Dimensional standards
Extracted standards
21 individual requirements pulled out of this section’s prose, each with the sentence it came from.
Accessory structures
- AccessoryAccessory useA secondary activity customarily incidental to the main use of the lot — a garage, a home office. building 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.0.33 ratio
An accessory building's gross floor area shall not exceed one-third of the principal building's gross floor area.
- AccessoryAccessory useA secondary activity customarily incidental to the main use of the lot — a garage, a home office. building heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first. relative to principal
An accessory building shall not exceed the height of the principal building.
Other
- Abandonment presumption period12 months
When the use of a property has ceased and the property has been vacant for 12 months, abandonment of use will be presumed
An accessory dwelling shall be considered an accessory use.
- Floor area multiplier for 15ft ceilings2 multiplier
Floor area with a ceiling height 15 feet or greater shall be counted twice.
- Floor area multiplier for 25ft ceilings3 multiplier
Floor area with a ceiling height 25 feet or greater shall be counted three times.
- Accessory useAccessory useA secondary activity customarily incidental to the main use of the lot — a garage, a home office. 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.0.33 ratio
An accessory use generally occupies less than one-third of the gross floor area of the principal use
- Maximum accessoryAccessory useA secondary activity customarily incidental to the main use of the lot — a garage, a home office. dwelling floor area exclusion65 sqftsq ftSquare feet. An acre is 43,560 sq ft; a typical suburban lot is 7,000–10,000.
The total floor area excluded pursuant to section 2-145(B)(12) and this subsection shall not exceed 65 square feet.
- Maximum architectural feature projection30 in
Architectural features up to a maximum projection of 30 inches extending beyond an exterior face of a building wall or column.
- Maximum balcony depth exclusion8 ft
Space under open balconies and similar structures projecting from a floor above the first floor up to a maximum depth of eight feet.
- Maximum lavatory floor area exclusion percentage10 pct
The maximum total of excludable area for lavatories shall be no greater than ten percent of gross floor area.
- Maximum lavatory floor area exclusion50 sqftsq ftSquare feet. An acre is 43,560 sq ft; a typical suburban lot is 7,000–10,000.
Lavatories of which only a maximum of 50 square feet of each lavatory can be excluded.
- Maximum loading space floor area exclusion850 sqftsq ftSquare feet. An acre is 43,560 sq ft; a typical suburban lot is 7,000–10,000.
Loading spaces of which only a maximum of 850 square feet for each required loading space per section 8-200(B)(2) can be excluded.
- Maximum porch depth exclusion8 ft
Porticos and portions of porches, including wrap-around porches, up to eight feet in depth located on the first or ground floor without second-story enclosed construction above the portico or porch.
- Maximum porch railing heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first.3.5 ft
Railings shall be permitted no higher than three-and-one-half feet or the minimum height required by the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC), whichever is higher.
- Maximum portico length9 ft
is not more than nine feet in length
- Maximum portico projection6 ft
does not project more than six feet from a building wall
- Minimum ceiling heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first. for floor area exclusion7 ft
Areas with a ceiling height of less than seven feet, except in an above grade parking garage constructed after March 17, 2018.
- Minimum open fence open percentage50 pct
A fence which is at least 50 percent open, as measured by the ratio of open area to total area of the fence.
- Minimum open spaceOpen spaceLand a development must leave unbuilt, sometimes required to be usable or planted. dimension15 ft
Not less than 15 feet in its least dimension.
- Minimum porch railing open percentage50 pct
Balusters shall be spaced so as to leave at least 50 percent of the perimeter length of the railings open.
From the ordinance
Dwelling, accessory. A building or portion thereof containing one dwelling unit that is subordinate to a principal residential use. An accessory dwelling shall be considered an accessory use.