Berkeley Floor Area Ratio

Maximum floor area 3 c w zoning standard maximum without maximum floor area ratio 102 630 maximum box from which adjustments are made 136 840 maximum allowable stories lot area i b.

Berkeley floor area ratio.

Floor space index fsi is also known as floor area ratio far or floor space ratio fsr. As a formula far gross floor area area of the plot. A two story building on the same lot where each floor was 500 square feet. Floor area ratio far is the ratio of a building s total floor area gross floor area to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built.

The floor area ratio of a 1 000 square foot building with one story situated on a 4 000 square foot lot would be 0 25x. Floor space ratio varies for different types of buildings. The berkeley planning commission and city staff during their virtual meeting on sept. Amend the berkeley general plan to increase the maximum floor area ratio from 3 3 5 to 5 in the telegraph avenue commercial c t district whereas on april 30 2013 the city council sent a referral to the planning commission to consider increasing the floor area ratio far on telegraph avenue.

Communities limit far in residential areas in order to. Adjustments subtract floor space for required items that cannot be accommodated outside of the 4 floor building envelope. Download original report pdf grant of power for the purpose of promoting health safety morals or the general welfare of the community the legislative body of every municipality is hereby empowered to regulate and restrict the height number of stories and size of buildings and other structures the percentage of lot that may be occupied the size of yards courts and. This means that only in this area is there on average more than 1 square foot of building for each square foot of land although there are other individual sites with an far of greater than 1.

A floor area ratio far control is a planning tool used to regulate a building s mass in relation to the size of its lot. Height floor area ratio lot coverage setback and open space requirements for each neighborhood. The far is the ratio of the total building floor area to the total lot area. It is a tool used by the planning body of any city or town to identify densely constructed areas from the others.

It is the ratio of the total floor area of buildings on a certain location to the size of the land of that location or the limit imposed on such a ratio. It is often used as one of the regulations in city planning along with the building to land ratio. Zoning setbacks 3 375 0. Only 1 small area of west berkeley the portion incorporating parker plaza and fantasy records has an overall floor area ratio far of greater than 1.

Floor area ratio or far is a critical decisive element for the legal construction of any residential or non residential building.