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Franklin, Virginia · General provision

Article III, R-O District

Single FamilyAll Franklin districts0

Dimensional standards

lot requirementsSTREETbuildable areaFront 40 ftRear 40 ftSide 10 ftMin width 100 ftMIN LOT AREA20,000 sq ftMIN FRONTAGE100 ftMAX HEIGHT50 ft / 3 stories
Plan view of the district’s stated lot requirements. Solid line: the property line. Dashed: the setback lines the ordinance imposes; a building must stay inside the tinted envelope. Drawn from the figures extracted below — illustrative, not a survey.

Lot

Minimum lot areaMinimum lot areaThe smallest parcel on which the district allows anything to be built.
20,000 sq ftsq ftSquare feet. An acre is 43,560 sq ft; a typical suburban lot is 7,000–10,000. (0.46 acacre43,560 square feet — about the size of an American football field without the end zones.)
Minimum lot widthLot widthHow wide a lot must be, usually measured at the front setback line.
100 ft
Minimum frontageFrontageThe length of a lot line that touches a public street.
100 ft

SetbacksSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line.

FrontSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line.
40 ft
RearSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line.
40 ft
SideSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line.
10 ft
Side, combinedSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line.
20 ft

Height & bulk

Maximum heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first.
50 ft
Maximum storiesStoreysHabitable floor levels. Whether a basement or attic counts is defined by the local code.
3

Housing

Single-familySingle-family dwellingOne dwelling unit on its own lot, usually detached from its neighbours.
by_right
Two-family
conditionalConditional useAllowed only after a discretionary approval — usually a public hearing and a board vote.
Three-family
prohibitedProhibitedNot allowed in the district at all, short of rezoning or a variance.
Four-plus family
prohibitedProhibitedNot allowed in the district at all, short of rezoning or a variance.

Servicing

Geographic extent
Applies to all properties in R-O districtZoning districtA mapped area with one set of rules, identified by a code like R-1 or B-2.; special setbacksSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line. for streets: Clay, South, Armory Drive, College Drive, Hunterdale Road; floodplainFloodplainLand expected to flood at a stated frequency, where building carries extra conditions. and aircraft approach zones may apply to certain properties.

Uses

Permitted by right6

Conditional / special use22

Accessory11

Extracted standards

5 individual requirements pulled out of this section’s prose, each with the sentence it came from.

Floodplain

Other

From the ordinance

The minimum lot area shall be twenty thousand (20,000) square feet. All structures shall be set back at least fifty (50) feet from the right-of-way of the following streets: Clay Street, South Street, Armory Drive, College Drive and Hunterdale Road. All structures shall be set back at least forty (40) feet from the right-of-way of all other public streets.
Article III, R-O District