Technical Data Sheets: A-1 Zoning
Definitions
The A-1 Agricultural District has been established to preserve and
enhance the low-density character and natural resources of the rural areas
of the county where agriculture, forests, and open space uses predominate,
as well as to accommodate limited amounts of low density residential development
that is not served by public water or sewer.
A-1 Zoning applies to lands designated as Agricultural or Rural Areas in
the Comprehensive Plan and are not served by public water, sewer, or are not
in close proximity to other public services.
Lands qualifying for inclusion in the A-1 zoning district shall include
all current A-1 lands existing at the time the current ordinance passed (12/13/99)
and other lands within areas mapped Agricultural or Rural in the Comprehensive
Plan. Minimum area required to create an A-1 district is 10 acres of
contiguous land.
By Right & Special Use Permit Uses
As long as you comply with all approved plans and permits, development and
performance standards contained in the current Zoning Ordinance and all other
applicable regulations, you have the right to do the following with A-1 property:
- Agriculture
- Agriculture, intensive
- Agriculture, small scale
- Bed & Breakfast, homestay
- Cemetery
- Church
- Dwelling, single family
- Fire, police, or rescue squad station
- Home occupation
- Manufactured (mobile) home, Class A or B
- Natural Area
- Park, unlighted
- Playground, unlighted
- Public utility lines, other
- Roadside stands operated by a farmer owner or by farm operators only
- Sawmill, temporary
- School
- Telecommunications tower, attached
- Pet, Farm
- Pet, Household
- Veterinary practice, animal hospital
A special use permit is granted by the Board of Supervisors for land uses
other than those which are permitted by right. The permit allows the Board
of Supervisors discretionary review of landuse proposals that might have an
unwanted impact upon the health, safety, and welfare of the public and allows
the Board of Supervisors to impose additional conditions on the development
in order to avoid, minimize, or mitigate potentially adverse effects upon
the community or other properties in the vicinity of the proposed use or structure.
The following uses require a special use permit in the A-1 Agricultural District:
- Bed & Breakfast Inn
- Campground
- Camp, Boarding
- Civic Club
- Country Club
- Country Inn
- Custom Meat cutting, processing, and sales, including slaughter
- Day Care Center
- Disposal Facility, Landfill
- Exploratory activities associated with extractive industries
- Extractive industries and accessory uses, including, but not limited to,
the mining of minerals and the operation of oil and gas wells.
- Game Preserve
- Garden Center
- General store, provided gross floor area is 2,000 sq. ft or less
- Golf Course / Driving Range
- Grain Mill, Feed Mill
- Home Business
- Junkyard, automobile graveyard
- Kennel, commercial
- Livestock Market
- Park, lighted
- Playground, lighted
- Public utility plant, other, substation, or water or sewer (not including
distribution or collection lines
- Recreational Vehicle Park
- Recycling Collection Points
- Repair shop, automotive (with special standards)
- Restaurant (gross floor area 2,000 sq. feet or less)
- Rural Resort
- Sawmill
- Shooting Range (as principle use or accessory to gun shop
- Slaughterhouse
- Solid Waste Collection Point
- Stable, Commercial
- Structure, non-Residential, over 20,000 gross sq. ft
- Structures, 65+ feet height
- Telecommunications Tower
- Contractors Storage Yard.
In addition, special use restrictions apply to automotive repair shops,
kennels, and shooting ranges.
Lot & Building Requirements in A-1
Minimum Lot Size
1 Acre.
Lot Access
Lots must be accessible from a VDOT road or from a hard-surface road designed
by a professional engineer to accommodate projected volumes, loads, and vehicle
types and must be approved by the Zoning Administrator. There are two exceptions:
1) 3 lots divided from a parent parcel may be served by a private access easement
at least forty (40) feet in width, and 2) when all permitted lots on a parent
parcel are served by a private access easement at least 40 feet in width and
has a VDOT approved entrance permit for the easement to access the VDOT road
system.
Maximum Coverage
1) Net residential coverage on a parent tract cannot exceed one dwelling
per every 2.5 net acres, including accessory dwellings and are subject to
sliding scale limitations; 2) No more that 20% of lot may be covered by buildings
or other impervious surfaces.
Minimum Width
120 feet at the minimum setback line of the front yard. Frontage requirements
for family subdivisions and public utilities or public water and sewer installation
lots shall be in accord with the Montgomery County Subdivision Ordinance.
Maximum Length/Width Ratio
Five to One (5:1) for any lot less than 20 acres in area.
Minimum Yards:
Front: 40 feet (also refer to additional setback requirements pertaining
to residential uses near intensive agricultural operations); Side
15 feet for each principal structure; Rear: 40 feet; Accessory Buildings:
no accessory building may be located closer than 10 feet to a side or rear
lot line.
Maximum Building Height
No building or structure, except for exempted structures provided for in
Section 1-205.B. of the Zoning Ordinance, shall exceed 40 feet in height,
as defined, except by Special Use Permit and that for every 1 foot above 40
feet, the building or structure shall be set back an additional 2 feet up
to a maximum of 100 feet.
|
|
