PDH3Planned Development - Housing (PD-H3) Legacy District
Loudoun County, VA · Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance
PD-H3 is a Legacy Planned Development - Housing district. The Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance does not set this district's uses or dimensional standards directly: Sec. 2.02.05.06 makes them those of the R Zoning District designated for each land bay on the approved Concept Development Plan and preliminary subdivision plan. So the answer for a specific parcel depends on which R district its land bay carries, and the county's Department of Planning and Zoning holds that record. Expansion of a PD-H district is no longer permitted (Sec. 2.02.05.06.A).
Development standards in PDH3
Max density
3 units/acre
2.02.05.06
Maximum FAR
Set by whether the use is residential: floor area ratio is not applicable to residential uses in PD-H, and a maximum applies only to retail and service uses, offices and industrial parks, as set forth in Sec. 2.02.05.06 — see 2.02.05.06
Maximum height
Set by the approved development plan for this property — see 2.02.05.06
Minimum lot size
Set by the approved development plan for this property — see 2.02.05.06
Maximum height and Minimum lot size are set by the approved development plan for this property. This is a planned district: the ordinance does not set one figure for the whole district, and those plans differ from property to property, so no single number would be true here. The section that says the plan governs is cited on each row above. For the plan that applies to a specific property, ask Loudoun County.
Maximum FAR is banded in the ordinance — it depends on what you build or on the lot itself, so no single figure is true for the whole zone. The cited table is the authority; read the tier that matches your intended structure.
The ordinance does not leave this open-ended: Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance requires this district to be developed according to the regulations of R-3, R-4, R-8, R-16, R-24 and no others (2.02.05.06.B), identified per land bay by the preliminary subdivision official acceptance (Sec. 2.02.05.06.B) and the Concept Development Plan (Sec. 2.02.05.06.B.2.a). “PD-H Legacy Zoning Districts must be developed according to the regulations of the following Zoning Districts: R-3, R-4, R-8, R-16, and R-24 in Section 2.02.05 of this Zoning Ordinance, identified for individual land bays within the development at the time of preliminary subdivision official acceptance” Which of those applies to a particular property is what the plan records, and we do not guess it. Ask Loudoun County.
Sec. 2.02.05.06.B.1 states this as a maximum: "Increases in density above the maximums noted may be granted pursuant to Section 9.01." It also requires the approved density to be "consistent with the General Plan and the design criteria defined therein". We do not resolve Section 9.01 or the General Plan; Loudoun County holds both.
Read from Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance, effective through 2025-03-18. 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 107,655 parcels we answer 85.4% 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. A further 18,974 properties inside the county line are zoned by an incorporated town with its own ordinance, not by the county, so this county ordinance does not govern them and they are not counted above or below — which is why we publish this market as Loudoun County (excl. incorporated towns). Look one of those up and we will tell you which town governs it.
Permitted uses in PDH3
AllowedDwelling, Single-Family Detached Sec. 2.02.05.06 assigns this district's uses by reference: “Single-family detached; single-family attached, duplex, triplex, quadruplex, townhouse; and multifamily uses are allowed in each of the PD-H Zoning Districts.” The R district is the one identified for your land bay on the approved Concept Development Plan -- “a. The Permitted and Special Exception uses of the PD-H Zoning District are those of the R Zoning District identified on the Concept Development Plan (CDP) for the development” -- so the answer for a given parcel is the R district the CDP designates. Ask Loudoun County Planning and Zoning which that is.
AllowedDwelling, Multifamily Sec. 2.02.05.06 assigns this district's uses by reference: “Single-family detached; single-family attached, duplex, triplex, quadruplex, townhouse; and multifamily uses are allowed in each of the PD-H Zoning Districts.” The R district is the one identified for your land bay on the approved Concept Development Plan -- “a. The Permitted and Special Exception uses of the PD-H Zoning District are those of the R Zoning District identified on the Concept Development Plan (CDP) for the development” -- so the answer for a given parcel is the R district the CDP designates. Ask Loudoun County Planning and Zoning which that is.
ConditionalRetail / Commercial, Office and Industrial Park uses Sec. 2.02.05.06: “b. Retail and service uses, offices, and industrial parks may be permitted, subject to Section 2.02.05.06.D. through G.” Total land area for retail and service uses is capped by Sec. 2.02.05.06.C. Uses must follow the CC, OP or IP Zoning District requirements as designated on the preliminary subdivision plan.
ConditionalShort-Term Rental, Commercial Whole House Sec. 2.02.05.06 makes this district's permitted and Special Exception uses those of the R Zoning District designated on the CDP. In the R districts, Short-Term Rental, Commercial Whole House is a Minor Special Exception or Special Exception use depending on the district (Table 3.02.02-1, Sec. 3.02.02, row 21); a Short-Term Rental also has its own standards at Sec. 4.03.05. Confirm your land bay's R district with the county before relying on this.
AllowedReligious Assembly, public school, community park, library, community center, public safety, and child day center Permitted by right in a PD-H district provided the number, size and locations are identified on the Concept Development Plan (Sec. 2.02.05.06.B.2.a, items 1 through 7).
"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.