T Transportation District A Chicago zoning district · Title 17
Preserves, protects and enhances road, rail and other transportation corridors (§17-6-0300), and ensures public review before any conversion to non-transportation use. Only roads, rail lines, bus ways, trails, minor utilities and their customary accessory uses are allowed by-right — any other use requires rezoning to a base district. Permanent buildings must directly relate to an allowed use and may not exceed a 1.5 floor area ratio.
The 606 (Bloomingdale Trail), an elevated rail-to-trail park built on a former rail embankment, T (Transportation) district land. Buildings are generally not permitted in T; the district exists to protect the right-of-way itself, so there’s no buildable envelope to diagram.
Specifications
- Zoning Ordinance reference
- §17-6-0300
View in the Chicago Zoning Ordinance - Floor area ratio (FAR)
- 1.5
- Maximum building height
- Not applicable — structures are generally not permitted in Transportation districts.
- 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
- —
Setbacks
- Front yard
- Not applicable.
- Side yard
- Not applicable.
- Rear yard
- Not applicable.
Allowed Uses
Curated from the §17-6-0303 use table. P = permitted by-right; S = special-use approval required. Always confirm against the full ordinance text.
- Roads
- Commuter and freight rail lines and directly related activities
- Bus ways
- Pedestrian and bicycle trails
- Utilities, minor
- Customary and incidental accessory uses to any of the above
- None — T has no special-use approval path; any other use requires rezoning to a base zoning district (§17-6-0303-B)
In Chicago, T allows a floor area ratio of 1.5 and a height limit of Not applicable — structures are generally not permitted in Transportation districts.. The figures above are the T standards as the Chicago Zoning Ordinance states them, each citation linking to the section it comes from in our hosted copy of Title 17. What a specific lot allows also depends on its frontage, depth, corner or through geometry, and any overlay it sits in — run the T numbers for your lot to see those applied.
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.