zoneoptics
Spotsylvania County Unincorporated, Virginia · District

I-2

Industrial 2 District
IndustrialMedium Heavy IndustrialAll Spotsylvania County Unincorporated districts0

Dimensional standards

I-2 lot requirementsSTREETbuildable areaFront 40 ftMin width 100 ftMIN LOT AREA20,000 sq ftMAX HEIGHT75 ftMAX FAR1.5
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

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

Height & bulk

Maximum heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first.
75 ft
Maximum floor area ratioFloor 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.
1.5
Minimum landscaping
10%

Uses

Permitted by right40

Conditional / special use28

Accessory1

  • Accessory uses as permitted by article 5, division 3 of this chapter

Extracted standards

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

Design

  • Visible facade design requirements

    Any portion of any structure that is visible to the public or any of the sites enumerated must be comprised of varied building pattern or texture, neutral color tones, wall plane projection or recesses every 100', and fenestration or green-wall treatment comprising a minimum of 50% of any visible façade.

Landscaping & trees

Noise

  • Generator sound dampening

    All generators must be enclosed with a sound dampening barrier and be limited to back-up/emergency use only.

Other

  • Earthen berm heightMaximum heightThe tallest a building may be, given in feet, in storeys, or both — whichever binds first.8 ft

    The landscaped earthen berm must be at least eight feet (8') in height with side slopes not to exceed a 25% gradient.

  • All weather dustless surfaces

    All premises shall be furnished with all weather, dustless surface walks and driveways.

  • Generator emissions standard

    All generators must meet or exceed the Tier 4 emissions standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

  • Groundwater/rain harvesting for cooling prohibitedProhibitedNot allowed in the district at all, short of rezoning or a variance.

    Use of groundwater or rain harvesting for industrial cooling is prohibited.

  • Mechanical equipment screening

    All mechanical equipment, whether ground-mounted or roof-mounted, chain link fencing, and barbed wire fencing must be completely screened from public view.

  • Minimum access points2 points

    The Data Center development must include at least two (2) points of access. One (1) access may be limited to emergency access only.

  • Minimum restricted buffer along residential/other sensitive uses300 ft

    Data Center development must establish a minimum 300' restricted buffer along its property lines adjacent to any residential use or zoned property, Hospital, Public School, Private School, Child Care Center, park, Place of Worship, or the Rappahannock River, but no principal Data Center structure may be less than 400' from any residential dwelling.

  • Minimum road frontageFrontageThe length of a lot line that touches a public street. buffer50 ft

    A minimum 50' wide buffer must be provided along the Data Center development's frontage on a public or private road.

  • No structures within restricted buffer

    No structures may be located within the 300' restricted buffers.

  • Maximum secondary use floor area40 pct

    The gross floor area devoted to secondary uses as identified in section 23-6.22.3 shall not exceed forty (40) percent of the gross floor area of all principle uses or approved special uses in the development.

  • Viewshed analysis required within 1000 ft of sensitive areas1,000 ft

    A viewshed analysis is required at the time of rezoning or site plan application for all proposed data centers within 1,000 ft. of Agricultural or Rural zoned properties, Residentially zoned or developed properties, Historic Overlay Districts, Sites listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register or National Register of Historic Places, or Rappahannock River.

From the ordinance

The primary purpose of the industrial 2 (I-2) district is to provide locations for medium and heavy industrial uses. Minimum lot area: Twenty thousand (20,000) square feet. Maximum building height: Seventy-five (75) feet. Maximum floor area ratio: 1.5.
Sec. 23-6.22.1 - 23-6.22.9