On Sample Road, where it meets University Drive, the four corners of Coral Springs have spent years rehearsing for a different kind of downtown. Strip centers, medical offices and garden apartments line the blocks just west and south of that intersection, a familiar suburban Broward pattern of parking lots first and storefronts second. On Sept. 2, 2026, the City Commission adopted the rules that let that pattern change, rezoning about 58.31 acres inside the city's Community Redevelopment Area to Downtown Mixed-Use, the district the city calls DT-MU.
The rezoning is Ordinance 2026-113, filed as case ZR26-0001, and it traveled with a companion, Ordinance 2026-112, which rewrote parts of the DT-MU chapter of the city's Land Development Code. The city's official notice of public hearings for both ordinances describes the land as sitting within the Community Redevelopment Area and Local Activity Center, west of Coral Hills Drive and south of NW 31st Court, and lists the zoning it replaced: Community Business (B-2), Medium Density Multiple Family (RM-20) and Medical Center (MC).
For anyone who owns a building, a lease or a business in that footprint, the practical question is simple. What can you now build, expand or open, and what has to change? The short answer is that nothing has to change right away, and a good deal more is allowed than before.
What the Commission Adopted on Sept. 2
The city clerk's legal notice set the schedule. The commission held public hearings at City Hall, 9500 West Sample Road, on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026, at 6:30 p.m., and scheduled both ordinances for enactment on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. The Municode library for the Coral Springs Land Development Code now lists Ordinance 2026-112 among adopted ordinances not yet codified, with an adoption date of Sept. 2, 2026.
The commission's meeting summaries show both ordinances passed 4 to 0 on Sept. 2 and 3 to 0 on first reading Aug. 19, with one commissioner absent. Coral Springs Daily reported that the Planning and Zoning Board had recommended the rezoning by a 4 to 1 vote in June. Coral Springs Daily also put the size of the change at roughly 210 parcels.
The petitioner was the city itself, not a private developer. That matters for owners. A city initiated rezoning of this kind means an individual property owner inside the boundary does not have to file and win a rezoning case of their own before pursuing a mixed-use project. The new district designation is already on the land.
Where the 58.31 Acres Sit
The legal description in the notice is the controlling one: approximately 58.31 acres, plus or minus, west of Coral Hills Drive and south of NW 31st Court, within the Community Redevelopment Area and Local Activity Center. According to Coral Springs Daily, the DT-MU designation was already in use at the four corners of Sample Road and University Drive, which the city has treated as the core of its downtown plan. The new acreage extends those same rules to surrounding blocks.
Owners who are unsure whether a specific parcel is inside the boundary should not rely on a street address alone. The notice says the ordinance documents may be viewed in their entirety at the Office of the City Clerk during regular business hours. The clerk's office phone listed on the notice is 954-344-1065.
What Owners Can Now Build and Open
The DT-MU chapter of the Land Development Code is a broader menu than the three districts it replaced. Its published list of permitted uses includes multifamily residential units with a 500 square foot minimum, live/work units, retail stores conducted within a building, including pop-up temporary stores, grocery stores, and professional, business and medical or dental offices. It also allows banks with drive-through facilities fully integrated into the building, restaurants and lounges without pickup windows or drive-throughs, hotels, nightclubs, bars and taverns, indoor recreation such as theaters, dance studios and health clubs, and institutions such as libraries, museums and art galleries.
For a parcel that was zoned Medical Center or Medium Density Multiple Family, that is a substantial shift. A building that could once hold a narrow band of uses now sits in a district designed for apartments over shops, offices beside restaurants and hotels within walking distance of both.
Ordinance 2026-112 added to that list. Coral Springs Daily reported that the updated rules expand permitted uses to include small scale manufacturing, research and development businesses, and craft beverage makers. For a brewer, a coffee roaster, a hardware startup or a lab tenant, that opens a downtown address that the old commercial and medical zoning did not offer in the same way.
How Tall a Building Can Go
Height is where owners will want to read the ordinance closely rather than rely on a summary. According to Coral Springs Daily, Ordinance 2026-112 created a new building type allowing structures of up to eight stories, or 100 feet, near shared parking areas on Sample Road and University Drive. The outlet reported that city documents described the new building type as a way to stay consistent with a state law that limits cities from adopting stricter zoning in certain circumstances.
The DT-MU code also assigns different building types to different parts of the district, and limits near single family neighborhoods are lower than in the core. An owner with a parcel that backs onto homes should expect a tighter envelope than an owner fronting Sample Road. The exact table belongs in front of a land use attorney or architect before anyone prices a project.
What Happens If You Do Nothing
The most important point for current owners is the reassuring one. According to Coral Springs Daily's account of the ordinance, the change does not require owners to immediately alter their buildings or the way their properties are used. The updated zoning requirements generally come into play when an owner expands a building by more than 20 percent or removes an existing structure and rebuilds.
In plain terms, a dentist who keeps practicing in the same suite, a landlord who renews a retail lease or a restaurant that repaints its dining room is not pushed into the new design rules. The trigger is a significant expansion or a teardown. That threshold is the number to keep on a sticky note: more than 20 percent.
Any new project still runs through site plan review under the updated code. A rezoning does not replace building permits, fire review or the other approvals that apply to every project in the city.
Street Life Rules That Affect Tenants
Several of the changes in Ordinance 2026-112 aim at the daily mechanics of an urban block rather than skyline height. Coral Springs Daily reported that the amendments address ride share pickup locations, guest parking and alleys that connect properties to shared parking areas.
The same outlet reported that the updated rules allow outdoor seating along Sample Road and NW 33rd Street. For a restaurant, cafe or bar tenant, sidewalk seating can be the difference between a quiet lunch and a full one, and it is worth asking a landlord early whether a storefront can accommodate it.
The shared parking and alley language also matters to landlords. A property that can connect to a shared garage or lot through a rear alley may be able to devote more of its own land to building area and less to surface parking, which changes the math on what a site can hold.
A Checklist Before You Expand or Open
Owners and tenants weighing a move inside the new district can work through a short list before spending money on design.
First, confirm the parcel. Ask the City Clerk's office for the map exhibit attached to Ordinance 2026-113, or review it at City Hall, and confirm that the property falls inside the 58.31 acres.
Second, confirm the use. Compare the planned business against the DT-MU permitted use list and the additions in Ordinance 2026-112. Restaurants without drive-throughs, offices, retail, craft beverage production and small scale manufacturing all appear in the published summaries, but conditions can apply to specific uses.
Third, measure the change. If the plan expands an existing building, calculate whether the addition exceeds 20 percent. That figure decides whether the new DT-MU standards apply to the project.
Fourth, check the building type. Height, setbacks and frontage rules vary by location within the district. A parcel near single family zoning faces different limits than one near shared parking on Sample Road or University Drive.
Fifth, line up incentives. The city runs its own Coral Springs Economic Development Incentive program, and Community Redevelopment Area grants elsewhere in the county are covered in the Broward CRA grants roundup. Eligibility rules differ, so read each program's terms before counting on the money.
What It Means for Landlords and Buyers
For commercial property owners, a rezoning that broadens permitted uses usually widens the pool of potential tenants. A building that could only lease to medical users, or a garden apartment parcel that could only hold more apartments, can now be marketed to a wider mix of retail, office, hospitality and residential users within the DT-MU rules.
Buyers looking at parcels inside the boundary should price the property under the new code, not the old one, and should ask sellers whether any site plan work has already started. Lenders and appraisers will also want to see the adopted ordinances, so owners refinancing in the next year should keep copies of both on file.
Tenants with long leases should read their use clauses. A lease written for a medical office may not permit a restaurant or a brewery even if the zoning now does. Zoning sets what the city allows. The lease sets what the landlord allows.
The Planning and Zoning Board, the City Commission and city staff spent much of 2026 moving the change through hearings, and the result is a single set of rules across a larger downtown footprint. For owners inside those 58.31 acres, the next move belongs to them.
Sources
City of Coral Springs, Notice of Public Hearings, City Commission Regular Meeting, Aug. 19, 2026, covering Ordinance 2026-112 and Ordinance 2026-113 (ZR26-0001).
Municode Library, Coral Springs Land Development Code, adopted ordinances not yet codified, Ordinance No. 2026-112, adopted Sept. 2, 2026.
Coral Springs Daily, Coral Springs Commission approves rezoning of 58 acres to complete the city's downtown mixed-use district, Sept. 9, 2026, citing city documents.
City of Coral Springs, City Commission meeting agendas and summaries
Related
Coral Springs Economic Development Incentive Program 2026
Key Facts for Owners and Search
What did Coral Springs rezone on Sept. 2, 2026?
The City Commission adopted Ordinance 2026-113, rezoning about 58.31 acres inside the Community Redevelopment Area and Local Activity Center to Downtown Mixed-Use, or DT-MU. The land sits west of Coral Hills Drive and south of NW 31st Court. It was previously zoned Community Business, Medium Density Multiple Family and Medical Center under the city code.
Do current owners have to change their buildings?
No immediate change is required, according to Coral Springs Daily's account of the ordinance. Existing buildings and uses can generally continue as they are. The updated DT-MU requirements usually apply when an owner expands a building by more than 20 percent or removes a structure and rebuilds, and new projects still need site plan approval.
What businesses can open in the DT-MU district?
The DT-MU code permits multifamily homes, live/work units, retail stores, grocery stores, offices, medical and dental clinics, restaurants without drive-throughs, bars, hotels and indoor recreation. Coral Springs Daily reported that Ordinance 2026-112 added small scale manufacturing, research and development businesses and craft beverage makers. Owners should confirm use conditions with city planning staff.
How tall can new buildings be in downtown Coral Springs?
Coral Springs Daily reported that Ordinance 2026-112 created a building type allowing up to eight stories, or 100 feet, near shared parking areas on Sample Road and University Drive. Limits near single family neighborhoods are lower, so owners should check the building type table for their exact location before paying for any design work.
Where can owners read the full ordinances?
The city's legal notice says the complete documents may be viewed at the Office of the City Clerk, City Hall, 9500 West Sample Road, during regular business hours. The clerk's office phone is 954-344-1065. Ordinance 2026-112 is also listed in the Municode library for the Land Development Code as adopted Sept. 2, 2026.
