Ashland City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VII
RESIDENTIAL, MEDIUM-HIGH DISTRICT R-4
Sec 21-55 Statement Of Intent
Sec 21-56 Use Regulations
The following uses and structures shall be permitted in the Residential District R-4:
- Accessory uses as defined
- Bed and Breakfast, with a conditional use permit and in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 21-262
- Church or Place of Religious Worship
- Community Center, with a conditional use permit and as an accessory use to a Church or Place of Religious Worship
- Community Garden, over one (1) acre with a conditional use permit
- Day Care Center, with a conditional use permit and as an accessory use to a Church or Place of Religious Worship
- Day Care Center, Adult, with a conditional use permit and as an accessory use to a Church or Place of Religious Worship
- Dwelling, Accessory Apartment, with a conditional use permit and in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 21-264
- Dwelling, Cottage Court, with a conditional use permit
- Dwelling, Single-Family Attached
- Dwelling, Single-Family Detached
- Dwelling, Townhome
- Dwelling, Two-Family, with a conditional use permit
- Educational Facility, with a conditional use permit and as an accessory use to a Church or Place of Religious Worship
- Home Occupation
- Parks, over one (1) acre with a conditional use permit
- Public Facilities, with a conditional use permit
- Schools, with a conditional use permit
- Utilities, Major, with a conditional use permit
- Utilities, Minor
Adopted by Ord. 95-04 § 4 on 4/25/1995
Amended by Ord. 96-32 § 5 on 12/10/1996
Amended by Ord. 98-8 § 1 on 6/23/1998
Amended by Ord. 98-25 § 1 on 11/24/1998
Amended by Ord. 99-4 § 1 on 4/27/1999
Amended by Ord. 2001-2 § 1 on 6/12/2001
Amended by Ord. 2003-16 § A1 on 2/17/2004
Amended by Ord. 2009-08 on 10/6/2009
Amended by Ord. 2017-02 on 2/20/2018
Sec 21-57 Reserved
Sec 21-58 Area Regulations
The minimum lot area for permitted uses shall be as follows:
- Six thousand (6,000) square feet for single family detached, single family attached, or two-family dwellings.
- Townhouse developments shall be located on sites of not less than one acre.
- Cottage court shall be located on sites of not less than one (1) acre.
Sec 21-59 Reserved
Sec 21-59.1 Frontage And Width Regulations
- The minimum width of any lot at the setback shall be sixty (60) feet for single-family detached and two-family dwellings, and thirty-seven and one half (37.5) feet for single-family attached lots.
- The minimum frontage of cottage court and townhouse developments shall be one hundred and eighty (180) feet. The minimum width of individual townhouse lots shall be twenty-four (24) feet. The minimum width of individual cottage court lots shall be forty (40) feet.
Sec 21-60 Yard Regulations
- Front. The minimum front setback shall be twenty (20) feet. The maximum setback for townhome units shall be no greater than thirty-five (35) feet from the property line or new development shall bring the existing structure into greater conformity with this maximum setback.
- Side. The minimum side yards for main buildings shall be a cumulative of twenty (20) feet, with the minimum for one-side being ten (6) feet. For example, the side yards can be ten (10) feet each, or one side at six (6) feet and the other at fourteen (14) feet. For cottage court units, the minimum side setback between units shall be six (6) feet. For single-family attached lots, one of the side yards shall have a zero-lot line setback. For townhomes, the minimum setback between rows (connected units) shall be twenty (20) feet. The minimum street side yard for all buildings and structures shall be twenty (20) feet.
- Rear. The minimum rear yard for main buildings, which includes townhome or cottage court developments, shall be twenty (20) feet. The minimum rear yard setback for individual townhome and cottage court units shall be five (5) feet.
- Accessory structures. The minimum side and rear yards for accessory structures shall be five (5) feet.
See ATC chapter 21, article XXV for supplemental yard regulations. See the Design Guidelines Handbook for guidelines and examples for treatment of setbacks.
Sec 21-60.1 Structure Regulations
- Window percentage. A minimum of fifteen percent (15%) of the front facing building façade shall consist of windows. Elements to count towards the achievement of the minimum window percentage include any opening in a wall, roof, dormer, front door, or garage door which functions or appears to function to admit light to a building or structure. Glass block and vents do not meet this standard. See the Design Guidelines Handbook for guidance on window percentage calculation. On corner lots where a building has more than one street facing side, the minimum window percentage would only be required for the street facing façade with the primary entrance to the building.
- Street entrance. The primary structure shall have a minimum one (1) pedestrian street-facing entrance on the front façade. The entrance must be within eight (8) feet of the longest street-facing wall and shall:
- Face the street;
- Be at an angle of up to 45 degrees from the street; or
- Open on to a porch.
On corner lots where a building has more than one street facing side, the required entrance would only apply to one street facing façade for the primary entrance to the building.
- Garage location. If the garage is attached to the primary dwelling, then the garage door opening shall not face the primary frontage of the parcel, or if the garage is front-loading, it must be recessed from the primary façade of the main structure by a minimum of five (5) feet. For development of multiple lots (more than one), no more than fifty (50%) percent of dwellings may have a recessed front-loading, attached garage.
- Consistent materials. Exterior finish materials on the majority of the façade (greater than fifty-percent) shall be the same type on the majority (greater than fifty-percent) of all elevations of the primary structure so that the main body provides a consistent palette of materials, finishes, and colors for wall and roofing materials. See the Design Guidelines Handbook for guidelines and examples.
- Material quality. Concrete masonry units, or cinderblock, shall not be a visible exterior finish material from the public road, right-of-way, or adjacent residential property.
Where a proposal is for an alteration or addition to existing structure, these requirements will only be applied to the portion of a structure being altered or added.
Sec 21-61 Height Regulations
- Belfries, cupolas, monuments, water towers, flues, flagpoles are exempt. Television antennae and radio aerials may be erected above the building to a combined maximum height of sixty (60) feet; and
- No accessory building which is within fifteen (15) feet of any structure or party lot line shall be more than one story in height, and in no case shall any accessory building be more in height than the main structure.
Sec 21-62 Open Space And Common Areas
In every cottage court development or if there are more than eighteen (18) units in a townhome development, five percent (5%) shall be common open space designed for active or passive recreation. The recreational area may be non-contiguous, but shall be an amenity that is centrally located and designed as a public gathering space, landscaped plaza, pocket park, recreation area, or a similar use. The space shall consist of pedestrian walking paths internally and connect to homes and external pathways (e.g. public sidewalks).
Except in such developments regulated by the Virginia Condominium Act (chapter 4.2 of title 55, Code of Virginia), in the event common areas are provided which are not contained in lots or streets conveyed to individual owners, said common areas shall be maintained by and be the sole responsibility of the developer-owner of the development until such time as the developer-owner conveys such common area to a nonprofit corporate owner whose members shall be all of the individual owners in the development. Said land shall be conveyed to and held by said nonprofit corporate owner solely for recreation, parking or other common purposes of the individual owners in the development. In the event of such conveyance by the developer-owner to a nonprofit corporate owner, deed restrictions and covenants, in form and substance satisfactory to the town attorney, shall provide, among other things, that any assessments, charges and costs of the maintenance of such common areas shall constitute a pro rata lien upon the individual lots or units, inferior in lien and dignity only to taxes and bona fide duly recorded first deeds of trust on each lot or unit.
Sec 21-63 Development Size
Sec 21-64 Utilities
Sec 21-65 Landscape Plan: Landscaping, Trees, Buffers And Screening
A landscape plan shall be required and landscaping, trees, buffers and screening shall be provided in accordance with the applicable provisions of ATC article XXIII of this chapter.
Sec 21-65.1 Screening
Within townhouse or cottage court developments, all vehicle parking areas, common driveways, common areas for service, maintenance and trash collection and the facades of garages containing doors for vehicle access shall be located or arranged on the site or shall be provided with screening so as not to be readily visible from adjoining property in a residential district. This shall not apply to view from adjacent residential property across an alleyway. Where screening is provided to satisfy this requirement, it shall consist of continuous structural fences, walls or evergreen vegetative material, or combinations thereof, not less than six (6) feet in height. Earth berms may be used in conjunction with fences, walls or vegetative material to provide the required screening height. No chain link, wire mesh, barbed wire or similar fence material shall be utilized for such screening purposes.