County Code Section 24.1

ARTICLE III. DISTRICTS

DIVISION 6. PLANNED DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS

Sec. 24.1-361. PDR-Planned development - residential district.

(a) Statement of intent. The PD - Residential district is established to encourage innovative and creative design and to facilitate use of the most advantageous construction techniques in the development of land for a variety of compatible land uses. Specifically, the district is intended to:

          (1) ensure ample provision and efficient use of open space;

          (2) promote high standards in the layout, design and construction of development;

          (3) promote development of superior projects or communities; and

          (4) achieve a mixture of uses and types of uses when appropriate.

In addition, in accordance with the objective of the board to promote and encourage a more moderately-priced single-family detached housing product within the county, the planned development - residential district is intended to provide opportunities, through application of the affordable housing incentive provisions set forth herein, for the consideration of project proposals having a a less extensive open space, recreation space, and amenities package, but which offer cost-containment measures which may not be otherwise available.

(b) Application of district designation. A PDR district may be located within any of the areas of the county designated for residential uses by the comprehensive plan subject to establishment in accordance with the procedures set forth in this section. In addition, PDR applications proposing senior housing, exclusively, may be considered in areas designated for commercial uses by the comprehensive plan.

(c) Permitted land uses. The land uses within any planned development shall be substantially in accordance with the land use designation in the comprehensive plan. Subject to specific authorization by the board, the following land uses shall be permitted:

          (1) Dwellings: single-family detached, attached, or multi-family including mixtures thereof.

         (2) Senior Housing, as defined in this chapter (i.e., Independent Living, Congregate Care, Assisted Living, or Continuing Care Retirement Communities) and in accordance with the performance standards established in Section 24.1-411 unless specifically modified by the board at the time of approval of the proposed development.

         (3) Public and semi-public uses such as churches, schools, offices, libraries, fire stations, parks, playgrounds, golf courses, swimming pools, tennis courts, recreational marinas, community centers, and similar types of uses.

        (4) Commercial and retail uses which are designed, located and scaled in proportion to the overall size of the planned development and located so as to be internally-oriented. Unless otherwise authorized by the board of supervisors at the time of PDR approval, commercial uses shall be limited to those allowed either as a matter of right or by special use permit in the NB and LB zoning districts. Any use indicated in the NB or LB district as requiring a Special Use Permit shall require the same in a PDR district unless the use is specifically authorized in the initial PDR approval.

         (5) Uses and structures which are customarily accessory and clearly incidental and subordinate to any of the uses permitted above.

(d) General dimensional, density and design requirements.

        (1) All development within the PD district shall be served by public water and public sewer systems.

        (2) The minimum area of any tract, or combination of contiguous tracts, of land proposed for development as a PD shall be five (5) acres. Additional adjoining acreage may be added to an approved PD provided that all procedures applicable to the creation of such a district are observed.

        (3) The maximum development density for a PD development shall be generally consistent with the density envisioned by the adopted comprehensive plan for the area in which located. The board may, however, approve density increases as a part of the PD approval and, in the case of Senior Housing developments, may consider density allowances of up to twenty (20) units per acre.

         (4) The following dimensional standards shall be observed unless specifically modified by the board (either upwards or downwards) at the time of district approval:

                 a. Minimum lot area: none

                 b. Minimum lot width:

                         1. single-family detached: forty-five feet (45')

                         2. single-family attached: twenty feet (20')

                         3. non-residential: seventy feet (70')

                 c. Minimum yard requirements:

                        1. The minimum distance between any two principal buildings or structures shall be twenty feet (20'), except in senior housing developments where it shall be thirty (30) feet.

                        2. The minimum distance between any principal building and an accessory building, or between any two accessory buildings, shall be ten feet (10').

                        3. The minimum distance between any principal or accessory building and any public or private street right-of-way or common area boundary line shall be thirty feet (30').

                        4. The minimum setback from any external property line shall be twenty feet (20').

                 d. Maximum building height:

                        1. Residential structures shall not exceed forty feet (40').

                        2. Non-residential structures shall not exceed fifty feet (50').

          (5) The proposed location and arrangement of structures shall not be detrimental to existing or prospective adjacent structures or to the existing or prospective development of the neighborhood.

(e) Open space and recreation area requirements.

          (1) Unless specifically excepted in accordance with the criteria established in section 24.1-361, a minimum of twenty-five percent (25%) of the total gross of any PDR development shall be reserved as open space designed and improved or maintained for use by those who live or work within the development or other persons or groups as the property owners association may allow. Golf courses may be counted as open space for the purpose of meeting this requirement up to a maximum of thirty percent (30%) of the required residential area open space.

          (2) Unless specifically excepted in accordance with the criteria established in section 24.1-361(g), an area equal to a minimum of ten percent (10%) of the total gross area of the residential portions of any PDR development shall be reserved and developed specifically as a recreation area, or areas, set aside for the common use of the residents of the planned development. The required recreation space shall be considered part of the twenty-five percent (25%) open space reservation required in subsection (c)(1), above.

          (3) Unless otherwise excepted by the board, recreation areas shall be provided in accordance with the following standards and such others as the board deems appropriate:

                a. The recreation area reserved shall be in one centrally located contiguous parcel and be suitable to accommodate a combination of active and passive recreational activities appropriate for the residents of the development. However, depending upon the size and scope of the development, recreation areas may be set aside in two or more parcels in order to improve the accessibility of such recreation areas from all housing units in the development.

                b. The recreation area 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 frontage on a platted road; however, no platted road shall traverse the recreation area.

                c. The recreation area reserved shall be located so that essential utilities including water, public sewage, and power will be easily accessible to serve planned and potential future recreational facility development.

                d. The recreation area shall be free of fuel, power, or other transmission lines and rights-of-way.

              e. At a minimum and unless the market orientation (as evidenced by restrictive covenants or other document deemed sufficient by the board) clearly dictates otherwise, the following "core recreation facilities" shall be constructed:

                     1. Swimming pool: to be configured to permit both recreational and competitive (25 or 50 meters in length, minimum depth of 1.25 meters in lanes) swimming with associated restroom facilities, deck area, and adjacent fenced-in grassy open space usable for sunbathing, volleyball, etc. The minimum size of the required swimming pool shall be related to the number of dwelling units in the development proposal as set forth in the table below:

DWELLING UNITS	WATER SURFACE AREA	FENCED-IN GRASSY OPEN SPACE	PARKING SPACES
200-399	3,500 ft²	17,500 ft²	30
400-599	4,000 ft²	22,500 ft²	35
600-799	4,500 ft²	27,500 ft²	40
800-999	5,000 ft²	32,500 ft²	45
1,000⁺	5,000 ft²plus 5 ft² /dwelling unit in excess of 999.	32,500 ft² plus 30 ft² /dwelling unit in excess of 999.	45 plus 1 space/15 dwelling units in excess of 999.

2. Tennis courts: two (2), all-weather hard surface, fenced and color coated.

                      3. Playground and picnic facility: combined facility

                      4. Multi-purpose activity field: open grassy area, minimum one (1) acre generally rectangular in shape, graded on a true plane at one to two percent (1-2%)

                    5. Pedestrian and bicycle facilities which provide safe and convenient circulation to the recreation area from throughout the community and including appropriate bicycle parking accommodations.

               f. Other recreational facilities offering the same or greater recreational and fitness value may be proposed in lieu of the above.

               g. In approving a PDR, the board may require that additional facilities be provided for the residents of the community.

         (4) With approval of the board, the minimum amount of land required for recreation area may be reduced in order to compensate for reservation of waterfront property which has added recreational value, provided, however, that the recreational value of the waterfront property must, in the opinion of the board, be at least equal to the recreational value of non-waterfront land (meeting all of the above standards) which could have otherwise been set aside for a recreation area. In this regard, recreation acreage reduction is not to be granted based on the size or value of the water body, but on the recreational value of the waterfront property itself. No more than a twenty-five percent (25%) reduction may be granted for waterfront property.

           (5) Common open space (including the recreation area) as required above shall be protected by appropriate restrictions or other methods, developed in accordance with the provisions established in article IV-division 17 of this chapter, and designed to ensure perpetuation and maintenance.

(f) Special design requirements.

        (1) To the extent that streets are private rather than public, the developer shall submit assurances satisfactory to the board that a properly constituted property owners association will be responsible for the perpetuation and maintenance of such streets. Such assurances shall be developed in accordance with the provisions of article IV-division 17 of this chapter.

        (2) Private streets shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the criteria prescribed by the Virginia Department of Transportation for the particular functional classification of the street, or, in the event the developer proposes an alternate design, to such other specifications as are approved for use by the board in consideration of the anticipated function and character of such street.

       (3) The entire development shall be served by safe and convenient pedestrian and bicycle facilities which form a logical circulation system and have connections to planned, or anticipated facilities outside the development.

        (4) The board may impose such other conditions as it deems necessary on any development proposed under the terms of this section in recognition of any unique circumstances surrounding the particular proposal or the area in which it is proposed, and in order to ensure the protection of the health, safety and general welfare of the public and the preservation of property values.

(g) Affordable housing incentive provisions. In recognition of the objectives established in the comprehensive plan with respect to promotion and encouragement of a more moderately-priced single-family housing product, the following standards and criteria, to be known as the "Affordable Housing Incentive Provisions," are hereby established:

        (1) Where a developer proposes the construction of a planned development project, all or a portion of which will consist primarily of detached dwelling units approved by the board in recognition of their potential for price moderation (i.e., below market average prices) such project may be submitted for consideration by the commission and the board in accordance with the following minimum design criteria, notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary set forth elsewhere in the PDR regulations:

              a. Where the individual residential lots within a planned development are proposed to be at least seven thousand five hundred (7,500) square feet in area, the twenty-five percent (25%) common open space and recreation space ratio otherwise required herein may be reduced or eliminated upon recommendation of the commission and subject to approval by the board. Where individual lots are proposed to consist of less than seven thousand five hundred (7,500) square feet in area, common open space and recreation space shall be provided within the development at a minimum ratio of four hundred (400) square feet per lot.

             b. Where required common open space is reduced or eliminated by virtue of all the lots being at least seven thousand five hundred (7,500) square feet in area, as permitted above, there shall be no requirement for reservation and development of specifically designated recreation space.

              c. Where common open space is required to be provided, a minimum of two hundred (200) square feet per lot shall be contained in a designated recreation space designed generally in accordance with the terms of section 24.1-361(e)(3), however, the specific requirements for core facilities shall be waived.

        (2) In accordance with the affordability objective of these provisions, the maximum floor area of single-family detached dwelling units proposed for construction shall not exceed one thousand two hundred (1,200) square feet of living space unless, however, the board specifically approves a greater maximum floor area in recognition of evidence of equivalent price-containment features or characteristics. This maximum living space floor area standard shall not be deemed to preclude future owner-initiated improvements or additions provided that such additions are constructed in accordance with all applicable minimum yard and setback requirements. For the purposes of this section, garages shall not be considered as finished living space.

        (3) The maximum ratio of living space floor area to lot area for housing units proposed under these affordable housing provisions shall be sixteen percent (16%) unless a greater ratio is specifically authorized by the board of supervisors.

        (4) The developer's intent to limit the project to more affordable, as determined by the board, single-family detached dwelling units, or such other dwelling units as may be approved by the board, shall be evidenced by submission of proposed restrictive covenants to that effect at the time of application for approval of a project in accordance with the affordable housing incentive provisions. Such covenants shall be approved by the board after having been reviewed and approved by the county attorney with respect to form. Such covenants shall be recorded at the time of final plat recordation.

        (5) All developments constructed under these provisions shall be served by public streets and utilities.

       (6) The entire development shall be served by safe and convenient pedestrian and bicycle facilities forming a logical circulation system and shall be designed to accommodate public transit buses and other public transportation conveyances as may be deemed appropriate by the board.

(h) Standards for nonresidential uses within the PDR district.

        (1) In reviewing the nonresidential portions of a PDR, the board shall determine that those sections have been designed to promote harmonious relationships with surrounding, adjacent, and nearby properties, especially those external to the PDS. To this end, special consideration should be given to landscaping and buffering which promotes a park-like character.

       (2) Nonresidential portions of a PDR which are located adjacent to property external to the development shall have a Transitional Buffer established along the external property line based on the uses to be established thereon. This shall be based on the least intensive zoning district in which the subject use is permitted as a matter of right. At a minimum, a landscaped infiltration yard shall be established along the external property line. The infiltration yard shall be no less than twenty feet (20') in width if adjacent to a street right-of-way or ten feet (10') in width elsewhere.

       (3)  In general, the design standards of the LB district shall be utilized for non-residential portions of a PDR where the underlying land use designation in the comprehensive plan is residential or conservation. The board shall evaluate the appropriateness of those design standards at the time of approval of a PDR and may modify or supplement them as deemed appropriate.

      (4) To promote a park-like character within the nonresidential portions of the development, particular care should be taken to organize the landscaping plan to maximize the visual effects of green spaces. Appropriate means shall be used to screen surrounding residential areas from undesirable views into the commercial portions of the development and, conversely, to screen development within the PDR from any undesirable external exposures. In particular, all service and loading areas shall be screened from view from public streets and, insofar as reasonably possible, parking areas for more than ten (10) automobiles shall be similarly screened from view by landscaping, decorative fencing, walls, berms, or relation to buildings.

       (5) The circulation system and building orientation shall be designed to emphasize and facilitate the pedestrian, bicycle, and transit modes of transportation.

        (6) The board may impose such other conditions as it deems necessary under the terms of the section in recognition of the unique circumstances surrounding the particular proposal or the area in which it is proposed, and in order to ensure the protection of the health, safety, and general welfare of the public and the preservation of property values.

(Ord. No. 03-25, 6/17/03; Ord. No. 05-13(R), 5/17/05; Ord. No. 07-7, 5/15/07)