Visualizing Density

Glossary

Activity Center

Clusters of employment in an urban area with a population that exceeds 20,000 people.

Amenity

A feature that offers a visual appeal or service to residents. Examples are public spaces, recreational facilities, landscaping, sidewalks, parking, and access to public transportation.

Attached Building

Connected buildings in a row that share a common wall and abut side lot lines on adjacent zoning lots.

Brownfields

Underutilized or unused land that is either contaminated by hazardous substances or pollutants or is perceived as contaminated.

Building Footprint

The outline or two dimensional shape created when a structure intersects the site at ground level.

Bulk

The maximum size and placement of a building on a zoning lot, due to lot size, floor area ratio, lot coverage, open space, yards, height, setback, or other factors.

Carrying Capacity

The intensity of land use or human activity that can be managed without an irreversible change in the quality of air, water, land. The estimated maximum number of persons that can be accommodated by existing infrastructure or number of vehicles that can be accommodated on a roadway.

Compact Development

Emphasis on vertical construction growth, increase in building height, and the reduction of construction footprints to preserve greenspace through the efficient utilization of land.

Conservation Areas

Land protected from development or activity that would hinder the balance and integrity of an environmentally sensitive area.

Density

Intensity of development within one unit of land. Total number of units divided by developable land, i.e., natural lakes and designated Conservation Areas are excluded from the gross land area. Most commonly describes the number of housing units developed on an acre of land, expressed as a ratio.

Gross Density

A units-per-acre density calculation that factors in public rights-of-way, recreational, civic, commercial and other non-residential uses. Gross residential density includes parks, wetlands, lakes, and other undevelopable lands.

Net Density

A units-per-acre density calculation that only factors land occupied by residential uses, not streets, parks or other uses. Net residential density excludes undevelopable areas.

Detached Housing

A single dwelling unit that is situated alone, not connected to another dwelling unit, on an individual parcel.

Floor Area Ratio (F.A.R.)

Density calculations expressing the proportion of a building's complete floor area and its site coverage. Provides a sense of development intensity and building mass and is often used to measure non-residential or mixed use density. Calculated by dividing the gross square footage of a building by the total area of the lot.

Gross Density

A units-per-acre density calculation that factors in public rights-of-way, recreational, civic, commercial and other non-residential uses. Gross residential density includes parks, wetlands, lakes, and other undevelopable lands.

High Density Residential

On the Orange County Future Land Use Map of the Comprehensive Plan, a future land use designation that allows up to fifty (50) dwelling units per acre on a parcel of land.

Infrastructure

Facilities that service development, such as water and wastewater systems, utilities, roads, sidewalks, lighting, public buildings and other facilities.

Land Use

How a parcel of land is utilized. For instance, parcels may be utilized as the following: single family, townhomes, multifamily, school, hospital, etc.

Lot Area

Square footage of the space between the property lines. Area, length multiplied by width, in square feet of a zoning lot.

Lot Coverage

Portion of a zoning lot, when orthogonally viewed, is covered by buildings and ancillary structures.

Lot Depth

Distance between front lot line and rear lot line of a zoning lot.

Lot Line or Zoning Lot Line

Boundary of a zoning lot.

Front Lot Line

Street line or lot line separating a zoning lot from the street.

Rear Lot Line

Lot line that is normally parallel to a street line the zoning lot and does not intersect a street line.

Side Lot Line

Lot lines that are not front lot lines nor a rear lot lines.

Lot Width

Distance between opposite side lot lines.

Low Density Residential

On the Orange County Future Land Use Map of the Comprehensive Plan, a future land use designation that allows up to four (4) dwelling units per acre on a parcel of land.

Low-Medium Density Residential

On the Orange County Future Land Use Map of the Comprehensive Plan, a future land use designation that allows up to ten (10) dwelling units per acre on a parcel of land.

Medium Density Residential

On the Orange County Future Land Use Map of the Comprehensive Plan, a future land use designation that allows up to twenty (20) dwelling units per acre on a parcel of land.

Mixed Use Development

A development that combines more than one land use (ex. residential, commercial, and office) on the same site or in the same building.

Net Density

A units-per-acre density calculation that only factors land occupied by residential uses, not streets, parks or other uses. Net residential density excludes undevelopable areas.

New Urbanism

Design approach that emphasizes mixed use developments, a variety of housing types, narrow streets, wide sidewalks, reduced setbacks and lot widths, and front porches.

Openspace

Undeveloped land often used for recreational purposes. Natural habitats, forests, fields, wetlands, and farmlands are often considered as openspace.

Overlay Zoning/ Overlay Districts

Zoning districts that require additional performance standards for development or that prohibit particular uses within the underlying zoning district.

Pedestrian-Friendly

Development that accommodates and is designed for pedestrian use. Distance between buildings and blocks are kept minimal; adequate lighting, trash cans, and park benches are often included in the streetscape; and street patterns are direct paths that connect various points of interest.

Public Space

Land that is allocated for public use, although it may be publicly or privately owned, such as greens, squares, plazas, and parks. Public spaces often provide a sense of neighborhood identity, as well as places for recreation and socializing.

Rural/ Agriculture

On the Orange County Future Land Use Map of the Comprehensive Plan, a future land use designation that allows one (1) dwelling unit per ten (10) acres on a parcel of land.

Rural Settlement 1/1

On the Orange County Future Land Use Map of the Comprehensive Plan, a future land use designation that allows one (1) dwelling unit per acre on a parcel of land.

Rural Settlement 1/2

On the Orange County Future Land Use Map of the Comprehensive Plan, a future land use designation that allows one (1) dwelling unit per two (2) acres on a parcel of land.

Rural Settlement 1/5

On the Orange County Future Land Use Map of the Comprehensive Plan, a future land use designation that allows one (1) dwelling unit per five (5) acres on a parcel of land.

Semi-detached Building

Building that shares a wall with other buildings on adjacent lots, but that differs from attached buildings by being surrounded by open areas on the remaining sides of the building.

Service Lane or Alley

A narrow street that provides access to the interior of a block for parking, access to garages, and other service functions.

Setback

The distance of a building from the lot line, often determined by the minimum or maximum setback requirements of the applicable zoning district.

Site Plan

A scaled map of a place that includes planned uses and structures for a parcel of land. Lot lines, open space, parking areas, landscape features, and utility lines are often included in the plan.

Smart Growth

Design approach that mixes land uses, protect open space, provide a range of housing types and transportation options, and bring jobs and housing closer together in the built environment.

Sprawl

A development pattern in which rural land is made urban or suburban by the large-scale expansion of low-density residential uses with single family detached homes and rigid separation between land uses.

Streetscape

The appearance of a street corridor, including the area surrounding the street, location of buildings along a street, and design elements in the environment, including awnings, signs, sidewalks, lighting, and landscaping.

Townhouse, Rowhouse or Attached Housing

A series of dwelling units, usually from two to eight units, which share walls and have no separation between the units.

Traditional Neighborhoods

Design approach that reflects historic settlement patterns and planning concepts, such as narrow streets in grid patterns, reduced lot widths, reduced setbacks, and a focus on town centers surrounded by residential neighborhoods.

Transit Oriented Development

Development that consists of housing, retail, office, and other land uses situated around centers of transportation to offer convenient transportation options and to link residents to jobs and services.

Urban Design

Shaping of built environments with aesthetically pleasing and functional qualities, focusing on form, bulk, modeling, and height of buildings and the streets, landscaping, and open spaces surrounding the buildings.