Raleigh Special Residential-30 (SpR-30) Legacy District Regulations

In the City of Raleigh, the SpR-30: Special Residential-30 designation is classified as a Legacy District, meaning its specific use standards are governed by the older Part 10 Zoning Code rather than the current Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). Under the Raleigh Unified Development Ordinance, no new SpR-30 districts may be added to the Official Zoning Map, and existing boundaries for this district cannot be modified [Sec. 1.3.4]. Because SpR-30 is not an active UDO general use district, it is excluded from the current Allowed Principal Use Table, and any use not explicitly authorized by its original legacy zoning remains prohibited [Sec. 6.1.5].

District Classification and Status

The City of Raleigh identifies SpR-30 as one of several legacy districts that remain in effect for properties already carrying the designation but which are slated for eventual replacement by modern UDO zoning districts.

District Type	Designation	Official Status in City of Raleigh
Legacy District	SpR-30: Special Residential-30	Inactive for new applications; governed by Part 10 Zoning Code
General Use District	R-1 through R-10	Active; governed by UDO Article 2.1
Mixed Use District	RX-, OP-, OX-, etc.	Active; governed by UDO Article 3.1

Allowed and Prohibited Uses

The Raleigh Unified Development Ordinance does not provide a detailed list of allowed uses for SpR-30 within its primary use tables (Article 6.1). Instead, the City of Raleigh maintains the following regulatory stance for this designation:

Governing Code

The SpR-30: Special Residential-30 district is part of the "Part 10 Zoning Code." This is distinct from "this UDO" (the Unified Development Ordinance). The UDO document provided serves as the modern replacement, but it does not re-publish the specific use lists for legacy categories like SpR-30 [Sec. 1.3.4].

Prohibition of New Development and Modifications

The City of Raleigh prohibits the expansion of the SpR-30 district. Specifically:

No new SpR-30 legacy districts may be added to the Raleigh Official Zoning Map [Sec. 1.3.4].
No boundary of an existing SpR-30 district may be modified [Sec. 1.3.4].
Any use not explicitly allowed as a permitted, limited, or special use in the UDO's official tables is generally prohibited across the municipality, unless protected by legacy status [Sec. 6.1.5].

Rules of Interpretation for Legacy Designations

When a property in the City of Raleigh is subject to legacy conditions (such as those found in SpR-30), the Unified Development Ordinance provides rules for how these interact with current standards:

Use Limitations: If a conditional zoning ordinance limits a property's uses to those allowed in a former legacy district (like SpR-30), those limitations continue to apply. However, if a formerly allowed use is now prohibited in the new UDO general use zoning district applied to that area, the use is no longer permitted [Sec. 1.2.3.D].
Determination of Use Types: For properties transitioning away from legacy status, "Limited" and "Special" uses are determined by the new Raleigh UDO general use district standards [Sec. 1.2.3.D].
Conflict of Regulations: In instances where UDO standards for height, setbacks, parking, or landscaping are more stringent than the conditions of a legacy or conditional zoning ordinance, the more restrictive UDO regulations shall control [Sec. 1.2.3.B].

Sections Cited