Cottage Housing

Cottage housing is a form of higher density residential development, generally defined as a grouping of small, single-unit houses clustered around a common open community area.

Development standards for cottage housing are not currently included in Vienna’s zoning code. In addition to creating development standards, this development type is proposed to be allowed in the Residential - Multi-Unit (RMU) and Neighborhood Transitional (NT) zones. They would act as a transition between commercial businesses, shopping centers and office buildings and nearby single-unit homes.

In the example site below, if you placed 7 buildings with parking and drive aisles it would total 40% of the lot.

If the rest of the property including the landscape buffer areas around the edge of the property count towards open space then it meets the proposed open space requirement.

Should the requirement include only usable open space like the center courtyard or include all green spaces?

Now it is your turn to layout a proposed cottage court.

The majority of zoning regulations are based on the area of a lot, starting with the ability to develop a lot within a specific zone. The example parcel is 100 ft. by 219 ft., for a total of 21,900 sq. ft., which meets and exceeds the minimum lot area of 21,780 sq. ft. and minimum lot width of 70 ft. for a Residential - Multi-Unit (RMU) Cottage Court development.

The front, side, and rear setbacks shown in yellow dashed lines are the limits of where the buildings are allowed to go. Parking can be located within 5 ft. of the property line.