Unified Development Code

  1. Purpose and Goals
  2. Why It's Needed
  3. Zoning Ordinance
  4. Subdivision Ordinance
  5. Participate

Purpose and Goals

A Zoning Ordinance says how a piece of land can be used. A Subdivision Ordinance says how a piece of land can be divided into smaller pieces or combined into larger pieces.

These two sets of rules determine the shape of the city and what individuals can do with their property.

The City of Irving is working to combine these two sets of rules into a single Unified Development Code.

Updating the land use regulations in this way will help the City of Irving implement the community vision set forth in the Imagine Irving Comprehensive Plan. 

Imagine Irving Goals

The Imagine Irving Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2017. This plan defines a shared vision for the city's future that can only be achieved by taking deliberate action.

Among other things, the plan encourages the City to:

"Focus development and redevelopment efforts on creating well-designed centers."

"Widen the range of housing and employment choices by encouraging creation of dense mixed-use developments."

"Remove barriers to infill construction and encourage reinvestment in aging neighborhoods and nonresidential areas."

"Preserve and develop appropriate real estate options to meet the needs of current and prospective businesses and ensure that adequate land exists for a variety of uses."
Imagine Irving's Plan Summary, Page 24

These objectives became the major goals set forth in the Land Use and Urban Design chapter. But to achieve these objectives, the city must develop the correct tools to enact the first goal of this chapter: "Ensure land use decisions are consistent with the adopted Imagine Irving Comprehensive Plan."

The existing Zoning and Subdivision regulations need to be updated in order to ensure strategic goals can be attained.