zoneoptics
Alexandria, Virginia · General provision

Article III, Sections 3-901 to 3-908

Multi FamilyAll Alexandria districts0

Dimensional standards

lot requirementsSTREETRear 8 ftSide 16 ftMin width 50 ftMIN FRONTAGE50 ftMAX HEIGHT150 ftMAX FAR1.25MAX DENSITY54.45 du/acMIN OPEN SPACE35%
Plan view of the district’s stated lot requirements. Solid line: the property line. Dashed: the setback lines the ordinance imposes; a building must stay inside the tinted envelope. Drawn from the figures extracted below — illustrative, not a survey.

Lot

Minimum lot widthLot widthHow wide a lot must be, usually measured at the front setback line.
50 ft
Minimum frontageFrontageThe length of a lot line that touches a public street.
50 ft

Density

Maximum density
54.45 du/acredu/acreDwelling units per acre — the number of homes allowed on each acre of land.
Lot area per dwelling unitLot area per dwelling unitLand required for each home — the same limit as du/acre, expressed per unit instead of per acre.
1,600 sq ftsq ftSquare feet. An acre is 43,560 sq ft; a typical suburban lot is 7,000–10,000.

SetbacksSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line.

RearSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line.
8 ft
SideSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line.
16 ft

Height & bulk

Maximum heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first.
150 ft
Maximum floor area ratioFloor area ratio (FAR)Total floor area divided by lot area — an FAR of 2.0 permits 20,000 sq ft of floor on a 10,000 sq ft lot.
1.25
Minimum open spaceOpen spaceLand a development must leave unbuilt, sometimes required to be usable or planted.
35%

Servicing

Applies near
Washington Street (George Washington Memorial Parkway)
Geographic extent
Properties within the RC zone located south of the Capital Beltway and abutting Washington Street (George Washington Memorial Parkway) must be set back from Washington Street by 80 feet from the front property line or 140 feet from the centerline of Washington Street, whichever is closer to the centerline of Washington Street.

Uses

Permitted by right10

Conditional / special use14

Prohibited1

From the ordinance

The RC zone is established to provide and maintain land areas for high density apartment buildings and to permit limited commercial uses in such structures.
Article III, Sections 3-901 to 3-908