Dimensional standards
Height & bulk
Servicing
- Geographic extent
- Citywide standards for size and dimension, yards, fences, accessoryAccessory useA secondary activity customarily incidental to the main use of the lot — a garage, a home office. structures, and setbacksSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line. from certain streets.
Extracted standards
45 individual requirements pulled out of this section’s prose, each with the sentence it came from.
Frontage
- Public street frontageFrontageThe length of a lot line that touches a public street. required
All dwelling units, except for farm dwellings and employee's quarters, shall be located on a lot with frontage on a public street or approved private accessway.
Height
- Structures excluded from heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first. limits
Barns, silos, windmills, water towers, fire and observation towers, aircraft control towers, navigational aids, chimneys, church spires, belfries, governmental monuments, elevator towers, HVAC equipment, parapet walls up to 4 feet, residential antennae up to 10 feet above structure.
- Building heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first. measurement
Building height shall be measured as the vertical distance to the highest point of the roof for flat roofs, to the deck line of mansard roofs, and to the average height between eaves and the ridge of the gable, hip and gambrel roofs measured from the average grade around the entire building.
- Maximum parapet wall heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first. above limit4 ft
Parapet walls extending no more than four feet above the maximum height limit.
- Residential antenna heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first. above structure10 ft
Residential antennae attached to the principal structure, not including satellite dish antennae, up to a maximum height of ten (10) feet above the height of the structure.
Other
- Balcony, chimney, porch, bay window projection3 ft
Balconies, chimneys, porches, and bay windows, may project up to three feet into a required yard, but no closer than five (5) feet to any lot line.
Maximum lot coverage standards shall be construed to include that portion of a lot occupied by buildings or structures which are roofed or otherwise not open to the sky, and which are greater than three (3) feet in height.
- SetbackSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line. from Dulles Greenway120 ft
Dulles Greenway Private Toll Road: 120 feet from the right-of-way line.
- Fire escape projection4.5 ft
Unenclosed stairways and fire escapes may extend up to four and one-half feet (54 inches) into a required yard but shall be no closer than five (5) feet to the property line.
- Maximum front yardYardThe open space left between a building and its lot line — the space a setback creates. fence heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first.42 in
Fences, walls and hedges not exceeding 42 inches in height may be erected in the front yard of any lot.
- Maximum front yardYardThe open space left between a building and its lot line — the space a setback creates. fence heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first. (residential decorative)6 ft
In no case shall a fence in the front yard of a residential district exceed six (6) feet in height.
- High deck setbackSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line. from property line10 ft
Uncovered decks, which are attached to the principal structure and are more than three (3) feet above grade on the lot, may extend into a required rear yard to within ten (10) feet of the property line.
- SetbackSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line. from limited access highway100 ft
No building shall be located closer than 100 feet from the right-of-way of any limited access highway.
The open space requirements for a given zoning district shall be considered as a minimum and shall be located on the same lot as the principal use of the property.
- Low deck setbackSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line. from property line5 ft
Uncovered decks, which are attached to the principal structure and are not more than three (3) feet above grade on the lot may extend into a required side or rear yard within five (5) feet of the property line for single-family detached residences.
- SetbackSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line. from major arterial road80 ft
80 feet from a major arterial road.
- Maximum accessoryAccessory useA secondary activity customarily incidental to the main use of the lot — a garage, a home office. structure area900 sqftsq ftSquare feet. An acre is 43,560 sq ft; a typical suburban lot is 7,000–10,000.
Within residential zoning districts shall not exceed 900 gross square feet in area, or no more than fifty percent (50%) of the principal structure's footprint, whichever is less.
- Maximum platform deck area200 sqftsq ftSquare feet. An acre is 43,560 sq ft; a typical suburban lot is 7,000–10,000.
Cannot exceed two hundred (200) square feet in area.
- Maximum portable accessoryAccessory useA secondary activity customarily incidental to the main use of the lot — a garage, a home office. structure area50 sqftsq ftSquare feet. An acre is 43,560 sq ft; a typical suburban lot is 7,000–10,000.
Are less than fifty (50) square feet in area.
No new buildings shall be permitted to be erected which, either individually or in combination with other buildings, exceed the maximum floor area ratio (FAR) for the lot upon which such buildings are to be located.
- Maximum accessoryAccessory useA secondary activity customarily incidental to the main use of the lot — a garage, a home office. structure heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first. (residential)20 ft
Within residential zoning districts shall not exceed twenty feet (20') in height.
- Maximum portable accessoryAccessory useA secondary activity customarily incidental to the main use of the lot — a garage, a home office. structure heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first.12 ft
Shall not exceed twelve feet (12') in height.
- Maximum platform deck heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first.10 in
An at grade platform deck not exceeding ten (10) inches in height.
- Maximum HVAC projection into required yardYardThe open space left between a building and its lot line — the space a setback creates.3 ft
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment and similar mechanical equipment may not project more than three (3) feet into any required side or rear yard but no closer than five (5) feet to any lot line.
- Minimum separation from adjacent structure5 ft
Are located no closer than five feet (5') to any structure on an adjacent lot.
- Minimum separation from principal structure10 ft
Are separated from the principal structure by a minimum of ten feet (10') in the case of residential sheds, separation from the principal structure shall be a minimum of five feet (5').
- Minimum accessoryAccessory useA secondary activity customarily incidental to the main use of the lot — a garage, a home office. structure setbackSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line. from side/rear property line2 ft
Are located a minimum of two feet (2') from a side or rear property line.
- SetbackSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line. from minor arterial road50 ft
50 feet from a minor arterial road.
- Increased setbackSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line. adjacent to residential districts
In nonresidential districts the front, side and rear yard minimum setback shall be increased to be equal to the height of the building where the building height exceeds the required minimum yard setback adjacent to residential districts only.
- Maximum fence heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first. (nonresidential)8 ft
Fences in nonresidential districts, when located inside or rear yards shall be limited to eight (8) feet in height.
- Maximum satellite dish diameter (nonresidential)2 m
Satellite dish antennae with a diameter of up to two meters shall be allowed within all nonresidential zoning districts.
- Architectural overhang projection3 ft
Cornices, awnings, eaves, gutters or other similar structural overhangs at least eight (8) feet above grade may extend up to three feet into any required yard.
- Patio setbackSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line. from property line2 ft
A patio, with or without steps and landings, adjoining the principal structure may extend into a required side or rear yard within two (2) feet of the property line for all residential uses subject to buffer guidelines.
- Minimum pool fence heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first.4 ft
Enclosed by a fence with a minimum height of four (4) feet.
- Swimming pool setbackSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line. from property line6 ft
A private swimming pool, not exceeding three (3) feet above grade, is permitted in a required minimum side or rear yard to within six (6) feet of a property line.
- Maximum satellite dish diameter (residential)1 m
Satellite dish antennae with a diameter of up to one meter shall be allowed within all residential zoning districts.
- SetbackSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line. from Route 15 south of bypass100 ft
Route 15, South of the Route 7/15 Bypass: 100 feet from the right-of-way line.
- SetbackSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line. from Route 7 east of bypass100 ft
Route 7, East of the Route 7/15 Bypass: 100 feet from the right-of-way line.
- Platform deck setbackSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line. from property line2 ft
May extend into a required side or rear yard within two (2) feet of the property line.
- Portable accessoryAccessory useA secondary activity customarily incidental to the main use of the lot — a garage, a home office. structure setbackSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line. from side/rear property line5 ft
Are located a minimum of five feet (5') from a side or rear property line.
- Maximum side/rear yardYardThe open space left between a building and its lot line — the space a setback creates. fence heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first. (residential)7 ft
Fences in residential districts shall be limited to a maximum height of seven (7) feet when located in a side or rear yard; except when abutting a nonresidential district or use, in which case such fences may be eight (8) feet in height.
- Steps and landings projection3 ft
Steps and landings, which are attached to a single-family detached dwelling's uncovered deck, may project up to three feet into a required yard, but no closer than five feet (5) to any lot line.
- SetbackSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line. from through collector road35 ft
35 feet from the right-of-way of a through collector road.
- SetbackSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line. from West Market Street100 ft
West Market Street, north side only, between Ayr Street and the western corporate limits: 100 feet from the centerline of the right-of-way.
- Window air conditioning unit projection18 in
Window air conditioning units may not project more than eighteen (18) inches into a required yard.
From the ordinance
The following uses and structures shall be permitted to be located within required yards, subject to the limitations established herein.