Alexandria, VA Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Density Bonus Law (2026)

Sec. 7-700 is Alexandria's inclusionary density bonus. Under Sec. 7-702, a building or project with one or more dwelling units can obtain a special use permit increasing allowable floor area ratio, density, and height, and reducing required off-street parking, if the applicant commits to providing low- and moderate-income sales or rental units. The required number of affordable units must equal at least one-third of the increase achieved by the bonus, though the director of housing can accept an equivalent contribution measured by square footage or bedroom count instead.

Those units can be built within the same project, at an approved off-site location, or replaced with a cash contribution to the City of Alexandria Housing Trust Fund equal to the value of the on-site units that would otherwise have been built, or a combination of the two. Sec. area median income, adjusted for family size, could qualify under the Virginia Housing Development Authority's single-family mortgage criteria. Sec. 7-703 then caps the bonus itself: floor area ratio and density cannot increase by more than 30 percent above what the zone otherwise allows, unless a small area plan chapter of the Master Plan specifically authorizes more, and height cannot increase by more than 25 feet, with no bonus permitted at all in zones where the maximum height is already 50 feet or less. City council must find the project meets the special use permit standards of Sec. 11-500 before granting the bonus.