What does MF-33 zoning mean in San Antonio?

MF-33 is a multifamily district capped at 33 dwelling units per acre. San Antonio's multifamily districts are coded by maximum density rather than lot size, so MF-33 permits denser apartment development than a district like MF-18 but less than MF-50.

How do I find the zoning for an address in San Antonio?

The Development Services Department's interactive zoning map shows the UDC base district for any parcel, plus whether it falls inside a Military Compatibility Overlay Zone or an Infill Development Zone, both of which affect what a base district alone would suggest.

What is San Antonio's Infill Development Zone (IDZ)?

IDZ is a UDC tool that lets a project inside Loop 410 request reduced parking, setback, and lot-size requirements in a single review, without going through a full rezoning. It's commonly used for urban infill housing and mixed-use projects on constrained lots.

San Antonio, Texas · city zoning districts · 13 districts

San Antonio, TX zoning map & districts

San Antonio consolidated its zoning and subdivision regulations into a single Unified Development Code in 2001, administered by the city's Development Services Department (DSD). Because Joint Base San Antonio spans multiple installations across the metro, large areas carry a Military Compatibility Overlay Zone that restricts height, density, and noise-sensitive uses (like residential and schools) to protect flight paths and training operations — this is a threshold check for sites near Lackland, Fort Sam Houston, or Randolph.

The code San Antonio Unified Development Code (UDC)

San Antonio zoning map

Parcel-level zoning is available on the Development Services Department's interactive zoning map; the UDC text is published in the city's Municode Code of Ordinances.

There is no link to the official map here yet — confirm current district boundaries directly with the San Antonio 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 San Antonio

Inside Loop 410, the UDC's Infill Development Zone (IDZ) district lets developers request reduced parking, setback, and lot-size standards for infill projects without a full rezoning, and select urban corridors such as River Road and Government Hill use form-based standards layered on top of base zoning. Multifamily districts are density-coded (units per acre) rather than lot-size-coded, which is a common point of confusion for developers used to other Texas cities' systems.

San Antonio zoning districts by family

The 13 district codes below are the ones that decide most projects in San Antonio, grouped by what they are for rather than by the order the ordinance prints them.

Key districts in the San Antonio Unified Development Code (UDC) — a curated reference, not the exhaustive list. Confirm against the current adopted code.
Code	District	What it is for
Residential 5 districts
R-4	Residential Single-Family	Standard single-family district; most common residential base zone.
R-5	Residential Single-Family	Single-family district with a smaller minimum lot size than R-4.
R-6	Residential Single-Family	Smallest-lot single-family district in the R-series.
RM-4	Residential Mixed	Allows single-family plus limited duplex/small multifamily forms.
MF-33	Multifamily	Apartment district capped at 33 units per acre.
Mixed-use 1 district
MXD	Mixed Use District	Combines residential and commercial uses on a single site.
Commercial 3 districts
C-1	Light Commercial	Low-intensity retail and personal services near residential areas.
C-2	Commercial	General retail and commercial corridor district.
C-3	General Commercial	Higher-intensity commercial, including larger-format retail.
Downtown / core 1 district
D	Downtown District	San Antonio's downtown core zoning district.
Industrial 2 districts
I-1	General Industrial	City UDC Sec. 35-310.13 names I-1 'General Industrial'; 'Light Industrial' is the separate 'L' district.
I-2	Heavy Industrial	Heavier manufacturing and industrial processing uses.
Special purpose 1 district
IDZ	Infill Development Zone	Streamlines infill inside Loop 410 by allowing reduced parking/setback standards via a single application.

San Antonio zoning — common questions

What does MF-33 zoning mean in San Antonio?: MF-33 is a multifamily district capped at 33 dwelling units per acre. San Antonio's multifamily districts are coded by maximum density rather than lot size, so MF-33 permits denser apartment development than a district like MF-18 but less than MF-50.
How do I find the zoning for an address in San Antonio?: The Development Services Department's interactive zoning map shows the UDC base district for any parcel, plus whether it falls inside a Military Compatibility Overlay Zone or an Infill Development Zone, both of which affect what a base district alone would suggest.
What is San Antonio's Infill Development Zone (IDZ)?: IDZ is a UDC tool that lets a project inside Loop 410 request reduced parking, setback, and lot-size requirements in a single review, without going through a full rezoning. It's commonly used for urban infill housing and mixed-use projects on constrained lots.

Working in Texas? Get on the list.

The parcel layer lands in the order demand does. Illinois went first because that's where the deals were; the next state is decided by who tells us what they're trying to underwrite. Tell us where you're building and what you wanted to run — you'll hear from us when Texas opens, and sooner if we need a test parcel.

Keep reading

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

Other Texas cities

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

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