The city has established three zoning overlays to guide the placement of buildings and parking, and establish higher development standards for key commercial corridors based on their unique characteristics. The Urban Commercial Overlay (UCO) seeks to reinforce a walkable and denser built environment in commercial corridors developed in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The Community Commercial Overlay (CCO) seeks to reinforce a walkable and somewhat denser built environment, with enhanced front yard landscaping, in commercial corridors developed in the 20th century. And the Regional Commercial Overlay (RCO) seeks to enhance the built environment, screen parking and establish unify landscaping and graphic standards for commercial corridors developed in the second half of the 20th century and into this century.

The commercial overlays address building and parking placement, landscaping, graphics, lighting, drive thru uses, and other components of commercial site development. The overlays place these design standards on top of exist underlying zoning districts. And they do not address residential uses. The overlays have been a popular tool in neighborhood planning processes to address a variety of issues related to the built environment, walkability and redevelopment.

In 1999, the UCO was the first overlay established. Since its inception about 27 miles of commercial corridors have been placed in the UCO. About six miles have been placed in the CCO and 14 miles have been placed under the RCO.

On this page you will find a gallery of developments constructed within an overlay in the city, as well as links to three brochures that describe the overlays in detail.

Gallery – Commercial Overlays

The following gallery provides examples of built projects within one of the adopted commercial overlays (UCO – urban commercial overlay; CCO – community commercial overlay; or RCO – regional commercial overlay).