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

Sec. 2, Development Bonuses, and exists to reward keeping and rehabilitating existing housing stock while advancing the Comprehensive Plan's and the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Plan's affordability goals. It applies only within the Residential A (R-A), Residential Core Neighborhood A (RN-A), Residential B (R-B) and Residential C (R-C) zoning districts, and only where a developer opts in and meets every standard in the section; there is no bonus for partial compliance. A project that meets all the standards may build up to the maximum dwelling units per lot set by that district's own 'Bonus - Existing Structure' figure in the district standards table, rather than the base density otherwise allowed.

To qualify as an existing structure, the building must have been constructed and occupied before the Development Code's December 18, 2023 adoption date, and the project must keep the primary street-facing building facade and the exterior building envelope intact for at least 25 feet measured perpendicular from that facade, though interior reconfiguration behind that line is allowed. The project must also keep any existing entry feature, such as a porch, raised entry or forecourt, and only minor exterior or entry-feature modifications for repair or reconstruction are allowed, and only where the Administrator determines they match the original design closely enough.

The 25-foot depth is measured starting at the exterior face of the primary street-facing facade and running perpendicular to it for the full required distance.