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Prince William County zoning › R-16

R-16Residential High Density (R-16)

Prince William County, VA · Prince William County Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 32)

R-16 Suburban Residential District. The R-16 District (formerly RM-1) is intended to implement the suburban residential high and the residential component of the community employment center land use classifications of the Comprehensive Plan. Description abridged from Sec. 32-304.01 of the Prince William County Zoning Ordinance -- sentences carrying figures are omitted here so this text can never contradict the standards table, which carries a citation on each value. Read that section for the district's own words in full.

Development standards in R-16

Front setbackMultifamily: At least 35 ft
“5. The Zoning Administrator may approve modifications in any of the minimum development standards provided in this section, other than relating to required side setbacks. No standard shall be reduced by more than 20 percent of the required minimum and the minimum standards for the housing unit type shall collectively be met or exceeded in the area where the modification is proposed.”
32-306.12
Multifamily, mid-rise residential building: At least 35 ft
“5. The Zoning Administrator may approve modifications in any of the minimum development standards provided in this section, other than relating to required side setbacks. No standard shall be reduced by more than 20 percent of the required minimum and the minimum standards for the housing unit type shall collectively be met or exceeded in the area where the modification is proposed.”
32-306.12
Side setbackMultifamily: At least 20 ft
“5. The Zoning Administrator may approve modifications in any of the minimum development standards provided in this section, other than relating to required side setbacks. No standard shall be reduced by more than 20 percent of the required minimum and the minimum standards for the housing unit type shall collectively be met or exceeded in the area where the modification is proposed.”
32-306.12
Multifamily, mid-rise residential building: At least 25 ft
“5. The Zoning Administrator may approve modifications in any of the minimum development standards provided in this section, other than relating to required side setbacks. No standard shall be reduced by more than 20 percent of the required minimum and the minimum standards for the housing unit type shall collectively be met or exceeded in the area where the modification is proposed.”
32-306.12
Rear setbackMultifamily: At least 25 ft
“5. The Zoning Administrator may approve modifications in any of the minimum development standards provided in this section, other than relating to required side setbacks. No standard shall be reduced by more than 20 percent of the required minimum and the minimum standards for the housing unit type shall collectively be met or exceeded in the area where the modification is proposed.”
32-306.12
Multifamily, mid-rise residential building: At least 50 ft
“5. The Zoning Administrator may approve modifications in any of the minimum development standards provided in this section, other than relating to required side setbacks. No standard shall be reduced by more than 20 percent of the required minimum and the minimum standards for the housing unit type shall collectively be met or exceeded in the area where the modification is proposed.”
32-306.12
Maximum heightMultifamily: At most 50 ft32-306.12
Multifamily, mid-rise residential building: At most 100 ft32-306.12
Multifamily, mid-rise residential building: At least 40 ft32-306.12
Max densityAt most 16 dwellings per acre32-304.05
At least 6 dwellings per acre32-304.05
Minimum lot sizeMultifamily: At least 2,000 times the number of dwelling units if the number of stories is at most 1 stories; otherwise 1,725 times the number of dwelling units if the number of stories is 2 stories; otherwise 1,450 times the number of dwelling units if the number of stories is 3 stories or the number of stories is 4 stories
“5. The Zoning Administrator may approve modifications in any of the minimum development standards provided in this section, other than relating to required side setbacks. No standard shall be reduced by more than 20 percent of the required minimum and the minimum standards for the housing unit type shall collectively be met or exceeded in the area where the modification is proposed.”
32-306.12
Multifamily, mid-rise residential building: At least 2,500 times the number of dwelling units if the number of dwelling units is at most 16 dwelling units; otherwise 1,800 times the number of dwelling units if the number of dwelling units is at most 26 dwelling units; otherwise 1,200 times the number of dwelling units if the number of dwelling units is at most 36 dwelling units; otherwise 1,000 times the number of dwelling units if the number of dwelling units is at most 46 dwelling units; otherwise 900 times the number of dwelling units if the number of dwelling units is more than 46 dwelling units
“5. The Zoning Administrator may approve modifications in any of the minimum development standards provided in this section, other than relating to required side setbacks. No standard shall be reduced by more than 20 percent of the required minimum and the minimum standards for the housing unit type shall collectively be met or exceeded in the area where the modification is proposed.”
32-306.12
Multifamily: The ordinance sets no figure for this case32-304.05
Other comparable housing units: Not computed here: the ordinance makes it depend on facts about the site32-304.05
Minimum lot widthMultifamily, mid-rise residential building: At least 150 ft
“5. The Zoning Administrator may approve modifications in any of the minimum development standards provided in this section, other than relating to required side setbacks. No standard shall be reduced by more than 20 percent of the required minimum and the minimum standards for the housing unit type shall collectively be met or exceeded in the area where the modification is proposed.”
32-306.12
Multifamily: The ordinance sets no figure for this case32-304.05
Maximum lot coverageMultifamily: Not computed here: the ordinance makes it depend on facts about the site32-304.05
Multifamily, mid-rise residential building: Not computed here: the ordinance makes it depend on facts about the site32-304.05
Each row above is the ordinance’s own rule, written out in words and cited to its section. Where a figure depends on what you build (the kind of building, a conventional or cluster subdivision, an interior or corner lot, or the building’s height), each case is its own line; where it depends on the building height, the cited table says how that height is measured.
Read from Prince William County Code Chapter 32 (Zoning), effective through 2025-09-09. We last checked with the publisher on 2026-09-24 and found nothing newer -- a check on that date, not a promise about today.
How complete is this market? Across 147,740 parcels we answer 90.0% 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 3,451 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 Prince William County (excl. incorporated towns). Look one of those up and we will tell you which town governs it.

Permitted uses in R-16

"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.

Look up an address

Sources

Other Prince William County zones

A-1 A-2 B-1 B-2 B-3 M-1 M-2 M/T O(L) PBD PMD PMR R-1 R-2 R-4 R-6 R-8 R-MH RPC SR-1 SR-5 TWN