Denton City Council approved three overlay districts at a June 16 meeting, which will give the southeast Denton area its own set of building and zoning codes. The new standards aim to preserve the area’s character and encourage locally owned small businesses, according to city documents.

Overlay Districts

The new overlay districts include a residential overlay subdistrict, a height limitation overlay subdistrict, and a live/work overlay subdistrict. A detailed map of the overlay districts can be downloaded from the city’s website.

The height overlay subdistrict is located in the northwest corner of the southeast Denton area, roughly from Prairie Street to East McKinney Street. The live/work overlay is in the western portion of the area from Wye Street to Prairie Street, and the residential overlay covers the rest of southeast Denton.

Residential Overlay District

The residential overlay district requires all new homes built to include a porch or stoop, windows and doors on the front must cover 25% of the facade and feature a 3.5-inch decorative trim, and main dwellings cannot exceed 30 feet in height. Accessory dwellings cannot exceed 20 feet in height, and roofs must be gabled, hipped, or a combination of both.

City staff developed the new standards after hosting community engagement events and meeting with residents. The new regulations also established a live/work district, which allows residents to operate a small business out of a portion of their single-family home.

Background

The city adopted the Southeast Denton Area Plan in 2024, a comprehensive plan to improve transportation, quality of life, and build trust between the city government and the community. The plan aims to address the area’s history, including the forced relocation of the residents of Quakertown, a predominantly Black community, to southeast Denton in the 1920s.

Original reporting: Community Impact — Denton — read the source article.