Zoning information you can actually trust

Our Mission

Property decisions involve six-figure sums. Zoning rules determine what you can legally build, operate, or rent on a property — and those rules are scattered across 30,000+ local jurisdictions, each with their own municipal code, terminology, and update frequency. PropertyZoned aggregates, structures, and maintains this information so homeowners, real estate investors, developers, and architects can get accurate answers in seconds instead of hours.

We don't invent data. Every zoning rule, permit requirement, fee, and regulation on PropertyZoned is sourced from official municipal code documents, building department fee schedules, and government-published ordinances. We cite the source. We display the last-verified date. And we give every visitor a way to report outdated information.

PropertyZoned is an independent, third-party resource. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any government agency, city, county, or state. Our role is to make existing public government data easier to find, understand, and act on.

How We Gather Data

Primary Sources Only

Every zoning rule, permit requirement, and fee schedule on PropertyZoned is sourced from primary government sources: official municipal code repositories (typically Municode, American Legal Publishing, or the city's own website), city planning department documents, and building department fee schedules.

We do not aggregate data from other websites, news articles, or real estate platforms. We do not use AI to generate or invent zoning rules. AI is used only to assist with formatting and structuring data extracted from official sources — never to create data.

What We Capture

For each of the top 100 US cities, PropertyZoned captures and structures the following information from official sources: zoning district definitions and permitted uses, ADU and JADU regulations (size limits, setback requirements, owner-occupancy rules), permit types and associated fees, setback requirements by zone type, short-term rental ordinances, home business regulations, solar panel rules, and building department contact information. Every data point includes the source code section and the date it was last verified.

Our Verification Process

Zoning data is not static. Ordinances are amended, fee schedules are updated, and state laws override local codes with increasing frequency (particularly in California, New York, and Texas for ADU rules). Our verification process is designed to catch these changes before they mislead visitors.

1. 1
   Primary source identification

   For each city, we identify the official municipal code, building department website, and planning department contacts. We use Municode, American Legal Publishing, and official city portals — not secondary aggregators.
2. 2
   Data extraction and structuring

   Zoning rules are read directly from official source documents and structured into our standardized schema. AI assists with formatting and data organization — never with interpretation, extrapolation, or invention of rules.
3. 3
   Cross-reference verification

   Key rules are cross-referenced against building department FAQs, planning department handouts, and city council meeting records where available. For ADU rules, state law preemption is always checked.
4. 4
   Source citation and date stamping

   Every data point is tagged with the specific code section (e.g., 'Austin City Code § 25-2-899') and the date it was verified. This appears on every data page.
5. 5
   Periodic re-verification

   All city data is re-verified on schedule. Cities with high legislative activity are reviewed more frequently than lower-activity jurisdictions.

Update Frequency

PropertyZoned targets a tiered update schedule based on city size and legislative activity. As the site grows, our goal is:

• Tier 1 cities (top 25 by population) — Quarterly re-verification
  Includes New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, San Jose, Austin, Jacksonville, Fort Worth, Columbus, Charlotte, Indianapolis, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Nashville, Oklahoma City, El Paso, Washington DC, Boston, Las Vegas
• Tier 2 cities (cities 26–50) — Semi-annual re-verification
  All major ADU-active states (California, New York, Oregon, Washington) reviewed on the same quarterly schedule as Tier 1 regardless of city ranking.
• Tier 3 cities (cities 51–100) — Annual re-verification
  Any Tier 3 city with a recent zoning ordinance change will be reviewed within 60 days of the effective date.

About the Team

PropertyZoned was born from firsthand frustration with the complexity of zoning regulations — trying to build an ADU, evaluating potential investment properties, and spending months digging through municipal codes to answer questions that should have taken minutes.

The experience of running into the same friction — government websites that bury zoning codes, PDFs that haven't been updated since 2018, planning departments that don't respond to public inquiries — is what drove us to build a better solution. PropertyZoned exists because the information was always technically public but functionally inaccessible.

We are not a government agency. We are not a law firm. We are an independent research platform committed to making public zoning data accessible, accurate, and easy to understand.

Our Standards

PropertyZoned holds itself to the following editorial standards:

• Every data point has a source citation (code section and URL) and a last-verified date
• No data is invented, extrapolated, or estimated — if we can't cite the source, we don't publish the data
• AI tools assist with data formatting and structuring only — never with generating or interpreting regulatory content
• Correction reports are reviewed within 14 business days and verified errors are corrected within 30 days
• PropertyZoned is an independent third-party resource, not affiliated with any government entity
• No page claims PropertyZoned is an official government resource or endorses specific property decisions

Disclaimer

PropertyZoned.com provides zoning and land use information for general research and educational purposes only. This information is not legal advice and should not be relied upon for specific property decisions without consulting a licensed attorney or contacting your local planning department directly. PropertyZoned.com is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any government agency, city, county, or state.

Property regulations change frequently and vary by specific parcel, overlay zone, and HOA restrictions that may not be reflected in city-level data. Always verify information with official city sources before acting on any information on this site.