zoneoptics
Alexandria, Virginia · District

R-5

R-5 Zone
ResidentialSingle FamilyAll Alexandria districts0

Dimensional standards

R-5 lot requirementsSTREETbuildable areaFront 20 ftRear 7 ftSide 7 ftMin width 50 ftMIN LOT AREA5,000 sq ftMIN FRONTAGE40 ftMAX HEIGHT30 ftMAX FAR0.45
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 areaMinimum lot areaThe smallest parcel on which the district allows anything to be built.
5,000 sq ftsq ftSquare feet. An acre is 43,560 sq ft; a typical suburban lot is 7,000–10,000.
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.
40 ft

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

FrontSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line.
20 ft
RearSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line.
7 ft
SideSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line.
7 ft

Height & bulk

Maximum heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first.
30 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.
0.45

Uses

Permitted by right10

Conditional / special use6

Accessory1

Prohibited1

From the ordinance

The R-5 zone is established to provide and maintain land areas for low density residential neighborhoods of single-unit, two-unit, and multi-unit up to four units dwellings on 5,000 square foot lots.
Article III, Sections 3-401 to 3-406