Dothan, AL Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Downtown Design Guide (2026)

Dothan's Board of Commissioners adopted these standards as Article X, Division 3 of the zoning code, the U.S. Highway 84 East Overlay District, layered on top of the AC, B-1, B-2, B-3, H-I, L-I, O-I, R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4 and R-A base zones along the corridor (§ 114-161(b)(1)). The overlay's six subdistricts, downtown core, downtown edge, mixed-use 4, mixed-use 3, mixed-use 2 and institutional, each carry their own massing rules, but downtown core and downtown edge are held to the tightest street-wall standard in § 114-164(a)(1): a consistent wall along every street frontage, with variety allowed only through upper-floor step-backs.

Breaks are limited to pedestrian pass-throughs, plazas, forecourts, permitted driveways and hotel drop-offs. Any building running past 300 feet in length must be split by a passageway at least 20 feet wide that is visible from the street and landscaped to create a pedestrian route between the segments. The section separately bars monolithic, slab-like buildings that wall off views or overshadow the surrounding neighborhood. Every development application in the overlay goes through the development plan approval process in Article V, administered by the Planning and Development Department.

Any deviation from the massing, step-back, or passageway requirements is not an administrative call: § 114-164(r)(3) requires it to go to the Dothan Planning Commission for approval, and minor field modifications during construction still route through the administrative official under § 114-164(r)(4).