Base district · multifamily · City of Mesa AZ

Can you build self-storage / multifamily in DR-2 (City of Mesa AZ)?

Downtown Residence 2. Attached and multiple residence up to 12 du/net acre; Mini-Storage prohibited

What you may build in DR-2

Every verdict below is the base-district answer read out of the ordinance of record, with the section that says so. A use with no row is shown as unknown rather than folded into “no”.

Self-storage

Not allowed

Ordinance symbol
—
Code section
MZO 11-8-2 (Table 11-8-2)
The code's own words for this use
Mini-Storage
Transcription confidence
high

Expressly shown as a prohibited use (em dash)

Multifamily

Permitted by right

Ordinance symbol
P (16)
Approval body
Development Plan Review, Chapter 69
Code section
MZO 11-8-2 (Table 11-8-2)
The code's own words for this use
Multiple Residence (two or more primary dwelling units on a single lot)
Transcription confidence
medium

Recorded as permitted. The cited note 16 reads 'Permitted if an existing non-conforming residential use is located on the lot', which cannot be the intended meaning: Table 11-8-3.A publishes a full minimum-lot-area ladder and a maximum density for multi-unit projects in DR-2 and DR-3, and the Additional Use Regulations column points to Chapter 81. Treated as a footnote mis-reference in the published code. VERIFY

Indoor warehousing

Not allowed

Ordinance symbol
—
Code section
MZO 11-8-2 (Table 11-8-2)
The code's own words for this use
Indoor Warehousing and Storage
Transcription confidence
high

Expressly prohibited (em dash)

Middle housing

Permitted by right

Ordinance symbol
P
Approval body
Building permit
Code section
MZO 11-8-2 (Table 11-8-2) / 11-31-38
The code's own words for this use
Middle Housing (duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and townhouses)
Transcription confidence
high

Permitted by right in all three Downtown Residence districts. The whole downtown area is inside the one-mile eligibility circle in 11-31-38(A)(1)

Mixed use

Permitted for Live-Work Units only — narrower than the question

Ordinance symbol
P
Approval body
Planning Director (11-70-3)
Code section
MZO 11-8-2 (Table 11-8-2) / 11-31-17
The code's own words for this use
mixed use (residential combined with commercial on one site)
Transcription confidence
medium

DERIVED. Live-Work Units are permitted by right, but no general retail, market or eating-and-drinking classification is listed in the DR columns. Business and Professional offices are SUP-only and limited to Class 1 Historic Buildings from the 1984 City of Mesa Historical Survey (note 10), with DR-3 further limited to lots fronting an arterial (note 11)

RV / boat storage

Not allowed

Code section
MZO 11-8-2 (Table 11-8-2)
The code's own words for this use
Boat and Recreational Vehicle Storage
Transcription confidence
high

Not listed in the district use table; the table preamble states 'Use classifications not listed are prohibited'

How big you may build it

A blank cell means this dataset carries no number for that standard — read it as “go and look”, not as zero.

Dimensional standards, DR-2 — City of Mesa AZ
StandardValueField
Floor area ratio (FAR)—far
Maximum height30 ftmax_height_ft
Maximum site coverage—site_coverage
Minimum lot area6,000 sfmin_lot_area_sf
Minimum lot width—min_lot_width_ft
Minimum lot area per dwelling unit—min_lot_area_per_du_sf
Maximum density12 du / acremax_du_per_acre_derived
Front setback15 ftsetback_front_ft
Street-side setback10 ftsetback_side_street_ft
Interior side setback5 ftsetback_side_interior_ft
Rear setback15 ftsetback_rear_ft

Dimensional standards from MZO 11-8-2 / 11-8-3 (Table 11-8-3.A).

Standards notes. Minimum lot area ladder: 6,000 sf for 1 unit, 11,000 sf for 2 units, 15,000 sf for 3 units, 18,000 sf for 4 or more. Interior side 1-story: 5 ft for 1-2 units, 15 ft for 3 or more. 2-story: 5 ft (1 unit), 10 ft (2 units), 15 ft (3 or more). 3-story: 20 ft. Rear 15/20/20 ft by story count. Minimum open space 400 sf per detached or attached single residence, 200 sf per multiple residence unit. max_du_per_acre_derived is CODE-STATED

No district in this dataset publishes a floor area ratio: intensity in this code is governed by lot coverage, height and — for residential — density or minimum lot area per dwelling unit. See the metro page for the provenance note on that.

Now find out whether it pencils in City of Mesa AZ.

Run the envelope this district allows, free, in about a minute — lot area, FAR or height, and the residual land value it supports.

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Before you rely on this

base district only; overlay geometry not checked — an Airfield or Form-Based Code designation can flip answers

This is a base-district reading of the ordinance text, transcribed from the source below. It is not a Zoning Verification Letter, not a determination by the jurisdiction, not legal advice, and not a substitute for asking the planning department about a specific parcel. Overlays, recorded plan conditions, rezoning stipulations and parcel geometry are not checked here, and any one of them can change the answer on this page.

Verify locally before you spend money. Call the planning counter, pull the parcel's zoning-map designation and its case history, and confirm the section cited above still reads the way it reads here.

Source of record

Document
Mesa City Code, Title 11 — Zoning Ordinance (the "MZO")
Publisher of record
City of Mesa, hosted on Municode (CivicPlus Codification)
Codified through
Ordinance No. 5996, adopted 2026-03-09 (banner text, verbatim)
Retrieved
2026-08-12

Full provenance, the source hashes and the known limitations for City of Mesa AZ →