Arlington County Board Responds to BVSCA on
Visitor Parking Requirements

Date: May 29, 1998

Dear Ernie:

After receiving your e-mail, I asked the County Manager to have staff provide me with a report about the visitor parking requirements for high-rises and townhouses.

After you have a chance to review the enclosed, if you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Signed: Christopher Zimmerman, Chairman

The enclosed follows:

ARLINGTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA, INTERDEPARTMENTAL MEMORANDUM

DATE: May 27, 1998

TO: Christopher Zimmerman, Chairman, Arlington County Board

FROM: Willian T. Donahue, Acting County Manager

SUBJECT: G54601 - Visitor parking for town houses and high-rise residential use

Currently, the Zoning Ordinance requires town houses and stacked one-family houses to provide two parking spaces for each house. In addition, one-fifth parking spaces are required for each house for visitors. Those visitor parking spaces may be included within the required two parking spaces for each house, when at least 50 percent of parking spaces needed to meet the requirement are located in a common area and are available for either residents or visitors. The County Board adopted the Zoning Ordinance amendments for the visitor-parking requirement on May 17, 1997.

The Zoning Ordinance Review Committee and staff are currently studying whether visitor parking should be required for high-rise residential use, and if they are required, how they should be required. Presently, there are two options that are under consideration. Since all high-rise residential buildings are reviewed through the site plan process, visitor parking requirement can be managed through site plan review process for the issues specific to the site and clientele that building is planned to serve. The second option is to amend the zoning ordinance and add specific numbers, location and other pertinent requirements for visitor parking to the Zoning Ordinance. Intermediate option between these two options will be the Zoning Ordinance amendments for visitor parking that can be modified by site plan.

For the past several months, ZORC concentrated its efforts to the infill residential development study. ZORC and staff will go back to visitor parking for high-rise residential buildings in the near future and will conclude this study.

cc:

Susan Bell, Acting Director/DCPHD
Robert Brosman, Planning Director
Sakura Namioka, Zoning Ordinance Review Coordinator

Return to the BVSCA Home Page