Arlington County, VA · Arlington County Zoning Ordinance (ACZO)
RA7-16 is a low-to-medium density apartment district that allows multifamily residential buildings at 35ft/3.5 stories by-right (ACZO §6.4). Found near neighborhood commercial corridors and transit routes.
Development standards in RA7-16
Maximum height
35 ft
6.4
Rear setback
25 ft
3.2.6
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 RA7-16
AllowedMulti-Family Residential ACZO §6.1.2 use table (p68): the RA7-16 'Multiple-family' cell shows S stacked with P -- a by-right path and a site-plan path in the same cell.
Not AllowedSingle-Family Residential The ACZO §6.1.2 use table row 'One-family detached' (p68) carries no entry for RA7-16; per the table key a blank cell is not permitted (RA14-26, RA8-18 and RA6-15 read P in the same row). The §6.4 RA7-16 dimensional table likewise carries no one-family column.
AllowedHome Occupation By-right, subject to §12.9.11 standards: the ACZO §6.1.2 accessory use table row 'Home occupations' (p71) reads P for RA7-16.
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.