Plano, TX Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Downtown Design Guide (2026)

Plano Zoning Ordinance § 10.800 states the BG district "is intended to serve as a pedestrian-oriented center for retail, office, governmental, cultural, entertainment, and residential uses" and is written specifically to keep development "consistent with the historical character of Plano's original business district," noting the standards "apply to specific characteristics of Plano's downtown area and are not appropriate for other locations and districts." In place of a conventional front setback, § 10.800.5B applies a "Shy Zone" approach: the zone "functions like a traditional setback, except that it allows for encroachments of certain architectural and site design elements that enhance the streetscape," and is measured from the cross-sections in the Street Design Standards and Thoroughfare Plan Map rather than the lot line.

Maximum height is 4 stories for nonresidential, multifamily, and mixed-use buildings (3 stories/50 feet for single-family attached), with four-story multifamily allowed only above a structured-parking podium level; parking structures over that height must be screened from Downtown Couplet or Gateway Corridor streets. Floor area ratio for nonresidential uses is capped at 4:1, with no FAR limit for multifamily or mixed-use residential. Parking is set at one space per 300 square feet for other uses and one space per multifamily or live/work/flex unit, and the Planning & Zoning Commission may credit nearby public parking toward a project's requirement under § 10.800.4.

A separate reference in § 1.900 incorporates the "Downtown Heritage Resource District Design Standards" by name as one of the design documents adopted by reference into the zoning ordinance for historic-district properties within downtown.