Sec. 4231

Townhouse units shall constitute a maximum of twenty-five (25) percent of the dwellings in any subdivision.

Except in the DC District a maximum of eight (8) dwelling units may be constructed in a contiguous series of townhouses. No more than two (2) contiguous series shall be constructed adjacent to each other.

A maximum of four (4) dwelling units may be constructed in a contiguous series of townhouses. No more than two (2) contiguous series shall be constructed adjacent to each other.

Townhouses shall be oriented to the street and the primary entrance shall be facing the street. Differentiation between the public sidewalk space and the townhouse is required and may be accomplished with one (1) or more of the following design elements: a. Variation in building articulation and setback in keeping with the character of the historic district; or b. Elevation of the entrance above or below sidewalk a minimum of two (2) feet and maximum of five (5) feet.

Proposals for facades and treatment of external materials shall be submitted as a condition of site plan approval. Townhouse design, scale, and building materials shall be single-family residential in appearance.

The ground floor space of the townhouses adjacent to the sidewalk/street must contain conditioned habitable living space and not consist solely of garage parking space for the residential unit.

The Residential Infill Guidelines as referenced in the Comprehensive Plan and the Historic District Advisory Guidelines should be considered in the design of the townhouses. The design of new townhouse structures should be in keeping with the character of the area of downtown in which they are to be located.

Newly-constructed townhouses shall be residential in scale. Building height, massing and size shall be compatible with adjacent residential development.

The principal orientation of all townhouses shall be the street or parking area on which the lot has frontage. There shall be at least one (1) entrance facing the street, and the principal windows of the townhouse shall also face this street.

Public street frontage shall not be required for any lot of record platted for townhouse development.

All accessory structures must be located behind the rear building line of the townhouse.

A buffer yard of at least ten (10) feet shall be required on any lot which abuts the R-4, R-5, OTR, PR, RR1, or RR2 zoning district.

Durable building materials must be used and no vinyl siding is allowed on any façade visible from the public right-of-way. Vinyl siding is not in keeping with the character of the Downtown Commercial zoning district or the Blacksburg Historic Overlay District.

Entrances to the townhouse development shall be minimized and designed in such a way as to maximize safety, maximize efficient traffic circulation, and minimize the impact on any adjacent residential neighborhood.

The floor to area ratio shall be computed as the gross floor area of all dwelling units to the parent parcel.

The final subdivision plat shall not be submitted for review until the foundation has been constructed.

The site development plan or the conditional use permit application shall contain a floor plan of the proposed townhouses, showing the location, size, and type of rooms proposed.

Except in the MXD and DC Districts, for any development of five (5) or more townhouses a minimum of twenty (20) percent of the gross land area shall be reserved as open space for community recreation use.

Except in the DC District, the minimum separation between any contiguous series of townhouse units shall be twenty (20) feet from any other contiguous series of townhouse units.

The minimum separation between any contiguous series of townhouse units shall be forty (40) feet from any other adjacent principle structure.

Applicants must clearly demonstrate that the use will be compatible with the neighborhood, particularly with regard to traffic circulation, parking, and appearance.

Sidewalks shall connect each townhouse to the parking area serving that townhouse, to other buildings within the site, and to other buildings or uses on adjacent lots.

A subdivision plat shall be submitted with the site development plan or with the conditional use permit application, where individual attached units are to be constructed on individual lots. The subdivision plat shall meet the standards of the Subdivision Ordinance, except the dedication of park land shall not be required where twenty (20) percent open space is provided per subsection (11), below.

Individual driveways are not permitted. Multiple townhouses must share a common access drive. If parking is provided to multiple units through a common driveway, the driveway may be less than the standard width but in no case less than twelve (12) feet and subject to the Zoning Administrator's determination that the reduced width is still maneuverable and is appropriate to the urban setting of the development.

No off-street parking or one (1) parking space per residential unit are the preferred design options in the DC district. Off-street parking, however, must be provided for bedrooms permitted by the density bonus in § 3142(c). Parking is required for the bonus bedrooms only and may be provided on-site or provided off-site within one-fourth (¼) mile walking distance of the site secured through a lease agreement.

Shared driveways are permitted, with the recordation of perpetual easements to provide for the use and maintenance of the shared driveway. Courtyard style parking is permitted. Only one (1) yard, either the front yard or the rear yard, or in the case of an end unit, the side yard, shall be improved with a driveway or parking spaces. All parking spaces shall be located behind the front building line. Town Council may grant a special exception to this requirement as authorized by § 1112.

Front yard setbacks for adjacent units shall vary a minimum of three (3) feet and a maximum of eight (8) feet.

Townhouse shall be setback no further than ten (10) feet from the street facing property line as measured from the back of the sidewalk.

Minimum side setback for new structures: Ten (10) feet.

Zoning district setback requirements do not apply to individual townhouse lots. Setback requirements do apply to the lot or parcel from which the individual townhouse lots are subdivided.