Dimensional standards
Height & bulk
Servicing
- Applies near
- Main Street, Bedford Avenue, Broad Street, Seventh Street
- Geographic extent
- A section of the Town of Altavista beginning at a point being the intersection of Pittsylvania Avenue and Fifth Street, thence following the northeast side of Pittsylvania Avenue, crossing Main Street and Seventh Street to a point on the northwest side of Seventh Street, thence running southwest with the northwest side of Seventh Street crossing Lynch Creek and Campbell Avenue, to a point on the northeast corner of Campbell Avenue and Seventh Street, thence running northwest with the northeast side of Campbell Avenue crossing a 20-foot alley to a point on the northwest side thereof, thence running parallel to Seventh Street a distance of approximately 420 feet to a point on the northeast side of a 20-foot alley, thence with the northeast side of said alley parallel to Broad Street and in a northwest direction, crossing Eighth Street to the point of intersection with the Norfolk Southern Railroad right-of-way, thence following said right-of-way southwest, crossing Broad Street to the northeast side of Bedford Avenue, thence following the northeast side of Bedford Avenue, crossing Main Street (U.S. Route 29 Business) to a point 36 feet north of the center of the main line of the Norfolk Southern Railroad (formerly Norfolk and Western) and thence east, parallel to and 36 feet north of the center line of said main rail line, crossing Pittsylvania Avenue to the northeast side of the said right-of-way, thereof, thence following the east side of the right-of-way of Pittsylvania Avenue in a northwest direction to the point of beginning.
Uses
Permitted by right21
- cultural service
- governmental service
- guidance service
- post office
- safety service
- financial institution
- general office
- medical office
- antique shop
- brewpub
- business support service
- consumer repair service
- convenience store
- microbrewery
- personal improvement service
- personal service
- restaurant, small
- restaurant, general
- retail sales
- studio, fine arts
- parking facility, surface
Conditional / special use17
- public assembly
- public parks and recreational areas
- utility service, minor
- automobile repair service, minor
- assembly hall
- business/trade schools
- commercial indoor entertainment
- commercial indoor sports and recreation
- communications service
- dance hall
- farmers market
- flea market
- funeral service
- hotel/motel/motor lodge
- pawn shop
- payday loan establishment
- parking facility, structure
Extracted standards
13 individual requirements pulled out of this section’s prose, each with the sentence it came from.
Lighting
- Exterior lighting restriction
Exterior lighting shall be controlled so that no direct illumination will occur beyond any property line.
Other
- Maximum FARFloor area ratio (FAR)Total floor area divided by lot area — an FAR of 2.0 permits 20,000 sq ft of floor on a 10,000 sq ft lot. for existing buildings over 10,000 sq ftsq ftSquare feet. An acre is 43,560 sq ft; a typical suburban lot is 7,000–10,000.2 ratio
If an existing building exceeds 10,000 in gross floor area, all permitted uses contained in that building shall not exceed a floor area ratio (FAR) of 2.0.
- Maximum percentage of ground floor area for residential use49 pct
No more than 49 percent of the ground floor area of a building within the district may be of residential use.
- Maximum square footage of individual permitted use10,000 sqftsq ftSquare feet. An acre is 43,560 sq ft; a typical suburban lot is 7,000–10,000.
Any individual permitted use in the DRO shall not exceed 10,000 square feet in lot coverage.
- Preferred building materials
Buildings shall be designed to utilize to the greatest extent feasible such building materials which are compatible with the character of the district, such as stone, brick, stucco, and wood.
- ProhibitedProhibitedNot allowed in the district at all, short of rezoning or a variance. building materials
No portion of a building constructed to unadorned cinderblock or corrugated and/or sheet metal, with the exception of roofs shall be visible from any adjoining public right-of-way.
- Residential units on front ground floor
Any residential units (or apartments accessory to the business use) shall not occupy the front, ground floor (storefront) space of any building within the district.
Parking
- Parking area landscaping and screening
All parking areas shall be suitably landscaped and generally screened from public view by fences, walls, or screen planting.
- Parking area location
Parking areas shall be located to the side or rear of buildings and not located between a building and the street.
Signage
- Maximum heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first. of freestanding sign15 ft
No freestanding sign shall exceed 15 feet in height measured from the base of the sign or the grade of the nearest street, whichever is higher.
- Maximum total sign area per linear foot of lot frontageFrontageThe length of a lot line that touches a public street.2 sqftsq ftSquare feet. An acre is 43,560 sq ft; a typical suburban lot is 7,000–10,000. per linear ft
Total area of all signs shall be limited to two square feet for each linear foot of lot frontage.
- Maximum number of signs per business4 count
Four signs maximum per business per street or opened alley facing.
- Wall sign heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first. restriction
No wall sign may exceed the height of the wall where it is located.
From the ordinance
Overlay district with permitted uses list. Maximum use size 10,000 sq ft. Sign regulations. Residences limited to 49% ground floor.