Title 13 — Planning, Zoning and Development›Chapter V — DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS
Article 8 — Floor Area Ratios
Costa Mesa Zoning Code · 2026-06 edition · ingested 2026-07-06 · Costa Mesa
§ 13-67. Purpose. ¶
The purpose of this article is to define the maximum building intensity for nonresidential developments. (Ord. No. 97-11, § 2, 5-5-97)
§ 13-68. Definitions. ¶
The following definition shall be used to interpret this portion of the Zoning Code:
Project. A development proposal submitted under a single ownership or control at the time of the initial plan submittal and approval. A project may be subdivided or developed in phases by subsequent multiple owners. However, the initial building intensity established by the initial project approval shall be maintained throughout the development of the entire project.
§ 13-69. Floor area ratio established. ¶
The project shall not exceed the floor area ratio (FAR) established in the general plan for the applicable land use designation as shown in Table 13-69, unless a deviation is allowed by the general plan.
| TABLE 13-69 MAXIMUM FLOOR AREA RATIOS |
TABLE 13-69 MAXIMUM FLOOR AREA RATIOS |
TABLE 13-69 MAXIMUM FLOOR AREA RATIOS |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GENERAL PLAN LAND USE DESIGNATION |
HIGH TRAFFIC USES 1 |
MODERATE TRAFFIC USES 2 |
LOW TRAFFIC USES 3 |
VERY LOW TRAFFIC USES 4 |
| Commercial-Residential | 0.20 | 0.30 | 0.40 | — |
| Neighborhood Commercial | 0.15 | 0.25 | 0.35 | 0.75 |
| General Commercial | 0.20 | 0.30 | 0.40 | 0.75 |
| Commercial Center 6 |
0.30 | 0.35 | 0.45 | 0.75 |
| Regional Commercial 5 |
— | 0.652/0.89 | — | — |
| Urban Center Commercial 5 |
— | 0.50 | 0.60 | — |
| Light Industry | 0.15 | 0.25 | 0.35 | 0.75 |
| Industrial Park | 0.20 | 0.30 | 0.40 | 0.75 |
| Public/Semi-Public | 0.25 and 0.01 for golf courses | |||
| Fairgrounds | 0.10 |
1 For commercial designations, high traffic uses are those which generate more than 75 daily trip ends per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area. For industrial designations, high traffic uses are those which generate more than 15 daily trip ends per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area.
2 For commercial designations, moderate traffic uses are those which generate between 20 and 75 daily trip ends per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area. For industrial designations, moderate traffic uses are those which generate between 8 and 15 daily trip ends per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area.
3 For commercial designations, low traffic uses are those which generate between 3 and 20 daily trip ends per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area. For industrial designations, low traffic uses are those which generate between 3 and 8 daily trip ends per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area. Mini-storage is not permitted in the Newport Boulevard Specific Plan.
4 For commercial and industrial designations, very low traffic uses are those which generate less than 3 daily trip ends per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area.
5 Maximum FAR standards in the Regional Commercial and Urban Center Commercial designations shall be further limited by the maximum AM peak hour and PM peak hour trip budget as established in the general plan.
6 The approximately 23.4-acre site containing three parcels at 1375 Sunflower Avenue and 3370 Harbor Boulevard is subject to maximum Floor Area Ratios of 0.64 for office development and 0.54 for commercial development as adopted by the 2015-2035 General Plan; the maximum trip budget is 1,015 for AM trips and 976 for PM trips.
(Ord. No. 97-11, § 2, 5-5-97; Ord. No. 97-32, § 2, 11-17-97; Ord. No. 99-2, § 1, 3-15-99; Ord. No. 16-13, § 4, 11-15-16; Ord. No. 21-20, § 1, 12-7-21)