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Title 13 — Planning, Zoning and Development›Chapter V — DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS›Article 8 — Floor Area Ratios

§ 13-69. Floor area ratio established.

Costa Mesa Zoning Code · 2026-06 edition · updated 2026-07-25 · Costa Mesa

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
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)

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▸ Contents — Costa Mesa Zoning Code
Costa Mesa Zoning Code
  1. ▸ Title 13 — Planning, Zoning and Development
    Overview
    1. Chapter I — IN GENERAL
    2. Chapter II — ZONING DISTRICTS ESTABLISHED
    3. Chapter III — PLANNING APPLICATIONS
    4. Chapter IV — CITYWIDE LAND USE MATRIX
    5. ▸ Chapter V — DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS
      Overview
      1. Article 1 — Residential Districts
      2. Article 2 — Residential Common Interest Developments
      3. Article 2.5 — Residential Small lot Subdivisions
      4. Article 3 — Commercial Districts
      5. Article 4 — Establishments Where Food or Beverages are Served
      6. Article 4.5 — Development Standards for Churches and Other Pla…
      7. Article 5 — Industrial Districts
      8. Article 5.5 — Non-Residential Common Interest Developments
      9. Article 6 — Planned Development
      10. Article 7 — Institutional and Recreational, Institutional and …
      11. ▸ Article 8 — Floor Area Ratios
        Overview
        1. § 13-67. Purpose.
        2. § 13-68. Definitions.
        3. § 13-69. Floor area ratio established.
      12. Article 9 — General Site Improvement Standards
      13. Article 10 — Floodway and Floodplain Districts
      14. Article 11 — Mixed-Use Overlay District
      15. Article 12 — Residential Incentive Overlay District
      16. Article 1 — Residential Districts
      17. Article 2 — Non-Residential Districts
      18. Article 3 — Development Standards
    6. Chapter VII — LANDSCAPING STANDARDS
    7. Chapter VIII — SIGNS
    8. Chapter IX — SPECIAL LAND USE REGULATIONS
    9. Chapter X — NONCONFORMING USES, DEVELOPMENTS AND LOTS
    10. Chapter XI — SUBDIVISIONS
    11. Chapter XII — SPECIAL FEE ASSESSMENTS
    12. Chapter XIII — NOISE CONTROL
    13. Chapter XIV — OIL DRILLING
    14. Chapter XV — GROUP HOMES
    15. Chapter XVII — AFFORDABLE HOUSING ORDINANCE

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