Nelson County Unincorporated
Zoning districts
10 districts, grouped by category.
Agricultural
2Agricultural District A-1
- Min lot
- 87,120 sq ft (2 ac)
- Max height
- 35 ft
- Front setback
- 75 ft
- Max density
- 1 du/ac
- Permitted uses
- 31
Conservation District C-1
- Min lot
- 871,200 sq ft (20 ac)
- Max height
- 35 ft
- Max density
- 0.05 du/ac
- Permitted uses
- 18
Commercial
3Business District B-1
- Max height
- 130 ft
- Permitted uses
- 1
Business District B-2
- Max height
- 130 ft
- Permitted uses
- 1
Service Enterprise District SE-1
- Min lot
- 40,000 sq ft (0.92 ac)
- Max height
- 35 ft
- Permitted uses
- 27
Residential
3Residential District R-1
- Min lot
- 87,120 sq ft (2 ac)
- Max height
- 35 ft
- Front setback
- 50 ft
- Permitted uses
- 20
Residential District R-2
- Min lot
- 10,000 sq ft
- Max height
- 35 ft
- Front setback
- 35 ft
- Permitted uses
- 17
General provisions
140 rules that bind every district rather than one — sign regulations, parking, floodplain and the rest of the code’s citywide chapters.
No communication tower shall be located within one thousand three hundred twenty (1,320) feet of the nearest boundary of the Blue Ridge Parkway or the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.
Class A personal wireless service facilities are permitted as a by-right use in all zoning districts. No communication tower shall be located within 120 feet of any Virginia Scenic Byway or within 1,320 feet of the Blue Ridge Parkway or Appalachian Trail.
A small wind energy system shall be permitted in all zoning districts, subject to certain requirements as set forth below.
Ground-mounted systems shall not exceed fifteen (15) feet in height when oriented at maximum tilt. All equipment, accessory structures and operations associated with a large solar energy system shall be setback at least one hundred (100) feet from all property lines and at least two hundred (200) feet from any residentially zoned properties. A twenty-foot-wide vegetative buffer yard...
Temporary family health care structures shall be allowed in the Conservation, C-1; Agricultural, A-1; Residential, R-1; Residential, R-2; and Residential Planned Community, RPC Zoning Districts as permitted accessory uses to single-family dwellings.
The minimum acreage for a Festival Grounds is 250 acres. Contiguous parcels under the same or different ownership or control may be aggregated to attain the minimum acreage
receptions, dining, and entertainment, such as musical or other cultural performances, which (i) are conducted in connection with the primary permitted use, (ii) do not involve amplified sound later than 9:00 p.m. on Sundays through Thursdays or later than 10:00 p.m. on Fridays or Saturdays, and (iii) host no more than five hundred (500) attendees at any one time during the activity.
A one (1) day private social event, such as weddings, receptions, and reunions, which is conducted on property not zoned for commercial uses and not a farm winery or agritourism activity venue, which is not open to the general public, to which attendance does not exceed 300 people, and for which the landowner charges a fee for the use of his property.
Each such event may not exceed a maximum duration of four (4) consecutive days open to the attending public, inclusive of an arrival day and a departure day. Amplified sound is not permitted after 11:00 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday night; nor after 11:59 p.m. on any Thursday night; nor after 1:00 a.m. on any Saturday or Sunday morning.
Each such event may not exceed a maximum duration of six (6) consecutive days open to the attending public, inclusive of an arrival day and a departure day. Amplified sound is not permitted after 11:00 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday night; nor after 11:59 p.m. on any Thursday night; nor after 1:00 a.m. on any Saturday or Sunday morning.
All such temporary structures and facilities shall be lawfully removed within ten (10) days of the approved end date.
A Category 3 Temporary Event may not exceed a maximum duration of six (6) consecutive days open to the attending public, inclusive of an arrival day and a departure day. Amplified sound is not permitted after 11:00 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday night; nor after 11:59 p.m. on any Thursday night; nor after 1:00 a.m. on any Saturday and Sunday morning.
Request for establishment... accompanied by a 'Master Plan' for the proposed community of not less than three thousand (3,000) contiguous acres... open areas... not less than twenty-five (25) percent... maximum allowable gross density shall not exceed ten (10) dwelling units per acre... There shall be no minimum lot size, no minimum setback lines... Prior to approval of the Final Plan, the applicant must submit plans... of a public or private sewer and a public or private water supply system...
Farm brewery, limited: A brewery that manufactures no more than fifteen thousand (15,000) barrels of brewed beverages per calendar year, provided that (i) the brewery is located on a farm owned or leased by such brewery or its owner and (ii) agricultural products...
Unless district boundary lines are fixed by dimensions or otherwise clearly shown or described, and where uncertainty exists with respect to the boundaries of any of the aforesaid districts as shown on the zoning map, the following rules shall apply:
Whenever any section or provision of this ordinance or of any regulation adopted under the authority of this ordinance requires a greater width of lot or size of lot or yard or other open spaces, or requires a lower height of building or less number of stories, requires a greater percentage of lot to be left unoccupied or imposes other higher standards than are required in any state statute or other county ordinance or regulation, the provision of this ordinance or of the regulation adopted under the authority of this ordinance shall govern.
The Floodway District is delineated using the criterion that certain areas within the floodplain must be capable of carrying the waters of the one hundred (100)-year flood without increasing the water surface elevation of that flood more than one (1) foot at any point.
The Special Floodplain District shall be those areas identified as an AE Zone on the maps accompanying the Flood Insurance Study for which one hundred (100)-year flood elevations have been provided.
The Approximated Floodplain District shall be those areas identified as an A or A99 Zone on the maps accompanying the Flood Insurance Study.
Critical facilities are prohibited from being constructed or operated within a SFHA unless a variance is granted pursuant to 10.21. The storage of Acetone, Ammonia, Benzene, ... is prohibited in a SFHA.
Source documents
The chapters of the adopted code that were retrieved, read and extracted from. Everything above traces back to one of these.
- Chapter 18.2K charsRead →
- Chapter 1016.8K charsRead →
- Chapter 1116.5K charsRead →
- Chapter 12153.2K charsRead →
- Chapter 1326.4K charsRead →
- Chapter 1485.5K charsRead →
- Chapter 1565.8K charsRead →
- Chapter 1624.7K charsRead →
- Chapter 175.6K charsRead →
- Chapter 1822K charsRead →
- Chapter 1910.1K charsRead →
- Chapter 286.6K charsRead →
- Chapter 2018K charsRead →
- Chapter 213.2K charsRead →
- Chapter 222.8K charsRead →
- Chapter 2391.3K charsRead →
- Chapter 2418.1K charsRead →
- Chapter 2524.1K charsRead →
- Chapter 2635K charsRead →
- Chapter 2710.2K charsRead →
- Chapter 2833.7K charsRead →
- Chapter 315.5K charsRead →
- Chapter 442.8K charsRead →
- Chapter 518K charsRead →
- Chapter 616.9K charsRead →
- Chapter 734.3K charsRead →
- Chapter 816.2K charsRead →
- Chapter 910.6K charsRead →