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Prince William County zoning › R-4

R-4Residential Suburban (R-4)

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

R-4 Zoning District. The R-4 district (formerly R-10) is intended to implement the suburban residential-low, suburban residential-moderate, and community employment center land use classifications of the Comprehensive Plan. This district is designed to provide for and encourage development of quality one-family dwellings at a low to moderate suburban density of approximately four dwelling units per acre or less. Description abridged from Sec. 32-303.10 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-4

Front setbackSingle-family detached, conventional subdivision: At least 30 ft32-303.15
Other principal uses, conventional subdivision: If the building is one the ordinance lists for a taller height, all required yards and setbacks shall be increased one foot for each foot in height the building is constructed over 35 feet; otherwise at least 30 ft32-300.05
Single-family detached, cluster subdivision: At least 25 ft32-300.61
Other principal uses, cluster subdivision: If the building is one the ordinance lists for a taller height, all required yards and setbacks shall be increased one foot for each foot in height the building is constructed over 35 feet; otherwise at least 25 ft32-300.05
Cluster subdivision: Not computed here: the ordinance makes it depend on facts about the site32-303.14
Side setbackSingle-family detached, conventional subdivision: At least 20 ft if the side is a corner lot's side along a street; otherwise at least 10 ft
“4. For a corner lot the minimum side setback abutting the side street shall be 20 feet. For corner lots, front and side yards shall be fixed in conjunction with issuance of building permits and shall be noted in the zoning approval.”
32-303.15
Other principal uses, conventional subdivision: If the building is one the ordinance lists for a taller height, all required yards and setbacks shall be increased one foot for each foot in height the building is constructed over 35 feet; otherwise at least 20 ft if the side is a corner lot's side along a street; otherwise at least 10 ft
“4. For a corner lot the minimum side setback abutting the side street shall be 20 feet. For corner lots, front and side yards shall be fixed in conjunction with issuance of building permits and shall be noted in the zoning approval.”
32-300.05
Single-family detached, cluster subdivision: At least 20 ft if the side is a corner lot's side along a street; otherwise at least 10 ft
“(e) | Minimum side setback for side of corner lot abutting street | 20 feet | 20 feet”
32-300.61
Other principal uses, cluster subdivision: If the building is one the ordinance lists for a taller height, all required yards and setbacks shall be increased one foot for each foot in height the building is constructed over 35 feet; otherwise at least 20 ft if the side is a corner lot's side along a street; otherwise at least 10 ft
“(e) | Minimum side setback for side of corner lot abutting street | 20 feet | 20 feet”
32-300.05
Principal building adjoining commercial, office or industrial zoning: Not computed here: the ordinance makes it depend on facts about the site32-303.14
Carport attached to a principal dwelling, lot recorded prior to 1965: Not computed here: the ordinance makes it depend on facts about the site32-303.14
Rear setbackSingle-family detached, conventional subdivision: At least 25 ft32-303.15
Other principal uses, conventional subdivision: If the building is one the ordinance lists for a taller height, all required yards and setbacks shall be increased one foot for each foot in height the building is constructed over 35 feet; otherwise at least 25 ft32-300.05
Single-family detached, cluster subdivision: At least 20 ft32-300.61
Other principal uses, cluster subdivision: If the building is one the ordinance lists for a taller height, all required yards and setbacks shall be increased one foot for each foot in height the building is constructed over 35 feet; otherwise at least 20 ft32-300.05
Maximum heightSingle-family detached: At most 35 ft
“2. The maximum building height for a religious institution, barn, silo or other agricultural building, library, hospital, or building owned by a public use shall be 60 feet, provided that all required yards and setbacks shall be increased one foot for each foot in height the building is constructed over 35 feet.”
32-300.05
Other principal uses: At most 60 ft if the building is one the ordinance lists for a taller height; otherwise at most 35 ft
“2. The maximum building height for a religious institution, barn, silo or other agricultural building, library, hospital, or building owned by a public use shall be 60 feet, provided that all required yards and setbacks shall be increased one foot for each foot in height the building is constructed over 35 feet.”
32-300.05
Religious institution, barn, silo or other agricultural building, library, hospital, or building owned by a public use: Not computed here: the ordinance makes it depend on facts about the site32-303.14
Max densityConventional subdivision: No per-acre density is set: one dwelling unit per lot is allowed, on a lot of at least 10,000 sq ft.
“The minimum lot size shall be 10,000 square feet; one dwelling unit per lot shall be allowed.”
32-303.14(1)
Minimum lot sizeSingle-family detached and other principal uses, conventional subdivision: At least 10,000 sq ft32-303.14
Single-family detached and other principal uses, cluster subdivision: At least 7,500 sq ft32-300.61
Minimum lot widthSingle-family detached and other principal uses, cluster subdivision, interior lot: At least 60 ft32-300.61
Single-family detached and other principal uses, cluster subdivision, corner lot: At least 80 ft32-300.61
Conventional subdivision: The ordinance sets lot frontage: at least 70 ft; 100 ft along both streets on a corner lot; 45 ft on the arc of a cul-de-sac (with 70 ft of width at the building setback line); 60 ft on the outside of a street curve with a centerline radius under 200 ft.
“Lots shall have frontage on a public street. The minimum lot frontage along all streets shall be 70 feet, except 100 feet along both streets for corner lots (measured from the point of intersection of the extended lot lines coterminous with the street rights-of-way). For lots that have road frontage abutting the circular arc portion of a cul-de-sac, the lot frontage shall be a minimum of 45 feet and the minimum lot width, measured at the required building setback line, shall be 70 feet. For lots on the outside of a street with a centerline radius less than 200 feet, the minimum lot frontage shall be 60 feet. The Board of County Supervisors may approve lots with frontage on a private street upon approval of a Special Use Permit.”
32-303.14(2)
Maximum lot coverageSingle-family detached and other principal uses, conventional subdivision: At most 40%32-303.14
Single-family detached and other principal uses, cluster subdivision: At most 45%32-300.61
Minimum open spaceSingle-family detached and other principal uses, cluster subdivision: At least 30%32-300.61
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-4

"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-16 R-2 R-6 R-8 R-MH RPC SR-1 SR-5 TWN