Poquoson City Zoning Code

The provisions of this article shall apply in the residential district R-3 and, as used in this article, the words "this district" shall mean the residential district R-3.

(Ord. No. 1512, § 1, 12-8-2014)

In this district, any building to be erected or land to be used shall be restricted to one of the following uses:

(1)

Two-family dwellings.

(2)

Multi-family dwellings.

(3)

Townhouse dwellings.

(4)

Public and semipublic uses, such as schools, hospitals, (see section 1-7), churches, playgrounds and parks.

(5)

Accessory buildings; however, garages or other accessory structures, such as carports, porches and stoops, attached to the main building shall be considered part of the main building. No accessory building may be closer than ten feet to any property line.

(6)

Public utilities: Poles, lines, distribution transformers, pipes, meters and other facilities necessary for the provision and maintenance of public utilities, including water and sewage facilities. Electrical transmission lines higher than 40 feet and substations shall be permitted only with approval of the city council.

(Ord. No. 1512, § 1, 12-8-2014; Ord. No. 1796, § 1, 11-12-2024)

Signs shall meet the applicable regulations in the sign ordinance (appendix D).

(Ord. No. 1512, § 1, 12-8-2014; Ord. No. 1796, § 1, 11-12-2024)

(a)

In cases of townhome and multifamily dwellings, the amount of lot covered by buildings shall not exceed 25 percent of the total lot area, exclusive of off-street parking, easements and driveways, and the density shall not exceed 12 units per gross acre contained within the entire subdivision.

(b)

For residential townhome dwellings there shall be no minimum lot or area requirements.

(c)

No single townhouse structure shall contain more than ten dwelling units.

(d)

The minimum number of off-street parking spaces shall be two spaces per townhouse dwelling unit plus one visitor's space for every five dwelling units; and two spaces per apartment or condominium dwelling unit plus one visitor's space for each five dwelling units. Other residential uses shall provide one and one-half spaces per residential unit. Spaces in attached garages shall not be counted towards the required minimum number of parking spaces for each dwelling. Parking shall be designed to meet all requirements of section 1-08 of the site plan ordinance.

(Ord. No. 1512, § 1, 12-8-2014)

(a)

Front. All buildings in this district, excluding townhome and two-family dwellings, shall be located 35 feet or more from any street right-of-way. In the case of double frontage lots, the setback shall apply to both streets.

(b)

Side. Multi-family dwellings that cannot be categorized as townhomes or two-family dwellings must maintain a separation of at least 20 feet from any other building located within the district and/or 20 feet from any side property line. Also, no accessory building shall be located closer than ten feet to any property line.

(c)

Rear. Each main building in this district shall have a rear setback of 30 feet or more.

(Ord. No. 1512, § 1, 12-8-2014)

(a)

Front. Townhome buildings in this district shall be located from any street or right-of-way in accordance with the following provisions:

(1)

Buildings with a front loading garage or front located driveway shall maintain a 20 foot distance from any street or right-of-way.

(2)

Buildings with no front garage, no front located driveway or those with a rear loading garage shall maintain a ten-foot distance from any street or right-of-way.

(b)

Side. The end units of each entire townhome building structure shall have a minimum setback of ten feet or more, and the total width of such two side setbacks shall be 20 feet or more. Also, no accessory building shall be located closer than ten feet to any property line.

(1)

Buildings with a side loading garage or side located driveway shall maintain a 20-foot distance from any street or right-of-way and the total width of such two side setbacks shall be 40 feet or more.

(c)

Rear. Townhome buildings in this district shall maintain a rear yard in accordance with the provisions:

(1)

Buildings with no garage or driveway or those with a front loading garage shall maintain a rear yard of ten feet when adjacent to the R-3 residential district. Buildings adjacent to any other district within the city or adjacent to a non-townhome or two-family development within the R-3 residential district shall maintain a rear yard of 20 feet.

(2)

Buildings with rear loading garage or rear located driveway shall maintain a rear yard of 20 feet.

(d)

Green area. Front and rear yard areas, opposite of building's driveway or garage, shall consist of green area and be perpetually maintained as such.

(e)

Open space and recreation area requirements.

(1)

In addition to green areas required for front and rear yard areas, a minimum of 20 percent of the gross land area must be devoted to open space. Land designated as a resource protection area buffer of 100 feet on either side of a resource protection area feature may be used to achieve open space calculation.

(2)

Unless specifically exempted by the zoning administrator, open areas shall be provided in accordance with the following standards and such others as the zoning administrator deems appropriate:

a.

The reserved open space area shall include a portion suitable to accommodate a combination of active and passive recreational activities appropriate for the residents of the development, as determined by the zoning administrator.

b.

Recreation areas shall be easily and safely accessible by pedestrians and bicyclists from all areas of the development to be served, shall have good ingress and egress, including separate pedestrian and bicycle accommodations, and shall have adequate access to a private or public street; however, no street shall traverse the recreation area.

c.

The reserved open space area shall be located so that essential utilities including water, public sewage, and power will be easily accessible to serve planned and potential future recreational facilities.

(Ord. No. 1512, § 1, 12-8-2014; Ord. No. 1796, § 1, 11-12-2024)

(a)

In this district, buildings may be erected up to 35 feet in height except that a public or semipublic building, such as a school, church, library or hospital, may be erected to a height of 60 feet from grade, provided that required front, side and rear setbacks shall be increased one foot for each foot in height over 35 feet.

(b)

Church spires, belfries, cupolas, monuments, water towers, chimneys, flues, flagpoles and television and radio antennae are exempt from this section. Parapet walls may be up to four feet above the height of the building on which the walls rest.

(c)

No accessory building which is within 15 feet of any property line shall be more than one story high.

(Ord. No. 1512, § 1, 12-8-2014)

For purposes of safety of travel, there shall be no structures, fences, shrubbery or other obstructions to vision more than three feet above the curb level of streets within the area enclosed by the property lines of corner lots and a line joining points at a radius of 25 feet from their intersections.

(Ord. No. 1512, § 1, 12-8-2014; Ord. No. 1796, § 1, 11-12-2024)

The parking of any commercial vehicle in this district is prohibited, except that a commercial vehicle of not more than 2½ tons capacity may be parked in an enclosed garage. A commercial vehicle of one ton capacity (not to exceed [the] manufacturer's gross weight rating of 10,000 pounds) or less may be parked to the rear of the rear line of the main building.

(Ord. No. 1796, § 1, 11-12-2024)