DIVISION 6. SITE DESIGN STANDARDS

Sec. 24.1-261.   Public service facility standards.

(a) Refuse and recyclables collection. Dumpsters, or an alternate method of collection for recyclables and for nonrecyclable refuse approved by the zoning administrator, shall be required for mobile home parks and for multi-family, commercial and industrial developments. The following standards shall apply:

     (1)  Dumpsters or other approved collection receptacles shall be located on a site so that service vehicles will have convenient and unobstructed access to them. The location shall be such that encroachment by service vehicles upon bicycle and pedestrian ways, parking spaces, or vehicular circulation drives will be minimized. Dumpsters shall not be located closer than fifty feet (50') to any residential structure.

      (2)  Dumpsters or other approved collection receptacles shall be screened from both on-site and off-site views by wooden or masonry fencing, supplemented by landscaping. Building walls may serve as part of the required screening. The enclosure shall be gated or otherwise configured to ensure that the dumpster is not visible from any adjoining public rights-of-way, adjoining properties or from any areas on the site which are normally accessible by residents, customers, or the general public.

    (3)  Where dumpsters are to be utilized, dumpster pads, constructed in accordance with all applicable health department standards for construction and drainage, shall be provided.

(b) Emergency services. The following design standards are intended to ensure that emergency services can be delivered effectively and efficiently should the need arise:

     (1)  All buildings, and all portions thereof, on a site shall be readily accessible to emergency vehicles and apparatus. Where two or more principal buildings are proposed on the same parcel, the distance between any two such buildings shall be sufficient to ensure convenient emergency access and to comply with all applicable fire separation standards prescribed by the Uniform Virginia Statewide Building Code. Circulation routes, driveways, parking lot aisles and other vehicular circulation areas shall be designed and arranged so as to provide for convenient access and operation of emergency services apparatus. Permanent obstruction or closing of existing access routes shall require specific approval of the fire chief prior to being authorized.

     (2)  An adequate water supply for firefighting must be ensured through compliance with the provisions of the county’s water construction standards.

(Ord. No. 06-19(R), 7/18/06)