU-RS | Single-Family Residential District | Single-family residential in historic urban neighborhoods outside the historic core. |
| HU-RD2 | Two-Family Residential District | Duplex housing in historic urban neighborhoods. |
| HU-RM1 | Multi-Family Residential District | Multi-family housing in historic urban neighborhoods. |
| Mixed-use 2 districts | ||
| MU-1 | Medium Intensity Mixed-Use District | Mixed residential and commercial development at medium intensity. |
| MU-2 | High Intensity Mixed-Use District | Mixed residential and commercial development at higher intensity. |
| Commercial 3 districts | ||
| C-1 | General Commercial District | General-purpose commercial uses. |
| C-2 | Auto-Oriented Commercial District | Commercial uses designed around vehicle access, such as drive-throughs and larger parking fields. |
| C-3 | Heavy Commercial District | Higher-intensity commercial uses. |
| Downtown / core 3 districts | ||
| CBD-1 | Core Central Business District | The most intensive downtown core district. |
| CBD-2 | Historic Commercial and Mixed-Use District | Downtown historic commercial buildings and mixed-use infill. |
| CBD-6 | Urban Core Neighborhood Mixed-Use District | Mixed-use downtown-adjacent neighborhood district. |
| Industrial 3 districts | ||
| LI | Light Industrial District | Light manufacturing and distribution uses. |
| HI | Heavy Industrial District | Heavier manufacturing and industrial uses. |
| MI | Maritime Industrial District | Port-related and maritime industrial uses along the Mississippi River. |
| Special purpose 2 districts | ||
| EC | Educational Campus District | Applied to university and school campuses. |
| MC | Medical Campus District | Applied to hospital and medical-institution campuses. |
New Orleans zoning — common questions
- What does HU-RD2 zoning mean in New Orleans?
- HU-RD2 is a Two-Family Residential District under the CZO's Historic Urban Neighborhoods article, permitting duplex housing in neighborhoods like Bywater, Marigny, and Treme outside the French Quarter's historic core.
- How do I find the zoning for an address in New Orleans?
- Use the New Orleans Property Viewer, the City Planning Commission's official GIS lookup tool, to search a parcel and see its CZO zoning district plus any overlapping historic-district design-review jurisdiction.
- Why does the French Quarter have different zoning review than the rest of New Orleans?
- French Quarter parcels carry Vieux Carré (VCR/VCC) zoning districts and require additional design review from the Vieux Carré Commission, a separate body from the City Planning Commission, on top of standard CZO zoning approval.
Keep reading
← Louisiana zoning — who holds the zoning power in Louisiana, under which enabling statute, and the reforms that override local rules.
Other Louisiana cities
- Baton Rouge 18 districts
- Bossier City 13 districts
- Kenner 15 districts
- Lafayette 16 districts
- Lake Charles 12 districts
- Shreveport 17 districts
The zoning reference → — every state, plus city-level district guides like this one.
New Orleans zoning summaries on this page are provided for information, not legal advice. Confirm every project against the current adopted code for the jurisdiction.