Setback Requirements for the CC: Community Commercial District in Arlington

In the City of Arlington, development within the CC: Community Commercial district requires a 20-foot setback from freeways or frontage roads and a 10-foot setback from all other street types. While interior side and rear setbacks are generally 0 feet, a minimum setback of 20 feet is required whenever a CC: Community Commercial property is adjacent to a single-family residential use. These requirements are subject to more restrictive landscape buffer or screening standards that vary based on the height of the commercial structure and the specific classification of the adjacent roadway.

Primary Setback Standards for CC: Community Commercial

The CC: Community Commercial district is intended for community and regional retail shopping centers, typically located at the intersections of two arterial streets. The following table outlines the fundamental dimensional standards for building placement within this district in the City of Arlington.

Setback Type	Roadway or Adjacency Condition	Minimum Requirement
Street Setback	Freeway or Frontage Road	20 feet
Street Setback	All other streets	10 feet
Interior Setback	Side and/or Rear (General)	0 feet
Adjacency Setback	Side and/or Rear adjacent to Single-Family Use	20 feet

[Section 2.3.5]

Measurement and General Standards

In the City of Arlington, setbacks for the CC: Community Commercial district are measured from the property lines with specific rules for street frontages:

Thoroughfare Plan Streets: For arterial and collector streets, setbacks are measured from the right-of-way line established by the City of Arlington Thoroughfare Development Plan [Section 4.1.6].
Other Streets: For non-Thoroughfare Plan streets, the measurement is taken from the existing right-of-way [Section 4.1.6].
Obstructions: Setbacks must remain unoccupied and unobstructed from 30 inches above grade upward, though certain items like fences, poles, and furniture are permitted subject to visibility triangle requirements [Section 4.1.6].

Supplemental Buffer and Screening Requirements

The City of Arlington Unified Development Code applies additional "Perimeter Landscape Setbacks" and "Residential Screening and Buffering" standards that may increase the effective distance a building must be placed from a property line. If a conflict exists between the CC: Community Commercial district's base setbacks and these supplemental standards, the more restrictive requirement governs [Section 1.7.2].

Perimeter Landscape Buffers

All non-residential development in the City of Arlington must provide a perimeter landscape setback area along the entire right-of-way. For CC: Community Commercial properties, the minimum buffer width depends on the street type:

Roadway Classification	Minimum Landscape Buffer Width
Interstate Highway	20 feet
Major/Minor Arterial or Major Collector	15 feet
Minor Collector or Local Street	10 feet

[Section 5.2.2]

Residential Adjacency Buffers

When a CC: Community Commercial development is located adjacent to a residential use, the City of Arlington requires specific screening levels. While the district-specific setback is 20 feet, the screening standards in Section 5.3.1 may increase this based on the height of the commercial structure:

1-3 Stories: Requires a Level 2 buffer, which is a 15-foot landscape buffer width. In this case, the CC: Community Commercial district's 20-foot setback remains the more restrictive governing standard.
3+ Stories: Requires a Level 3 buffer, which mandates a 30-foot landscape buffer width. Because this 30-foot requirement is more restrictive than the district's 20-foot setback, the building must be set back at least 30 feet from the residential property line.

[Section 5.3.1, Table 5.3-1, Table 5.3-2]

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