19700317 1970-4ORDINANCE NO. 1970
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING AND RE-ENACTING THE
R-T ZONING CATEGORY PRESCRIBED IN SECTION
11 OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF
FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA
BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Fairfax, Virginia,
that the R-T Zoning Category of Section 11 of the Zoning Ordinance of the
City of Fairfax, Virginia, be amended and re-enacted to read in its entirety
as follows:
"R-T ~ Town House Zone
A. The following uses are permitted by right:
1. Single-family detached dwellings subject to R-3 regulations;
2. Town house dwelling units..
B. The following uses are permitted subject to securing of a Special Use
Permit, as provided in Section 5:
1. Schools of general instruction;
2. Nursery schools;
3. Swimming pools;
4. Customary home occupations.
C. Area, setback, height and density:
1. Area:
a. Project: there shall be a minimum of two (2) acres for each
town house project;
b. Lot: there shall be a minimum lot area of sixteen hundred
(1600) square feet with an average lot area of eighteen hundred
(1800) square feet.
2. Setbacks:
a. Front: there shall be a minimum front yard setback of ten (10)
feet with at least twenty (20) percent of the units in any series
having a twenty (20) foot minimum setback. No more than two (2)
abutting town houses shall have the same front yard setback.
Abutting series of town houses shall have at least a building
line setback variation of two (2) feet;
b. Side: none, except side yard setback on corner lots shall be a
minimum of twenty (20) feet;
c. Rear: every dwelling unit shall have a rear yard depth of not
less than twenty (20) feet.
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Height: building height shall not exceed three (3) stories measured
on any external wall; any basement that has any wall two (2) feet
above ground shall be counted as a story.
Density: the density shall not exceed nine (9) town house dwelling
units per acre.
Dwelling Unit Requirements:
a. Building width: every town house shall have a minimum width of
at least eighteen (18) feet and every town house except end units
shall cover the entire width of the lot upon which it is situated.
b. Coverage and floor area:
1. Every town house dwelling unit shall have a minimum ground
coverage area of not less than six hundred eighty (680)
square feet;
2. Every town house shall have a minimum of nineteen hundred
(1900) square feet of gross floor area, excluding the attic.
Lot development and open space:
a. No town house shall be constructed so as to provide direct
vehicular ingress or egress to a collector street, a thoroughfare
or an arterial highway as described in the Comprehensive Develop-
ment Plan for the City.
b. There shall be required nine hundred (900) square feet of open
space per dwelling unit in any town house project. Any area
designated as open space shall not be smaller in area than eight
hundred (800) square feet, except that ten (10) percent of the
required open space area may be exempt from the eight hundred (800)
square foot open space area requirement.
c. The developer of a town house project may reduce the open space
required provided that such area is made a part of a lot, and
provided further that the area required for open space is not used
in computing the required lot area or'lot average.
d. There shall be no more than nine (9) town houses attached in any
one series, and there shall be a distance equal to one-half (1/2)
the average height of the end units between any two (2) series.
e. Visual sight distance at intersections: on any corner lot in an
R-T zone there shall be no planting, structure, retaining wall,
fence, shrubbery or other visual obstacle higher than a height of
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three (3) feet six (6) inches above the street level within the
imaginary prism formed at said corner by the intersecting right-
of-way lines and a line connecting two (2) points, each forty-
five (45) feet from their intersection with a height as stated
above measured along said right-of-way lines. (See Figure 1)
FIGURE 1
In no case shall the front yard of an end unit (B in Figure 2)
which is adjacent to or visible from the rear yard (A in Figure 2)
of any other town house be greater than that shown in Figure 2.
FIGURE 2
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g. All areas to be used for vehicular circulation anywhere in a
town house project or development shall be constructed in accord-
ance with the minor street standards as set forth in Articles
Seven and Eight of the Subdivision Ordinance of the City of
Fairfax.
Site Plan Approval:
1. A developer shall submit to the Planning Commission a site plan in
accordance with Section 3.173-3.180 inclusive, of this ordinance,
which site plan shall be finally approved by the Planning Commission
prior to the issuance of a building permit.
2. The Planning Commission shall approve the site plan if it finds:
a. That all requirements of the subdivision and zoning ordinances
of the City of Fairfax, Virginia, have been complied with; and
b. That the following additional specific requirements have been
complied with in a manner which (1) will not be detrimental to
the public welfare or injurious to property or improvements in
the neighborhood; (2) will be in accord with the provisions of
this ordinance and the Comprehensive Plan of the City of Fairfax,
Virginia; (3) is warranted by topographic conditions of the site;
and (4) will provide a more harmonious living environment within
the development:
(1) The developer shall provide adequate and safe vehicular
and pedestrian circulation within the town house project and
between the town house project and adjacent areas;
(2) The developer shall provide screening in accordance with
Section 3.174 between the town house project and adjacent
residential areas unless modification or elimination of such
screening is warranted by topographic or other unusual
conditions;
(3) The developer shall provide a visual barrier between each two
series or eighteen units built facing any street or internal
circulation area unless modification or elimination of such
visual barrier is warranted by topographic or other conditions;
(4) The developer shall demonstrate that adequate water supply,
fire protection and sanitary sewer facilities are available
to the project;
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(5) The developer shall provide curbs, gutters, storm drainage
structures, sidewalks, entrances and exits in accordance with
applicable established design criteria, construction
standards and specifications;
(6) The developer shall present evidence of proposed covenants,
restrictions and details of maintenance responsibility of
common areas and green space to show that liability for
maintenance of such areas shall attach to property owners
within the development, and that the same may be enforced
by liens against the property owners in favor of the City
of Fairfax or its assignee.
3. The applicant may be required to re-submit to the Planning Commission
a final site plan incorporating all Planning Commission changes and
requirements prior to the issuance of a building permit.
The applicant shall submit to the Planning Commission a plat and deed of
subdivision in accordance with the Subdivision Ordinance of the City of
Fairfax, Virginia, and said subdivision shall be approved by the Planning
Commission and recorded among the land records before issuance of a
building permit.
Parking Requirements as provided in Section 6.
General regulations and provisions as provided in Section 3.
Any town house constructed in-accordance with an approved site plan or
building permit issued before the effective date of this ordinance shall be
considered a conforming use as long as it complies with the R-T zoning
category prescribed in Section ll of the Zoning Ordinance of the City of
Fairfax in force immediately prior to the effective date of this ordinance.
This ordinance shall take effect on May l, 1970.
Passed:
March 17, 1970
Mayor
Attest:
~ity Clerk
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