Low Residential Study

The Project Plan has been published. It can be found under Study Documents.

Join us at the upcoming open house on November 13 at the DPR Trades Center Conference Room.

Overview

Saving Space for Stormwater and Trees

The County Board has directed staff to study potential amendments to the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance (ACZO) to support better stormwater and tree canopy outcomes in low density residential neighborhoods(PDF, 387KB) over time.

Despite Arlington’s existing lot coverage and stormwater management regulations, impervious area is increasing Countywide. The majority of this increase in impervious area is happening in low density residential neighborhoods in Arlington.

Impervious area increases the risk of flooding and extreme heat, which are the two most dangerous weather threats facing Arlington today.

To help mitigate these risks and improve climate resilience, Arlington’s County Board has established a goal of adopting a maximum impervious area requirement in residentially zoned areas of Arlington. This would help support Arlington’s goals to:

Addressing the decades-long rise in impervious area will boost Arlington’s ability to meet these critical climate resilience goals.

Lot Coverage Limits

Arlington County has had lot coverage limits in place since 1942. Arlington last revised the lot coverage limits in 2005, when the limits were lowered to address concerns about loss of open space and trees, houses that are out-of-scale with their neighborhoods and increased paved areas.

Although the Zoning Ordinance regulates lot coverage, not all paved surfaces are defined as lot coverage. With average home sizes increasing over the past few decades, many lots are reaching their maximum lot coverage limit based only on the size of the home and driveway.

Some types of impervious surfaces, such as patios or walkways, can be added incrementally without triggering zoning or stormwater regulations. These incremental additions of paved surfaces create more stormwater runoff and reduce space for planting trees to help increase Arlington’s tree canopy.