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The
Fauquier County Zoning Ordinance currently states the maximum
density (defined as dwelling units per acre) for the Residential-1
(R-1) zoning district to be 0.9.
This amendment would alter the maximum density for the R-1
district to 1.0 dwelling unit per acre.
This amendment would affect only parcels containing 2.0 or
more acres.
Based
on staff recommendations, the Planning Commission scheduled the
referenced amendment for public hearing.
The public hearing was held on March 28, 2002, and the
Planning Commission voted at its April 25, 2002 meeting to forward
the text amendment to the Board with a recommendation for denial.
The Planning Commission voted 4-1 to recommend denial
because of the concerns over increased density that might result
from this amendment.
The large majority of the R-1 land
lies within the nine existing service district boundaries. Fauquier County currently has 18,600 acres designated as
R-1, with all but approximately 3,700 acres lying within current
service district boundaries.
Most of the R-1 land lying outside of the service district
boundaries is scattered throughout the County in pockets of 20 to
300 acres. Many of
those areas already have been developed or subdivided to maximum
or near maximum capacities.
The
primary exception is the Morrisville area (approximately 840
acres), but soil conditions in that portion of the County usually
prevent development to well below maximum density levels.
The Fauquier County Health Department requires a two
hundred percent (200%) reserve drainfield area for parcels outside
of the service district boundaries.
Even if suitable percolation sites for drainfields are
found, soil conditions would require lots to be in excess of one
acre in size to accommodate a house site, driveway, private well,
drainfield and reserve drainfield areas.
Several of the other small areas of R-1 land outside of the
service district boundaries also have soil and topography issues
similar to those encountered in the Morrisville vicinity, which
limit development below maximum density even at the current level
of 0.9 dwelling unit per acre.
Without the availability of a central sewage treatment
facility, most of the R-1 land outside of the service district
boundaries cannot be fully developed.
Excluding
incorporated towns, Fauquier County’s zoned area totals
approximately 416,600 acres, with the R-1 zoning district acreage
accounting for 4.4 percent of the unincorporated land.
The R-1 acreage lying outside the service district
boundaries accounts for just under 0.9 percent of the county’s
total land. This
amendment would simplify the maximum density calculation in the
Residential-1 zoning districts.
The majority of that increase would be channeled into
the County’s service districts and could help alleviate the
increasing pressure for development of Fauquier County’s rural
areas. The
amendment results in a 0.1 increase in the density calculation for
R-1 properties from 0.9 dwelling unit per acre to 1.0 dwelling
unit per acre. Note
that all other districts are also rounded to whole numbers, for
example, R-2 (2 units/ acre), R-3 (3 units/acre) and R-4 (4
units/acre).
Acreage
of Fauquier County’s Rural and Residential Zoning Districts*
Zoning District
Acreage
% of Total Land Mass
Rural Agriculture
330,307.25
79.3
Rural Conservation
56,253.63
13.5
Rural Residential-2
3,572.72
0.9
Village
3,917.46
0.9
Residential-1
18,599.98
4.4
Residential-2
2053.88
0.5
Residential-4
890.87
0.2
Townhouse
71.39
0.0001
Garden Apartment
24.76
0.00005
Manufactured
Dwelling Park
113.26
0.0003
Planned Residential
Development
686.74
0.002
*Does not include
acreage and zoning for the incorporated Towns of Remington, The
Plains and Warrenton.
The staff report
with additional background information is provided as Attachment
1.
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