Zoning explained · Palm Beach County

Quadrille Business District, 3-story subdistrict (Downtown Master Plan, urban core planning area) West Palm Beach, Florida

QBD is the Quadrille Business District, the downtown office core; '-3' is the 3-story maximum height. Table IV-1 permits multifamily, live/work, ground floor retail, office, hotel, restaurant and other commercial uses by right; single-family, outbuildings and storage/distribution as a primary use are not permitted.

3 buildings zoned QBD-328 permitted business types
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Insights › Zoning & land use › West Palm Beach — QBD-3
Permitted uses

What you can operate in QBD-3, West Palm Beach

The businesses the QBD-3 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 QBD-3 here means specifically West Palm Beach's QBD-3 district.)

Allowed by right
Multiple family dwellingLive/workGround floor residential - only on 2nd Street and on properties facing Evernia Street and Datura Street between Rosemary Avenue and Sapodilla Avenue (P2); if provided, raised 18 in above sidewalk (Sec. 94-119(f))Ground floor retailOffice (Class A office encouraged)HotelRestaurantOther commercial (barber/beauty shops, clubs and lodges, exercise studios and health clubs, financial institutions serving the public, laundry/dry cleaning with no cleaning on premises, music and dance studios, pet grooming, postal services, travel agencies, printing services - Sec. 94-109)Structured parking as primary use (P13: must comply with subdistrict building requirements)Off-site accessory surface parking (P14: secondary street designations only; Sec. 94-111 parking and Sec. 94-443(c) landscape standards)Bars and night clubs (also regulated by Chapter 6 of the City Code) (Sec. 94-106(a)(1))Brewpub / microbrewery / micro-distillery / micro-winery - by right, max 6,000 sf new / 6,300 sf existing building, must include restaurant, bar or tasting room, no outdoor storage (Sec. 94-106(a)(1.a))Community centers - by right (Sec. 94-106(a)(2))Schools and places of worship - by right (Sec. 94-106(a)(12)(a))Day care facilities for children (primary use) (Sec. 94-106(a)(4)(a))Firearms sales (retail dedicated to firearms) - urban core planning area (Sec. 94-106(a)(6))Family and transitional community residences, special requirements of Sec. 94-273 (Sec. 94-106(a)(7))Skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities, Sec. 94-273 standards (Sec. 94-106(a)(7)(d))Micro-units - permitted in all districts (Sec. 94-106(a)(8.a))Motor vehicle sales and rental offices (no service) and passenger transportation operation offices - surface lots for vehicle storage prohibited (Sec. 94-106(a)(10))Veterinary clinics, pet grooming, animal daycare and boarding (no livestock/equines), enclosed building with attendant/noise/waste standards (Sec. 94-106(a)(13))Hospital - urban core planning area, min 2 acres, at least 500 ft from R subdistricts (Sec. 94-106(a)(14))Parks, recreation areas, urban open spaces; local utility lines; public and private streets; railroad rights-of-way; water/sewer/gas lines; public water canals - permitted in all districts without listing (Sec. 94-105(b))
With special approval
Surface parking as primary use (P14/P20): only on secondary street designations; temporary primary-use lots on primary-street frontage in QBD on parcels of 1+ acre within 500 ft of 250,000+ sf retail, max 36 months (plus one 12-month extension); temporary lots tied to new garage construction max 24 monthsCultural uses (museums, aquariums, planetariums, motion picture theaters, live performing arts theaters) - urban core planning area only with special review approval by the DAC (Sec. 94-106(a)(3)(a))Adult day care facilities for three or more clients - class B special use permit; overnight lodging prohibited (Sec. 94-106(a)(5))Motor vehicle fuel sales, no service - class B special use permit, urban core planning area (Sec. 94-106(a)(9))Pet sales (commercial sale of live animals) - class B special use permit in urban core planning area (Sec. 94-106(a)(11))
Build envelope

Development standards

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

StandardMaximum height 3 stories (subdistrict designation; the Table IV-20 text is not in the archived file)
StandardClass A office encouraged; Rosemary Avenue is the main pedestrian street with active use liners; colonnades limited to Rosemary Avenue frontages (Sec. 94-119)
Prohibited in all DMP districts (Sec. 94-105(c))outdoor sales of motor vehicles; motor vehicle service stations; drive-in facilities except banking; pawn shops; chemical manufacturing; storage or distribution as primary use; unscreened outdoor storage; enameling/painting/plating except artist studios; off-premises signage; carting/moving/hauling terminal or yard; prisons; detention centers; hazardous-waste sites; scrap yards; mobile homes; mineral extraction; exterior kennels; rooming houses; halfway houses; adult entertainment; adult-material retail
StandardGround floor residential, if provided, raised minimum 18 inches above sidewalk (Sec. 94-119(f))
Accessory usesHome occupations - permitted in all planning areas, Sec. 94-273(a) standards (Sec. 94-106(a)(8)); Family day care homes for six children or fewer, accessory to a residential use - by right in all planning areas (Sec. 94-106(a)(4)(c)); Adult day care for not more than two adults, accessory to a residential use - by right (Sec. 94-106(a)(5)(c)); Sec. 94-109 definition: accessory use = use customarily incidental and subordinate to the primary use on the same lot; Off-site accessory surface parking (P14, secondary street designations only) (Table IV-1); Large family child care homes for 12 or fewer children, accessory to residential - only in the zoning districts reflected in Table IX-1 (Sec. 94-106(a)(4)(d))
StandardRead from Sec. 94-105 (Table IV-1, notes P2, P13, P14, P20); Sec. 94-106; Sec. 94-119 (QBD); Table IV-20 (QBD-3 building requirements); 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.

Available now

Spaces zoned QBD-3 in West Palm Beach

1 space available in this district, largest first. Click any space to view it.

FOR LEASE 1,537 SF
991 Banyan Blvd — 1st Floor, Ste 1
Upon RequestView →

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