Commercial

Control of Intensity of Use for Commercial Zonning. In commercial zoning (retail stores, offices, restaurants), the concern is not how many people sleep there, but how much business activity happens there. This is called the intensity of use.(a) Parking Requirements: Because commercial buildings attract traffic, zoning dictates strictly how many parking spaces must be provided based on the square footage or seating capacity of the business.(b) Height and Size Limitations: To prevent a skyscraper from blocking the sun in a low-rise town, zoning limits the height of buildings and often uses a "Floor Area Ratio" to restrict the total size of the building relative to the land it sits on.