Zoning explained · Palm Beach County

North Railroad Avenue District 5 (NoRA-5; city GIS code NORA-5) West Palm Beach, Florida

Mixed-use DMP special district between the FEC railroad and N Dixie Highway, south of Palm Beach Lakes Blvd and north of N Quadrille Blvd, where industrial character, less conventional housing and commercial uses co-exist.

15 buildings zoned ICD-511 permitted business types

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Insights › Zoning & land use › West Palm Beach — ICD-5

Permitted uses

What you can operate in ICD-5, West Palm Beach

The businesses the ICD-5 district in West Palm Beach 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 ICD-5 here means specifically West Palm Beach's ICD-5 district.)

Allowed by right

Ground floor residential (P3: not permitted on Dixie Highway)Multiple family dwellingLive/workGround floor retail (P21: light industrial may be allowed when associated with a retail component of at least 20% of the tenant space)OfficeHotel (boutique hotels preferred)RestaurantSelf storage and warehousing for families and small business as a primary use, under 'Other commercial' (P19: max 3 stories/40 ft, max 1.5 acre lot, not within required active-use area, active use along 80% of ground-floor frontage)Other commercial (barber/beauty, clubs and lodges, exercise studios, banks serving the public, laundry with no cleaning on premises, music/dance studios, pet grooming, postal, travel agencies, printing)Structured parking as primary use (must comply with subdistrict building requirements)Off-site accessory surface parking (P5: only on vacant properties with frontage on N Railroad Ave, Spruce Ave or 11th St; no demolition; not on 10th St frontage except within 100 ft of N Railroad Ave)

With special approval

None noted for this district.

Build envelope

Development standards

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

Height5 stories or 68 ft, whichever is less.

FAR2.75 (lot frontage >55 ft) / 3.50 (<=55 ft).

StandardStorage or distribution as a primary use, unscreened outdoor storage, carting/moving/hauling yards, scrap yards and vehicle service stations are prohibited in the DMP area (Sec. 94-105(c)), except self-storage/warehousing per P19.

StandardOn N Railroad Ave, ground floors are encouraged to have an industrial character such as working storefronts and garage doors (Sec. 94-124.b.3).

StandardSurface parking as a primary use is prohibited in NoRA-5; off-site accessory surface parking only per P5.

StandardRead from Sec. 94-124 (NoRA); Table IV-2 Permitted Use Table for DMP (column NoRA 5); Table IV-28; Sec. 94-105; 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.

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