RO-2 RESIDENTIAL-OFFICE DISTRICT

Richmond, Va., City Code ch. 30, art. IV, div. 14

in effect

Richmond, Va., City Code § 30-426.1 Permitted principal uses.

Sec. 30-426.1. - Permitted principal uses. The following uses of buildings and premises shall be permitted in the RO-2 district: (1) Any principal use permitted in the R-1 district as set forth in Section 30-402.1; (2) Single-family attached dwellings and uses and structures customarily incidental to attached dwelling developments, provided that: a. Appropriate agreements and covenants approved by the City Attorney provide for the perpetuation and maintenance of all areas to be held in common ownership by property owners within such developments; b. Architectural variations shall be provided among units within any series of more than four units; (3) Two-family dwellings; (4) Multifamily dwellings; (5) Nursing homes; (6) Day nurseries, provided that: a. A minimum outdoor play area of 100 square feet for each child enrolled shall be furnished on the premises, but not within a required front yard; b. The play area shall be enclosed with a continuous opaque structural fence or wall not less than four feet in height, and such fence or wall shall not be located within a required front yard; c. No play equipment or structure shall be located within a front yard or a required side yard; (7) Tourist homes situated on Federal highways; (8) Parking areas serving uses permitted in this district, provided that any card reader or other access control device at an entrance to a parking area shall be provided with not less than one stacking space situated off the public right-of-way; (9) Parking decks serving uses permitted in this district, provided that: a. Not less than one exit lane and one entrance lane shall be provided for each 300 parking spaces or major fraction thereof contained within the structure, and any card reader or other access control device at an entrance to a parking deck shall be provided with not less than one stacking space situated off the public right-of-way; b. Parking spaces contained therein shall be screened from view from abutting streets by structural material of not less than 45 percent opacity; (10) Offices, including business, professional and administrative offices, medical and dental offices and clinics, and studios of writers, designers and artists engaged in the graphic arts, provided that no retailing, wholesaling or servicing of merchandise shall be permitted on the premises nor shall the storage or display of merchandise to be serviced or offered for sale elsewhere be permitted on the premises; (11) Private schools offering instruction in skills practiced in connection with the operation of uses permitted in this district; (12) Banks and savings and loan offices, including accessory automated teller machines accessible from the interior or exterior of buildings devoted to such uses, provided that, when any bank or savings and loan office includes drive-up facilities or an automated teller machine accessible from the exterior of the building, the following conditions shall apply: a. No such use shall be located on a transitional site; b. Principal points of vehicular access to the premises shall be located on arterial or collector streets as designated in the City's master plan; c. The floor area of the building devoted to such use shall not exceed 2,500 square feet, and not more than two drive-up teller lanes shall be provided on the premises; (13) Funeral homes, provided that: a. Principal points of vehicular access to the premises shall be located on arterial or collector streets as designated in the City's master plan; b. Adequate space shall be provided on the premises or immediately adjacent thereto for the formation of funeral processions, and no such activity shall take place on public streets; (14) Hospitals, but not psychiatric hospitals for the care of patients committed by a court, provided that principal points of vehicular access to the premises shall be located on arterial or collector streets as designated in the City's master plan; (15) Radio broadcasting studios and offices, including accessory antennas, provided that the supporting hardware for any such antenna does not exceed ten feet above ground level, or in the case of a building-mounted antenna, ten feet above the surface of the building on which it is mounted; (16) Communications centers and telephone repeater stations operated by public service corporations; (17) Adult day care facilities; (18) Short-term rental, subject to the requirements of Article VI, Division 14 of this chapter; (19) Adult care residences; (20) Permanent supportive housing, subject to the provisions of Section 30-698; (21) Transitional housing, subject to the provisions of Section 30-698. (Code 1993, § 32-426.1; Code 2004, § 114-426.1; Code 2015, § 30-426.1; Code 2020, § 30-426.1; Ord. No. 2004-180-167, § 1, 6-28-2004; Ord. No. 2006-43-63, § 1, 3-13-2006; Ord. No. 2007-338-2008-11, § 1, 1-14-2008; Ord. No. 2019-343, § 1(30-426.1), 6-22-2020; Ord. No. 2020-261, § 1, 3-8-2021; Ord. No. 2024-314, § 2(30-426.1), 12-9-2024)

Richmond, Va., City Code § 30-426.1:1 Principal uses permitted by conditional use permit.

Sec. 30-426.1:1. - Principal uses permitted by conditional use permit. Lodginghouse uses of buildings and premises may be permitted in the RO-2 Residential-Office District by conditional use permit as set forth in Article X, Division 5.1 of this chapter. (Code 1993, § 32-426.1:1; Code 2004, § 114-426.1:1; Code 2015, § 30-426.1:1; Code 2020, § 30-426.1:1; Ord. No. 2020-261, § 1, 3-8-2021)

Richmond, Va., City Code § 30-426.2 Permitted accessory uses and structures.

Sec. 30-426.2. - Permitted accessory uses and structures. Accessory uses and structures, including the following, which are customarily incidental and clearly subordinate to permitted principal uses shall be permitted in the RO-2 Residential-Office District (see Article VI, Division 9, of this chapter): (1) Any accessory use or structure permitted in the R-1 district as set forth in section 30-402.2. (2) Guest units in multifamily developments available for short-term occupancy by guests of regular tenants of such developments, provided that the total number of such guest units shall not exceed one for each 50 dwelling units within the development. (3) Restaurant facilities, automated teller machines and shops for the sale of gifts, flowers, drugs and similar items for the convenience of patients and visitors may be located within hospital buildings, provided that there shall be no signs, displays, show windows or automated teller machines visible from the exterior of the building, nor shall there be any direct public entrance to such uses from the exterior of the building. (4) One dwelling unit located in an accessory building, containing two or more stories, which is existing at the effective date of the ordinance from which this subsection is derived and which is located on the same lot as a two-family or multifamily dwelling, provided that emergency vehicle access to the accessory building shall be provided in accordance with requirements of the department of public works and department of fire and emergency services. (5) Emergency housing, subject to the provisions of Section 30-698. (Code 1993, § 32-426.2; Code 2004, § 114-426.2; Code 2015, § 30-426.2; Code 2020, § 30-426.2; Ord. No. 2006-43-63, § 1, 3-13-2006; Ord. No. 2020-261, § 1, 3-8-2021; Ord. No. 2023-101, § 5, 4-24-2023; Ord. No. 2023-196, § 1, 9-25-2023)

Richmond, Va., City Code § 30-426.3 Reserved.

Richmond, Va., City Code § 30-426.4 Lot area and width.

Sec. 30-426.4. - Lot area and width. (a) In the RO-2 Residential-Office District, minimum lot areas and lot widths for single- and two-family dwellings shall be as required in the R-7 district and set forth in Section 30-413.5. (b) Multifamily dwellings shall be located on lots of not less than 5,000 square feet in total area and not less than 1,250 square feet in area for each dwelling unit. (Code 1993, § 32-426.4; Code 2004, § 114-426.4; Code 2015, § 30-426.4; Code 2020, § 30-426.4)

Richmond, Va., City Code § 30-426.5 Yards.

Sec. 30-426.5. - Yards. Yard regulations in the RO-2 Residential-Office District shall be as follows: (1) Front yard. There shall be a front yard with a depth of not less than 25 feet, except that front yards for single-family attached dwellings fronting on private streets, parking areas and common spaces shall be not less than 15 feet in depth (see Article VI, Division 4 of this chapter). (2) Side and rear yards. Side and rear yards shall be as follows: a. Side and rear yards for single- and two-family dwellings and buildings accessory thereto shall be as required in the R-7 district and set forth in Section 30-413.6 (see Article VI, Divisions 3, 4 and 9 of this chapter). b. Side and rear yards for newly constructed multifamily dwellings and buildings accessory thereto shall be not less than 15 feet in depth, provided that no side yard shall be required where buildings on abutting lots are attached by means of a party wall constructed along a mutual side lot line. c. Side and rear yards for uses and buildings other than single-family, two-family and multifamily dwellings and buildings accessory thereto shall be not less than ten feet in depth. (3) Spaces between buildings on same lot. Spaces between buildings on the same lot shall be as follows: a. Where two or more buildings, at least one of which contains a dwelling use, are erected on the same lot, the distance between any two such buildings shall be not less than 15 feet. b. Where two or more buildings, neither of which contains a dwelling use, are erected on the same lot, the distance between any two such buildings shall be not less than ten feet. (Code 1993, § 32-426.5; Code 2004, § 114-426.5; Code 2015, § 30-426.5; Code 2020, § 30-426.5; Ord. No. 2020-171, § 1(30-426.5), 9-28-2020)

Richmond, Va., City Code § 30-426.6 Usable open space.

Sec. 30-426.6. - Usable open space. In the RO-2 Residential-Office District, usable open space of not less than 40 percent of the area of the lot shall be provided for multifamily dwellings, nursing homes, adult care residences, group homes and lodginghouses (see definitions of terms in Section 30-1220). (Code 1993, § 32-426.6; Code 2004, § 114-426.6; Code 2015, § 30-426.6; Code 2020, § 30-426.6)

Richmond, Va., City Code § 30-426.6:1 Lot coverage.

Sec. 30-426.6:1. - Lot coverage. Maximum lot coverage in the RO-2 Residential-Office District shall not exceed 60 percent of the area of the lot for uses other than multifamily dwellings, nursing homes and lodginghouses. (Code 1993, § 32-426.6:1; Code 2004, § 114-426.6:1; Code 2015, § 30-426.6:1; Code 2020, § 30-426.6:1)

Richmond, Va., City Code § 30-426.7 Reserved.

Richmond, Va., City Code § 30-426.8 Height.

Sec. 30-426.8. - Height. No building or structure in the RO-2 Residential-Office District shall exceed 35 feet in height, except that additional height shall be permitted on lots of two acres or more in area, provided that: (1) No portion of any building shall penetrate inclined planes originating at interior side and rear lot lines or at the centerline of a public alley adjoining any such lot line and extending over the lot at an inclination of one foot horizontal for each one foot vertical. (2) No portion of any building shall penetrate an inclined plane originating at the centerline of an abutting street and extending over the lot at an inclination of one foot horizontal for each one foot vertical along any street frontage where a front yard is required and one foot horizontal for each 1½ feet vertical along other street frontages. (3) No building shall exceed 60 feet in height. (Code 1993, § 32-426.8; Code 2004, § 114-426.8; Code 2015, § 30-426.8; Code 2020, § 30-426.8)

Source: City of Richmond, Virginia, Code (2026 recodification) and Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/va/richmond/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CH30ZO_ARTIVDIRE_DIV14REFIDIFetched: 11/8/2026