§ 27-480. General development regulations.

(a)

Except as provided in Subsection (g), the exception of the minimum lot area requirement for townhouses as set forth in (b), below, and the height limitation for multifamily dwellings as set forth in (f), below, dimensions for yards, building lines, lot area, lot frontage, lot coverage, and building height shown on an approved Specific Design Plan shall constitute the development regulations applicable to the development of the land area addressed by that particular Specific Design Plan.

(b)

The minimum lot area requirement for townhouses constructed pursuant to a Specific Design Plan for which an application is filed after December 30, 1996 (with the exception of property in the L-A-C Zone, if any portion lies within one-half (1/2) mile of an existing or planned Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Metrorail station and the V-L and V-M Zones), shall be one thousand eight hundred (1,800) square feet.

(c)

A minimum of sixty percent (60%) of all townhouses constructed in the Comprehensive Design Zones pursuant to a Specific Design Plan for which an application is filed after December 30, 1996 (with the exception of the V-L and V-M Zones), shall have a full front facade (excluding gables, bay windows, trim, and doors) constructed of brick, stone, or stucco.

(d)

There shall be no more than six (6) townhouses per building group in any Comprehensive Design Zone (with the exception of the V-L and V-M Zones) for which an application for a Specific Design Plan is filed after December 30, 1996, except where the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Planning Board or District Council, as applicable, that more than six (6) dwelling units (but not more than eight (8) dwelling units) would create a more attractive living environment or would be more environmentally sensitive. In no event shall the number of building groups containing more than six (6) dwelling units exceed twenty percent (20%) of the total number of building groups in the SDP, and the end units on such building groups shall be a minimum of twenty-four (24) feet in width. The restrictions on units per building group and percentages of building groups shall not apply to townhouses in the L-A-C Zone, if any portion of the L-A-C tract lies within one-half (1/2) mile of an existing or planned Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Metrorail station. In no event shall there be more than nine (9) dwelling units in a building group. Garage parking within all building groups shall be provided in rear-loaded garages except where the rears of the units are located along open space areas along the perimeter of the development area or areas of steep topography.

(e)

The minimum building width for townhouses in any continuous, attached group shall be twenty (20) feet, and the minimum gross living space for a townhouse shall be one thousand two hundred and fifty (1,250) square feet in any development for which an application for a Specific Design Plan is filed after December 30, 1996 (with the exception of townhouses in the V-L and V-M Zones and, as it applies to the minimum building width only, townhouses on property in the L-A-C Zone, if any portion 0lies within one-half (1/2) mile of an existing or planned Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Metrorail station). For the purposes of this Subsection, "gross living space" shall be defined as all interior building space except the garage and unfinished basement or attic area.

(f)

The maximum building height for multifamily dwellings for which an application for a Specific Design Plan is filed after December 30, 1996, shall be as follows: in the R-S and R-M Zones, forty (40) feet; in the R-U and L-A-C Zones, eighty (80) feet; and in the M-A-C Zone, one hundred and ten (110) feet.

(g)

When property is placed in a Comprehensive Design Zone through a Sectional Map Amendment or through a Zoning Map Amendment intended to implement land use recommendations for mixed-use development recommended by a Master Plan or Sector Plan that is approved after October 1, 2006, and for which a comprehensive land use planning study was conducted by Technical Staff prior to initiation:

(1)

The design guidelines or standards intended to implement the development concept recommended by the Master Plan, Sector Plan, or Sectional Map Amendment Zoning Change, and a referenced exhibit of record for the property should establish and provide guidance for the development regulations to be incorporated in the Specific Design Plan.

(2)

The limitations on the maximum percentages of townhouse and multifamily dwelling units contained in Section 27-515(b)(7), footnote 29, the lot area requirement in Subsection (b) above, and the lot width requirements in Subsection (e) above shall not apply. However, the Planning Board or District Council may impose similar restrictions where appropriate, only to implement the recommendations of the Master Plan or Sector Plan.

(CB-56-1996: CB-25-2003; CB-77-2006)