Zoning explained · Palm Beach County

C-1 Commercial Boca Raton, Florida

Heavy commercial district: all B-4 (and therefore B-2) uses plus auto repair, machinery sales, warehouses/storage, contractor-type shops, light research labs, self-storage.

1 building zoned C-176 permitted business types
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Insights › Zoning & land use › Boca Raton — C-1
Permitted uses

What you can operate in C-1, Boca Raton

The businesses the C-1 district in Boca Raton allows. The ones on the left are permitted by right; the ones on the right need a special approval first. (Zoning codes are set by each municipality, so C-1 here means specifically Boca Raton's C-1 district.)

Allowed by right
Any use permitted in a B-4 district (expanded: B-2 uses [B-2] and B-4 additions [B-4] below)[B-2] Business, professional and governmental offices[B-2] Banks and financial institutions[B-2] Duplicating, copying, letter and secretarial service establishments[B-2] Post offices and governmental buildings[B-2] Places of public assembly[B-2] Bowling alleys and billiard parlors[B-2] Bus stations or passenger terminals (no open-air storage/repair of vehicles)[B-2] Helistops and heliports (Sec. 28-1451 et seq.)[B-2] Business schools, colleges, kindergartens, nursery schools, child care and adult care centers[B-2] Laundry and drycleaning pickup shops, self-service laundries, small drycleaning/pressing (nontoxic solvents, max 5 employees)[B-2] Retail stores[B-2] Retail establishments selling donated articles for nonprofit organizations (council approval)[B-2] Bakeries and similar food-preparation-for-retail-on-premises businesses (no wholesale)[B-2] Personal service shops[B-2] Public utility substations (P&Z approval after public hearing)[B-2] Vending machines in an enclosed structure[B-2] Parking structures and lots[B-2] Motorcar fuel stations (service stations) (Sec. 28-1386 et seq.)[B-2] Marinas incl. boat docks, fuel service, boat sales/rental/storage/service/repair (P&Z and council approval)[B-2] Mortuaries[B-2] Auction houses for jewelry, art goods and household furnishings[B-2] Repair shops for appliances and bicycles within a fully enclosed building[B-2] Pet shops incl. grooming, not boarding[B-2] Retail pharmacies and medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facilities (Sec. 28-1312)[B-2] Telecom web-hosting facilities[B-2] Restaurants (restaurants with dance floor need conditional use)[B-4] New boat sales and service in a fully enclosed building[B-4] Upholstering shops[B-4] Printing and engraving shops, newspaper publishing plants[B-4] Wholesale display and sale of new merchandise within a fully enclosed building without warehousing[B-4] Car washes (Sec. 28-1319)[B-4] Nurseries and garden shops incl. outdoor display/storage of growing plants[B-4] Veterinarian clinics, pet shops, grooming parlors and boarding kennels (fully enclosed air-conditioned building, Sec. 28-1326 et seq.)[C-1] Car, truck or trailer service or repair garages[C-1] Machinery sales, farm implement sales, construction equipment sales[C-1] Tire vulcanizing and recapping with no open storage[C-1] Battery repair with no open storage[C-1] Food catering establishments[C-1] Warehouses and storage buildings (self-storage subject to distance separation, Sec. 28-1310(4)(a))[C-1] Railroad, freight and passenger stations[C-1] Railroad transfer and storage trucks[C-1] Produce markets[C-1] Drycleaning and dyeing[C-1] Carpet cleaning[C-1] Laundries[C-1] Personal service shops[C-1] Auto laundries[C-1] Creameries[C-1] Soft drink bottling[C-1] Frozen food lockers for individual or family use[C-1] Animal hospitals, veterinarians, pet shops and similar businesses[C-1] Car, truck and nonhabitable trailer rentals[C-1] Boatbuilding and boat repair[C-1] Bakeries[C-1] Sale and incidental bulk storage of lumber and building supplies in a completely enclosed building or within an area walled/fenced 8 ft high[C-1] Plumbing shops[C-1] Sign painting and sign shops[C-1] Newspaper, magazine distributor[C-1] Shooting galleries, penny arcades, amusement devices[C-1] Armories, dance halls[C-1] Taxidermist[C-1] Miniature golf courses, pony tracks[C-1] Research and testing laboratories[C-1] Motorcar fuel service stations (Sec. 28-1386 et seq.)[C-1] Helistops (Sec. 28-1451 et seq.)[C-1] Telecom web-hosting facilities[C-1] Self-storage facility (interior storage unit access) per Sec. 28-1310[C-1] Restaurants (dance floor requires conditional use)Parks and recreational facilities owned/leased/operated by the city, Greater Boca Raton Beach and Parks District or county (Sec. 28-1305(a), all districts)City-owned water, sewer, reclaimed water and stormwater facilities (Sec. 28-1305(a), all districts)Buildings, facilities and uses owned/leased/operated by the city, incl. police and fire stations (Sec. 28-1305(b), nonresidential districts)
With special approval
Restaurants with a dance floor or dancing areaBars, nightclubs and drinking establishments (Sec. 4-3)New or used car agencies (Sec. 28-1302)Self-storage facility (interior storage unit access) per Sec. 28-1310 (new facilities replacing existing storage/warehouse)
Build envelope

Development standards

Headline dimensional limits for this district. Confirm exact figures against the current code for your specific parcel.

StandardHeight 4 stories or 50 ft
StandardMin 1,000 sf ground floor area per principal structure; rear/street yards 10 ft (B-4 rules; Sec. 28-1551 for rear yards)
StandardWarehouses and storage buildings are permitted outright (Sec. 28-872(g)); self-storage has separate permit/conditional regime in Sec. 28-1310
Accessory usesUses accessory to permitted uses, incl. living quarters for owner/operator (C-1); B-4 accessory rule allows outdoor storage of passenger cars/panel/pickup trucks used in the business
StandardRead from Sec. 28-872 (permitted), Sec. 28-873 (conditional); permitted = by right, conditional = needs conditional-use / special-exception approval
The fine print

In plain English

BY RIGHT No hearing needed

If your business is on the by-right list, you can occupy a space in this district and open — no zoning hearing. Building permits and licensing still apply, but the use itself is already allowed.

SPECIAL Approval first

Special-approval uses can work here too, but they go through a public review before opening. Plan for extra time and possible conditions — we'll tell you which path a space needs.

Looking for space zoned C-1 in Boca Raton?

Tell us what you'll run in it — we'll match you to the right building in Boca Raton and flag anything that needs approval.

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Based on the Boca Raton zoning code.
Educational content — not legal or zoning advice. Verify permitted uses with the municipality for your specific parcel.