Regulations and Permitted Uses for the CS: Commercial Service District in Dallas

The CS: Commercial Service District in the municipality of Dallas is established to accommodate a broad range of commercial and business service activities, including those that require significant outside storage, service, or display areas. In the Dallas CS District, development is generally limited to a maximum height of 45 feet and three stories, while the total floor area ratio for all uses combined may not exceed 0.75 [Section 51A-4.123].

Permitted Main Uses in the Dallas CS District

The municipality of Dallas categorizes permitted uses within the CS District into several functional groups. Many of these uses require a Residential Adjacency Review (RAR) or a Development Impact Review (DIR) to ensure compatibility with neighboring properties [Section 51A-4.123(a)(2)].

Commercial and Business Service Uses

Permitted by Right: Custom business services; Custom woodworking, furniture construction, or repair; Electronics service center; Medical or scientific laboratory; Technical school; Tool or equipment rental.
Requiring Residential Adjacency Review (RAR): Building repair and maintenance shop; Bus or rail transit vehicle maintenance or storage facility; Commercial cleaning or laundry plant; Job or lithographic printing; Machine or welding shop; Machinery, heavy equipment, or truck sales and service; Vehicle or engine repair or maintenance.
Special Requirements: Catering service is allowed by right. Commercial bus station and terminal requires a DIR and may require a Specific Use Permit (SUP) if operating a shuttle within 500 feet of a residential district [Section 51A-4.211]. Labor halls are allowed only by SUP.

Industrial and Wholesale Uses

Permitted by Right: Industrial (inside) for light manufacturing; Trade center; Mini-warehouse; Office showroom/warehouse.
Requiring RAR: Contractor’s maintenance yard; Freight terminal; Manufactured building sales lot; Outside storage; Warehouse.
Requiring SUP: Gas drilling and production; Temporary concrete or asphalt batching plant; Petroleum product storage and wholesale; Sand, gravel, or earth sales and storage.

Retail and Personal Service Uses

Permitted by Right: Business school; Dry cleaning or laundry store; Furniture store; General merchandise or food store (of any size); Household equipment and appliance repair; Liquor store; Mortuary, funeral home, or commercial wedding chapel; Motor vehicle fueling station; Nursery, garden shop, or plant sales; Pawn shop; Personal service uses; Taxidermist; Temporary retail use; Theater.
Requiring RAR: Ambulance service; Animal shelter or clinic without outside runs; Auto service center; Car wash; Restaurant without drive-in or drive-through service; Vehicle display, sales, and service.
Requiring DIR: Commercial amusement (outside); Restaurant with drive-in or drive-through service.
Requiring SUP: Convenience store with drive-through; Drive-in theater; Liquefied natural gas fueling station; Paraphernalia shop; Outside sales; Swap or buy shop; Truck stop.

Institutional, Office, and Residential Uses

Institutional: Church, Convent/monastery, and College/university are permitted by right. Child or adult care facilities require a DIR. Community service centers, Halfway houses, and Schools (private or public) require either an SUP or an RAR.
Office: Medical clinic, ambulatory surgical center, and standard offices are permitted by right. Financial institutions with a drive-in window require an RAR. Alternative financial establishments require an SUP.
Residential: The only residential use permitted as a main use in the Dallas CS District is a college dormitory, fraternity, or sorority house.

Expressly Prohibited Uses

The Dallas Development Code dictates that any use not specifically listed as a permitted main use or accessory use is prohibited in the CS District. Additionally, the municipality explicitly prohibits the following accessory uses in the Dallas CS District [Section 51A-4.123(a)(3)]:

Accessory community center (private).
Home occupation.
Private stable.

Development Standards for the Dallas CS District

The municipality of Dallas enforces specific yard, lot, and space regulations to control the density and physical form of the CS District.

Regulation	Standard
Minimum Front Yard	15 feet
Minimum Side/Rear Yard	20 feet (if adjacent to residential districts); 0 feet (otherwise)
Maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR)	0.5 for office uses; 0.75 for all uses combined
Maximum Building Height	45 feet
Maximum Lot Coverage	80%
Maximum Number of Stories	3
Minimum Lot Size	None

Off-Street Parking Requirements

In the Dallas CS District, parking requirements vary based on the specific use and its proximity to residential districts. For many commercial and business service uses, the minimum parking requirement increases when the site is contiguous to a residential "R" district with a single-family use [Section 51A-4.301].

Use Category (CS District)	Standard Parking Requirement	Contiguous to R District Requirement
Office	1 space per 333 sq. ft.	1 space per 333 sq. ft.
Retail / Personal Service	1 space per 200 sq. ft.	1 space per 200 sq. ft.
Warehouse	1 space per 1,000 sq. ft.	1 space per 500 sq. ft.
Building Repair/Maint.	1 space per 500 sq. ft.	1 space per 500 sq. ft.
Manufacturing (Light)	1 space per 600 sq. ft.	1 space per 600 sq. ft.

Sections Cited

Sec. 51A-4.123: Commercial Service and Industrial Districts
Sec. 51A-4.201 through 51A-4.217: Use Regulations
Sec. 51A-4.301: Off-Street Parking Regulations
Sec. 51A-4.401 through 51A-4.412: Yard, Lot, and Space Regulations
Sec. 51A-4.803: Site Plan Review
Sec. 51A-7.301: Provisions For Business Zoning Districts