Full Definition
Floor Area Ratio (FAR) is the primary density control mechanism in US commercial zoning codes. It is calculated as:
?
A 1-acre (43,560 sf) lot with a maximum FAR of 0.40 allows a maximum of 17,424 sf of total gross floor area. That building could be a one-story 17,424 sf retail pad, or a two-story office building with a 8,712 sf floor plate — the FAR controls the total, not the shape.
? is commonly offered in exchange for providing shared parking, affordable commercial space, structured parking garages, or public amenities. In Orange County FL, the base FAR for C-2 is 0.40 but rises to 0.60 with a shared parking agreement, and 1.0 in designated Activity Centers.
? FAR directly determines how much rentable square footage you can generate from a given site. A higher FAR means more NOI per dollar of land cost — which is why infill sites with high FAR allowances command premium prices.
?
A 1-acre (43,560 sf) lot with a maximum FAR of 0.40 allows a maximum of 17,424 sf of total gross floor area. That building could be a one-story 17,424 sf retail pad, or a two-story office building with a 8,712 sf floor plate — the FAR controls the total, not the shape.
? is commonly offered in exchange for providing shared parking, affordable commercial space, structured parking garages, or public amenities. In Orange County FL, the base FAR for C-2 is 0.40 but rises to 0.60 with a shared parking agreement, and 1.0 in designated Activity Centers.
? FAR directly determines how much rentable square footage you can generate from a given site. A higher FAR means more NOI per dollar of land cost — which is why infill sites with high FAR allowances command premium prices.
📐 Practical Example
43,560 sf lot × FAR 0.40 = 17,424 sf maximum building
How This Appears on ByRightHQ Zone Pages
On every zone detail page, ByRightHQ shows Floor Area Ratio (FAR) data sourced directly from the county LDC. Terms like this one are underlined with a dotted line — hover to see the definition.
See C-2 Orange County FL → (example zone page)
Also known as:
floor area ratio · FAR · density control · building intensity ratio