M2-2 Light Industry District

Light industry — auto, contractor and storage uses at moderate intensity.

Example on a 100 × 200 ft lot. No zoning envelope is drawn: M districts set no height limit and no standard setbacks, so bulk is governed by the FAR cap alone (§17-5-0400). The solid building is an illustrative example at FAR 2.2: covering the full footprint reaches only ~2 stories before the floor-area cap binds, so a taller building needs a smaller floor plate. Industrial floors fill the footprint at a low floor-area ratio. Illustrated as a public-storage facility: a blank-walled box filling the lot behind a fixed-depth parking lot at the street frontage, with a glazed leasing-office corner, garage-door entries, and a loading dock at the rear. Story count is the most floors the FAR cap allows over that footprint. (M2 sets no required yard; this just illustrates a typical self-storage site plan.)

Specifications

Zoning Ordinance reference
§17-5-0100
View in the Chicago Zoning Ordinance
Floor area ratio (FAR)
2.2
Maximum building height
Lot area per unit (density)
No residential density standard (residential not a primary use).
Minimum lot area
Rear yard open space
On-site open space
Parking requirements
1 space per dwelling unit. §17-10-0207.

Setbacks

Front yard
None required.
Side yard
None required.
Rear yard
None required.

Allowed Uses

Curated from the §17-5-0207 use table. P = permitted by-right; S = special-use approval required. Always confirm against the full ordinance text.

Permitted by-right
  • Manufacturing, production & industrial service
  • Warehousing, wholesaling & freight movement
  • Recycling facilities
  • Construction sales & service
  • Office
  • Building maintenance services
  • Business support services
  • Animal services
  • Gas stations
  • Non-accessory parking
  • Wireless communication facilities
Special use
  • Group living (limited residential)
  • Waste-related use
  • Coke & coal bulk material
  • Manganese-bearing material operation
  • Adult use
  • Eating & drinking establishments
  • Entertainment & spectator sports
  • Major utilities & services
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Related M2 districts

Reference figures are modeled from the Chicago Zoning Ordinance (Title 17) for general guidance and do not constitute zoning or legal advice. Lot-specific limits depend on frontage, depth, adjacencies and overlays — analyze a specific address for exact figures. Always confirm against the official ordinance.