City of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The City of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, specifies its overlay zones with the following text definitions:

• Historic Landmark District (HL) is an overlay zoning district that provides regulations and restrictions to preserve some of the finest and most valuable resources of the City. A Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission is required for all projects located in the HP District.
• Alcoholic Beverage Overlay Districts (ABC-1, ABC-2, and ABC-3) are overlay zoning districts that regulate the location for sales and consumption of beer, wine and mixed beverages.
• Scenic River Overlay District (SROD) is intended to promote health, safety, cultural and economics of the area. The underlying zoning on the property, designated by the regular zoning district regulations of this code shall continue to regulate the use and development of land, unless expressly modified by the overlay regulations.
• Classen Boulevard Overlay District (CBO) is an overlay zoning district that prohibits the use of exterior metal finish on buildings and permits off-site parking along a specific segment of the Classen Boulevard corridor.
• Urban Design District (UD) is an overlay district intended to enhance the appearance of the district through preservation of historic buildings and features, by encouraging architectural innovation in new construction and rehabilitation of existing buildings. The underlying zoning on the property designated by the regular zoning district regulate the use and development of land unless expressly modified by the overlay regulations. A Certificate of Approval from the Urban Design Commission is required for all projects located in the UD District.
• Manufactured Home Overlay District (MHOD) is intended to provide affordable infill housing in select areas of the City.
• Twenty-Third Street Uptown Corridor Overlay District (23UPTWN) is an overlay zoning district that encourages neighborhood oriented commercial development along a select segment of the NW 23rd Street corridor.

Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee

In Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee, Historic Preservation Zoning Overlay Districts are used to protect the architectural character of Nashville's historic neighborhoods by managing growth and change. The districts protect a locally designated district from the loss of architecturally or historically important buildings, new construction not in character with the neighborhood, and alterations or additions to buildings that would lessen their architectural significance. These goals are accomplished by requiring that plans for demolition, new construction, additions, relocation and alteration are reviewed by an architectural review board. Designated in May of 1978, Edgefield is Nashville's first Historic Overlay Zoning District and only the second in Tennessee. Since that time, over 260 local historic zoning districts have been established throughout the state.

Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. Kentucky.

The Model Corridor Overlay District was established to enhance the quality and compatibility of development; to establish consistent architectural and design guidelines; to encourage the most appropriate use of adjacent lands; to promote the safe and efficient movement of traffic; to provide for preservation of scenic vistas, viewsheds, and open space; and to preserve property values along a corridor. The ordinance adds regulations on site design, setbacks, building construction, signs, parking areas, landscaping, utilities, access to a corridor, wildlife linkage, and more. Another overlay districted used by Lexington-Fayette is the Neighborhood Design (ND-1) Overlay District which allows neighborhoods to define design standards to conserve and protect the unique character of neighborhood and ensure compatibility with those regulations on all new home construction and additions. Approval of the ND-1 ordinance requires significant neighborhood support (usually in the form of a petition with a minimum of 51% of owners’ signatures). Final passage of the overlay zoning typically takes between 6 to 9 months from the date of initiation.

City of Kalamazoo, Michigan

The City of Kalamazoo, Michigan, created a Riverfront Overlay Zoning District to implement the Kalamazoo Riverfront Redevelopment Plan (Riverfront Plan). The RF-O zoning ordinance divided the riverfront area into 8 sub-areas with different land uses. The RF-O district has specific purposes including:

• To protect and preserve the Kalamazoo River and its frontage for public use, providing benefits to the entire City.
• To encourage the redevelopment of areas adjacent to the riverfront in an urbanist style and to strengthen connections to and from the remainder of the City.
• To encourage the transformation over time of certain industrial areas towards residential and mixed use development.
• To encourage the creation of stable residential and mixed use neighborhoods including a wide variety of residential housing types on both the east and west sides of the Kalamazoo River.
• To improve the quality of development throughout the area, and particularly along higher volume streets providing public views of the RF-O district.
• To create a balanced and integrated transportation system that relies less on automobiles and more on bus transit, biking, and walking, and to create a mix of land uses and intensities that support that balanced transportation system.
• To encourage patterns of development that support a mix of living, working, and recreational activities close to one another.
• To encourage patterns of development that enclose and define street spaces, through the use of appropriate building heights and relatively small front setbacks.
• To provide required parking to the rear or to the side of primary structures wherever possible, in order to reduce auto-oriented street frontages.
• To encourage innovative and high quality architecture, and exceptional landscaping, lighting, signage, fixtures, and furnishings.

City of Portland, Oregon

The City of Portland, Oregon, uses overlay zoning in a wide variety of settings. Listed below are some of the applications :

• The alternative design density overlay allows increased residential density for development that meets additional design compatibility requirements. See Chapter 33.405.
• The buffer overlay zone requires additional buffering between nonresidential and residential zones. See Chapter 33.410.
• The design overlay zone is applied to areas where design and neighborhood character are of special concern. See Chapter 33.420 and Design Review.
• Environmental overlay zones require protection of some resources and functional values that have been identified by the City as providing benefits to the public. See Chapter 33.430 and Environmental Review.
• The greenway overlay zones affect some property located along the Willamette River. See Chapter 33.440 and Greenway Review.
• The aircraft landing zone limits height of structures and vegetation in the vicinity of the Portland International Airport. See Chapter 33.400.
• The historic resource protection overlay zone protects certain historic resources such as historic landmarks and conservation landmarks, and certain resources in historic or conservation districts. See Chapter 33.445 and Historic Reviews.
• The main street node overlay zone regulations encourage a mix of residential, commercial and employment opportunities within identified centers of activity along identified main streets such as North Lombard and Sandy Boulevard. See Chapter 33.455.
• The main street corridor overlay zone regulations overlay zone encourage higher density residential uses for sites with frontage on North Lombard or Sandy Boulevard. See Chapter 33.460.
• The scenic resource overlay zone establishes height limits within view corridors to protect significant views and establishes additional landscaping and screening standards to preserve and enhance identified scenic resources. See Chapter 33.480.
• The light rail transit station overlay zone encourages a mixture of residential, commercial, and employment opportunities within identified light rail station areas. See Chapter 33.450.
• The pleasant valley natural resources overlay zone integrates the significant natural resources into a new urban community in Pleasant Valley. See Chapter 33.564.
• The Portland International Airport noise impact overlay zone reduces the impact of aircraft noise on development within the noise impact area surrounding the Portland International Airport by restricting sensitive land uses and receptors from encroachment. See Chapter 33.470.