Berkeley Floor Area Ratio

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.

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. 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. Zoning setbacks 3 375 0. Floor space ratio varies for different types of buildings.

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. 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. Adjustments subtract floor space for required items that cannot be accommodated outside of the 4 floor building envelope.

The terms can also refer to limits imposed on such a ratio through zoning. The berkeley planning commission and city staff during their virtual meeting on sept. It is often used as one of the regulations in city planning along with the building to land ratio. 1 consequently the far reflects the bulk of the structure in relation to its lot size.

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. It is a tool used by the planning body of any city or town to identify densely constructed areas from the others. A two story building on the same lot where each floor was 500 square feet. 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.

In this article wealthhow tells you how to calculate floor area ratio and equips you with a calculator for the same purpose. Communities limit far in residential areas in order to. 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.

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.