Noblesville, IN Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Downtown Design Guide (2026)

Noblesville's Downtown (DT) District is created by § 159.107(C) 'to encourage those uses in the town core which will serve to stimulate and enhance its unique character as a county seat and historic asset,' and the section explicitly modifies 'certain general development standards that are inappropriate in the Downtown.' Table 6, the Summary of Commercial Bulk Requirements referenced in § 159.107, drops the minimum lot size and lot width restrictions that apply in the Local Business and Planned Business districts, sets the Maximum Floor Area Ratio at 4 (matching General Business and well above the 1 allowed in Local Business), and permits buildings up to 4 stories or 50 feet, tied with General Business for the tallest commercial allowance in the city and taller than the 3 stories/35 feet cap in Planned Business.

Uses beyond those permitted by right need conditional use approval from the Board of Zoning Appeals after a public hearing under § 159.042; automotive fuel stations approved this way are capped at one acre of lot size, with the Board setting maximum building size and lot coverage case by case. Section 159.107(C)(4) then flatly bans outside storage and outside display of vending machines anywhere in the district, a stricter rule than the outdoor-storage-with-screening allowance the code gives other commercial districts.