Meriden, CT Building Setbacks & Zoning: Lot Coverage Limits (2026)

Meriden's R-2 Two- or Three-Family Residential District allows garden-type multifamily development only as a special exception granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals under § 213-73, and § 213-19B(2)(k) attaches numeric conditions to that approval. The lot coverage ceiling is 40% of the total lot area, meaning most of the site must stay open and unbuilt. To qualify at all, the parcel must be at least two acres and served by public water and public sanitary sewer rather than private wells or septic systems. Density is capped at one dwelling unit per 5,000 square feet of lot area, and no single structure in the development may hold more than six units, so a large site must be built out as several six-unit buildings rather than one large structure.

The ordinance also requires at least 200 square feet of usable open space for every dwelling unit, on top of meeting the 40% coverage cap, so a project cannot satisfy the coverage limit by paving the remaining land for parking alone. These numeric conditions apply specifically to the garden-apartment special exception; a standard two- or three-family dwelling built by right in the R-2 District is not held to the 40% coverage figure and instead follows the district's general lot and bulk table. Applicants must document compliance with all of these figures in the site plan submitted to the Zoning Board of Appeals before a certificate of approval can issue.