How is zoning organized in Kenosha?

Kenosha uses a conventional zoning structure administered by the Community Development and Inspections Department, with residential, commercial, and industrial district families and a planned-development option for larger sites. The Plan Commission and Common Council handle rezonings and conditional uses.

How do I find the zoning for a Kenosha address?

Kenosha's Community Development and Inspections Department maintains an online zoning and GIS map that returns the current zoning district for any parcel, alongside the published zoning ordinance text.

Why is there so much industrial development in Kenosha?

Kenosha's location on Interstate 94 between Milwaukee and Chicago has made the city's western edge attractive for logistics and distribution development, which has driven recent zoning and rezoning activity there. Downtown and lakefront areas have instead seen residential and mixed-use infill.

Kenosha, Wisconsin · city zoning districts · 14 districts

Kenosha, WI zoning map & districts

Kenosha's zoning ordinance is administered by the city's Community Development and Inspections Department and follows a standard residential/commercial/industrial district structure with a planned-development option for larger sites. The city's position between Milwaukee and Chicago, along with its Lake Michigan shoreline and Interstate 94 corridor, has pushed recent zoning activity toward logistics and distribution development on the west side of the city and continued residential and mixed-use infill near downtown and the lakefront.

The code Kenosha Zoning Ordinance

Kenosha zoning map

The interactive map needs JavaScript. See the official Zoning Districts for the City of Kenosha instead.

Special purpose 20
Residential 14
Commercial 2
Industrial 2
Downtown / core 2
Mixed-use 2

Source: Zoning Districts for the City of Kenosha, retrieved 2026-08-30. Basemap: © OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Find a district by address

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

Source: the official Zoning Districts for the City of Kenosha , retrieved 2026-08-30 — the authoritative source for current boundaries.

Kenosha's Community Development and Inspections Department publishes the zoning ordinance and an interactive zoning/GIS map through the city's official website.

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 Kenosha

Rezonings and conditional use permits are reviewed by the Plan Commission and approved by the Common Council. Because Kenosha has seen substantial industrial and warehouse development pressure in recent years, developers should confirm current district boundaries directly against the city's zoning map rather than assuming legacy land use.

Kenosha zoning districts by family

The 14 district codes below are the ones that decide most projects in Kenosha, grouped by what they are for rather than by the order the ordinance prints them.

Key districts in the Kenosha Zoning Ordinance — a curated reference, not the exhaustive list. Confirm against the current adopted code.
Code	District	What it is for
Residential 4 districts
RS-1	Single-Family Residential	Standard detached single-family lots.
RD	Two-Family Residential	Duplex-scale housing district.
RG-1	General Residential	Denser residential blend, above the single/two-family tiers.
RM-1	Multiple-Family Residential	Apartment-scale residential district.
Mixed-use 1 district
B-6	Kenosha Innovation Neighborhood	A newer district with its own design standards for a redevelopment area.
Commercial 2 districts
B-1	Neighborhood Business	Small-scale commercial serving surrounding residential blocks.
B-2	Community Business	Larger-format retail drawing from across the city.
Downtown / core 2 districts
B-3	Central Business	Downtown Kenosha's core commercial district.
B-5	Downtown Mixed Use	Mixed residential-over-retail zoning near the lakefront core.
Industrial 2 districts
M-1	Light Manufacturing	Lower-impact manufacturing and distribution uses.
M-2	Heavy Manufacturing	Heavier industrial uses, concentrated along the I-94 corridor.
Special purpose 3 districts
A-1	General Agricultural	Working farmland still outside urban development pressure.
IP	Institutional-Park	Institutional campuses and public park land; GIS records the code unhyphenated as IP.
C-1	Upland Resource Conservancy	Protected upland natural resource areas.

Kenosha zoning — common questions

How is zoning organized in Kenosha?: Kenosha uses a conventional zoning structure administered by the Community Development and Inspections Department, with residential, commercial, and industrial district families and a planned-development option for larger sites. The Plan Commission and Common Council handle rezonings and conditional uses.
How do I find the zoning for a Kenosha address?: Kenosha's Community Development and Inspections Department maintains an online zoning and GIS map that returns the current zoning district for any parcel, alongside the published zoning ordinance text.
Why is there so much industrial development in Kenosha?: Kenosha's location on Interstate 94 between Milwaukee and Chicago has made the city's western edge attractive for logistics and distribution development, which has driven recent zoning and rezoning activity there. Downtown and lakefront areas have instead seen residential and mixed-use infill.

Working in Wisconsin? 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 Wisconsin opens, and sooner if we need a test parcel.

Keep reading

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

Other Wisconsin cities

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

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