(A) Floor area.
(1) Floor area is measured as the total area (as defined below) of all floors of a building measured from the exterior face of the outside walls.
(2) The floor area calculation includes the following:
(a) Covered areas used for vehicle parking, including garages, carports and parking structures, but excluding tuck-under parking (ground-floor parking areas that are beneath a building and have three or fewer enclosed walls);
(b) Elevator shafts and stairwells;
(c) Porches and balconies enclosed on all sides;
(d) Mechanical shafts;
(e) Mezzanines;
(f) Service and mechanical equipment rooms;
(g) Projecting windows, floors, and other architectural features supported from the ground; and
(h) Cantilevered upper floors.
(3) The floor area calculation does not include the following:
(a) Non-habitable attic spaces;
(b) Basements;
(c) Non-habitable accessory structures, such as storage or garden sheds;
(d) Accessory dwelling units;
(e) Exterior steps, patios, decks, terraces, porches, balconies and porticoes open on one or more sides;
(f) Projecting windows and other exterior architectural projections not supported from the ground; and
(g) For non-residential uses, arcades, porticoes and similar open areas that are located at or near street level and are accessible to the general public, but are not designed or used as sales, display, storage, service or production areas.
(B) Floor area calculation for junior accessory dwelling unit.
(1) Floor area for a junior accessory dwelling unit (JADU) created within the footprint of an existing residential structure is measured as the total area of all floors of the JADU measured from the interior face of the outside walls and the common wall or walls between the JADU and the existing residential structure.
(2) Floor area for new residential construction that includes a junior accessory dwelling unit is measured as the total area (as defined in § 155.112.050(A)(2) of all floors of the building measured from the exterior face of the outside walls, and the interior face of a common wall or walls between the JADU and the proposed residence.
(C) Floor area ratio. Floor area ratio (FAR) is calculated by dividing the total floor area on a lot by the lot area. For example, a 10,000 square-foot lot containing a 5,000 square-foot building would have a FAR of 0.5 (5,000 divided by 10,000). See Figure 112-4.
Figure 112-4: Floor Area Ratio
![](https://export.amlegal.com/media/ba423118872f23a599948cf3b39d28a8431f06c6/IMAGES/0-0-0-7736.png)
(Ord. 885-C.S., passed 5-21-19; Am. Ord. 902-C.S., passed 8-18-20; Am. Ord. 916-C.S., passed 7-6-21)