zoneoptics
Portsmouth, Virginia · District

HR

Historic Residential (HR) Sub-district
ResidentialAll Portsmouth districts0

Dimensional standards

HR lot requirementsSTREETbuildable areaFront 3 ftRear 20 ftSide 5 ftMIN LOT AREA2,500 sq ftMAX FAR2
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.
2,500 sq ftsq ftSquare feet. An acre is 43,560 sq ft; a typical suburban lot is 7,000–10,000.

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

FrontSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line.
3 ft
RearSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line.
20 ft
SideSetbackThe distance a building must be held back from a lot line.
5 ft

Height & bulk

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.
2
Minimum landscaping
20%

Housing

Three-family
by_right
Four-plus family
by_right

Servicing

Geographic extent
HistoricHistoric districtAn area where exterior changes need design review to protect its character. Residential (HR) sub-district within historicHistoric districtAn area where exterior changes need design review to protect its character. districts of Portsmouth, VA

Uses

Permitted by right10

Conditional / special use9

Prohibited1

Extracted standards

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

Other

From the ordinance

HR sub-district intended for residential uses... Table 40.2-206(1) sets out dimensional standards...
Table 40.2-206(1), Sec. 40.2-206(F)(2)(a)