Arlington County, VA · Arlington County Zoning Ordinance (ACZO)
C-1-R is a restricted local commercial district for small-scale neighborhood retail and service uses (ACZO §7.6). Height 35 ft, FAR 0.6 for commercial uses, minimum lot area 6,000 sq ft (6,000 sq ft per dwelling unit for residential).
Development standards in C-1-R
Maximum height
35 ft
7.6
FAR 0.6 applies to commercial uses; residential is governed by a 6,000 sq ft minimum lot area per dwelling unit (ACZO §7.6).
Read from Arlington County Zoning Ordinance (ACZO), effective through 2026-06-13. We last checked with the publisher on 2026-09-14 and found nothing newer -- a check on that date, not a promise about today.
How complete is this market? Across 38,683 parcels we answer 65.5% of the 6 questions this site is built to answer, each with a source you can check. The rest are shown as “not recorded” rather than filled in — we would rather be short than wrong.
Permitted uses in C-1-R
AllowedRetail - Neighborhood Store Types By-right: the ACZO §7.1.2 use table reads P for C-1-R on the named rows bakeries (§12.5.21), drug stores (§12.5.5), convenience grocery stores (§12.5.9), delicatessens and meat or fish markets (§12.5.21), and newsstands (p89).
Not AllowedRetail - All Other Retail Sales The ACZO §7.1.2 use table row 'All other retail sales uses' (§12.5.21) carries no C-1-R entry (p89); per the table key a blank cell is not permitted. Retail in C-1-R is limited to the named store types listed above.
AllowedPersonal Service - Barbershop, Tailor, Shoe Repair, Dry-Cleaning The four named services are by-right, and the catch-all is not -- which is why the label names them. In the ACZO §7.1.2 use table, row 'Barbershop or beauty parlor' (p89) reads P for C-1-R, row 'Tailors and milliners' (p89) reads P for C-1-R, row 'Shoe repair' (p89) reads P for C-1-R and row 'Dry-cleaning, laundry and laundromat' (p89) reads P for C-1-R (use standard §12.5.6). But row 'All other retail personal service uses' (p89) carries no C-1-R entry, which under §4.1.D means a personal service outside those named rows is not allowed here.
Not AllowedPersonal Service - All Other Uses The ACZO §7.1.2 use table row 'All other retail personal service uses' (§12.5.20) carries no C-1-R entry (p89); per the table key a blank cell is not permitted.
Not AllowedOffice - Business or Professional The ACZO §7.1.2 use table row 'Offices, business and professional' carries no C-1-R entry (p88); per the table key a blank cell is not permitted.
ConditionalOffice - Federal, State or Local Use permit required: ACZO §7.1.2 use table row 'Offices, federal, state and local' reads U for C-1-R (p88).
AllowedOffice - Medical or Dental Clinic By-right: ACZO §7.1.2 use table row 'Offices or clinics, medical or dental' reads P for C-1-R (p88; use standard §12.5.16).
AllowedSingle-Family Dwelling 6,000 sq ft lot area per dwelling unit (ACZO §7.6)
AllowedSTR - Short-Term Rentals By-right (P) in the ACZO accessory use tables, subject to an accessory homestay permit issued by the zoning administrator (ACZO §12.9.12). The permit application requires proof that the property is the applicant's permanent residence (ACZO §12.9.12.B.2).
"Conditional" means the use generally requires a public hearing or special-exception approval — a very different timeline and risk profile from a by-right permit.
This is the zone. What about the parcel?
Zone rules are the starting point — the answer for a specific property also depends on lot
size, overlays, existing improvements and site conditions. Run a free address lookup to see
what applies to one property.
Standards as recorded by Zonescore: Arlington County Zoning Ordinance (ACZO), Effective June 13, 2026
Values are read from the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance (ACZO). Where a district allows more density through site plan approval than by right, both are shown -- they are very different entitlement paths.