Henrico supervisors begin crafting maximum occupancy limits

When Rebecca Worley's new neighbors turned out to be 22 construction workers in a single-family house in Chamberlayne Farms, she was not pleased.

Even after Henrico County intervened, the number of next-door neighbors remained at 14.

As a result of 152 similar complaints in the past three years, the Henrico Board of Supervisors is beginning to develop occupancy limits.

A work session yesterday afternoon brought out three options for deciding how many people can live together in one house.

The current rules, based solely on the Virginia Maintenance Code, "allow what many consider an unacceptably high number of occupants," said Ben Blankenship, principal planner.

A second option would base the number of allowable occupants, including children, on the size of sleeping areas, including the living room, family room or den.

The third option would count adults only and base occupancy on the total square footage of the house. Four adults could live in a house with a total of 1,600 square feet. One additional adult would be allowed for every additional 400 square feet, up to a maximum of eight adults. The number of children would not be limited. "Most complaints have been about too many adults," Blankenship said.

Put into practice on a 2,000-square-foot house, the number of allowable people would be 12 under the current rules, 10 under the second option and five adults under the last option.

On a 4,000-square-foot house, the number would be 23 people under the current rules, 14 people under the second option and eight adults under the last option.

The third option would be slightly more restrictive than a proposal under consideration in Chesterfield County because of the cap at eight people. Chesterfield's proposal allows up to 10 people in houses over 4,500 square feet.

Henrico would continue to abide by the Virginia Maintenance Code to determine the maximum number of occupants, including children, in a single dwelling.

Final proposals for Henrico occupancy limits will be presented at another work session before coming up for a public hearing and vote by the Board of Supervisors.

In other business, the board approved a resolution to study land uses in the Innsbrook area, potentially recommending redevelopment of some parts of the office park with higher-density mixed uses including retail and residential.

Contact Katherine Calos at (804) 649-6433 or .