Section B-100.2, Definitions, define a “Court, Closed” as: 

A court surrounded on all sides by the exterior walls of a building, or by exterior walls of a building and a side or rear lot lines, or by alley lines where the alley is less than ten feet (10 ft.) in width.   

For RA Zones, the minimum court area of a closed court is set forth in 11 DCMR F-202.1: 

A court is not required, but if provided, it shall have the following minimum dimensions as set forth in Table F-202.1  

“The minimum width accepted for a closed court in the RA-Zones is 4 in/ft. of height of court but not less than 15 ft. minimum”. 

“The minimum area accepted is “Twice the square of the required width of the court dimension, but not less than 350 sq. ft. minimum”. 

If the minimum court width is 15 feet, and twice the square feet of 15 feet is 450 square feet [15 x 15 x 2 = 450] then that number would be the minimum area.  However, the table explicitly states that the lowest minimum court area accepted is 350 square feet. 

The Zoning Administrator has determined that the specific minimum number of 350 square feet governs and will be permitted in such cases.