Floor lot ratio caps how much building area a parcel can carry: lot size multiplied by the ratio equals maximum buildable area. Most US codes call it FAR; Miami 21 uses FLR, applies it mainly in higher-intensity transects, and in the mid-scale zones where our buildings live, capacity is more often governed by height, density, and setbacks than by FLR itself. Which limit actually binds is the first question of any development read.
Maximum building area=Lot area × FLR
- Lot area
- The parcel's area as surveyed.
- FLR
- The ratio assigned to the parcel's transect in the current adopted Miami 21.
- Counted floor area
- The area the code counts toward the ratio. Certain elements are excluded by definition, and that list is where the reading happens.
- A cap on area, not a design. It says how much, never what shape or how many units.
- In the mid-scale transects, height, density, and setbacks usually bind before FLR does. Check which limit is actually binding.
- What the code counts toward the ratio is where the value hides. Excluded area is free capacity.
- FAR is the term the rest of the country uses. Same idea, and the local definition is the one that governs.
A standard Little Havana lot, 50 by 150, in a transect carrying an FLR of 2.0.
About sixteen units at 900 square feet, if nothing else binds first. Something else usually does.
Related terms
All termsSetback
A setback is the mandatory distance a building must keep from its lot lines: front, sides, and rear.
DevelopmentLand Residual Value
Land residual value is what a developer can rationally pay for a site: the value of the finished project, minus every cost to build it, minus the profit the risk demands.
DevelopmentDevelopment Envelope
The development envelope is the three-dimensional shape a parcel's rules allow: the volume left after height limits, setbacks, density caps, parking requirements, and lot coverage have each taken their bite.
Terms arrive with the writing.
The glossary grows as the Journal does, one email when something worth reading goes up. No noise.
Unsubscribe anytime. See our Privacy Policy.