The following are adopted amendments to the current Zoning Ordinance. Click on an amendment below to expand for more information.
Department of Planning and Development Alert:
The following are adopted amendments to the current Zoning Ordinance. Click on an amendment below to expand for more information.
Adopted: April 22, 2025
Effective: April 23, 2025
The amendment included minor and editorial revisions including updates in accordance with state law, as outlined in Topic #10 of the current Zoning Ordinance Work Program. This is an annual Work Program item that was intended to keep the Zoning Ordinance up to date by identifying revisions necessary to correct errors, resolve inconsistencies, provide clarifications and improve readability, as well as propose other changes that are limited in scope, including revisions due to change in the State Code. Many of these revisions are identified by staff as they use the Zoning Ordinance daily.
Staff Report (Download)
Adopted: 2-4-2025
Effective: 3-1-2025
The amendment revises the permissions and use-specific standards for special events and food trucks. Additionally, the amendment revises the definition of special events.
Amendment Text (Download)
Staff Report (Download)
Adopted: 12-3-2024
Effective: 12-4-2024
This amendment evaluated possible modifications to the requirements for accessible parking spaces.
Adopted: 12-3-2024
Effective: 12-4-2024
This amendment reviewed the provisions for Contractor’s Office and Shop, including the permissions and use-specific standards. Additionally, the amendment developed a definition for construction vehicle.
Adopted: 10-22-2024
Effective: 10-23-2024
This amendment repealed Chapter 112.1 (Zoning Ordinance) in its entirety and repealed the supersession clause that was included in the adoption of Chapter 112.2 (Zoning Ordinance).
Staff Report (Download)
Adopted: 9-10-2024
Effective: 9-11-2024
The amendment revises the permissions and use-specific standards for data centers.
Adopted: 6-25-2024
Effective: 7-1-2024
The amendment readopted the seven amendments to Ch. 112.2 as part of Ch. 112.1.
Staff Report (Download)
Adopted: 4-16-2024
Effective: 7-1-2024
This amendment increased Zoning Application Fees on most applications up to 35% (phased in at 17.5% annually effective July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025), as well as increased the required Planned District Recreational Facilities Minimum Expenditure up to 26% (phased in at 13% annually effective July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025).
Staff Report (Download)
Adopted: 3-19-2024
Effective: 3-20-2024
This amendment corrects typographical and editorial errors, resolves inconsistencies, provides clarification of certain provisions, codifies existing practices, and includes other minor revisions, such as revising the permissions for personal service establishments in the C-1 through C-4 Districts and adding sanitary sewer application submission requirements.
Amendment Text (Download)
Staff Report (Download)
Adopted: 2-6-2024
Effective: 2-7-2024 with a grace period until April 30, 2024, to allow existing outdoor dining areas to come into compliance with the new standards.
The Outdoor Dining amendment establishes outdoor dining as an accessory use to permit the continuation of the type of outdoor dining associated with a restaurant or other type of food establishment that was allowed during the COVID-19 Emergency. Specifically, the proposed amendment maintains the approach followed during the pandemic that permitted outdoor dining on private property by right, subject to standards, and introduces a new administrative permit process (AP) for outdoor dining in a parking lot.
Amendment Text (Download)
Staff Report (Download)
Adopted: 1-23-2024
Effective: 1-24-2024
The Landscaping and Screening amendment repealed and replaced Section 5108, Landscaping and Screening, which contains provisions for parking lot landscaping and transitional screening and barrier requirements. The amendment introduced new provisions such as street frontage landscaping.
Staff Report (Download)
Adopted: 11-21-2023
Effective: 11-22-2023
The Sign Regulations Part II amendment revised the nighttime brightness levels of electronic display signs; consolidated the comprehensive sign plan, special exception, and special permit sign applications into a unified SE application for sign modifications; and revised other sign regulations, including those related to illuminated or electronic window signs, subdivision signs, and signs for multifamily buildings.
Adopted: 11-21-2023
Effective: 11-22-2023
This amendment revised the standards for outdoor lighting within one-half mile around the Turner Farm Park Observatory located on Springvale Road in the Dranesville District.
Adopted: 9-26-2023
Effective: 1-1-2024
The parking modernization project, known as Parking Reimagined, reviewed the off-street parking and loading requirements in Article 6 (Parking and Loading Regulations) of the Zoning Ordinance. This amendment updates and modernizes Article 6 in its entirety and modifies various other sections of the Zoning Ordinance as they relate to parking.
Adopted: 5-9-2023
Effective: 5-10-2023
On Tuesday, May 9, the Board of Supervisors (BOS) readopted the Modernized Zoning Ordinance (zMOD), originally adopted in 2021 and subsequently amended over the next two years.
Adopted: 1-24-2023
Effective: 1-25-2023
Similar to the previously-adopted minor and editorial revisions, the amendment included a number of necessary revisions that had been identified following the adoption of the new Zoning Ordinance. The changes corrected typographical or editorial errors or provided for clarification of certain provisions.
Adopted: 3-8-2022
Effective: 3-9-2022
The amendment establishes the Hollin Hills Historic Overlay District (Hollin Hills HOD), concurrent with Comprehensive Plan Amendment PA 2018- IV- MV4 to amend the Comprehensive Plan to update Plan language and figures to reflect the Hollin Hills HOD designation; and rezoning RZ 2021-MV-00017 to rezone 492 parcels on approximately 291.27 acres of land within the Hollin Hills community, on certain properties within Tax Maps 93-1, 93-3, 93-4 and 102-1, and to amend the Zoning Map and establish the boundaries of the proposed historic overlay district.
Grandfather - The following are grandfathered from the provisions of this amendment:
Adopted: 2-22-2022
Effective: 2-23-2022
The amendment included a number of necessary revisions that had been identified following the adoption of the new Zoning Ordinance. The changes corrected typographical or editorial errors or provided for clarification of certain provisions.
Adopted: 9-14-2021
Effective: 9-15-2021
The amendment, under the authority granted by the General Assembly under SB1457 (effective April 7, 2021), amends (1) the powers and duties of the Architectural Review Board (“ARB”) to grant additional authority to the ARB to hear and decide applications for any proposed subdivision, including any subdivision plat, plan, or construction plan of any parcel or parcels within a historic overlay district (“HOD”) whose district-specific regulations require such ARB approval, (2) amends the administration of HOD regulations to require ARB review and approval of any application for a proposed subdivision of any parcel(s) within any HOD whose district-specific regulations require such ARB approval, and (3) amend the additional Standards for the Wellington Historic Overlay District (WHOD) to require ARB review and approval of any proposed subdivision and to allow the Board, in association with a proposed development, to impose or accept any condition it deems necessary to ensure any proposed use will satisfy the general and additional standards applicable to this HOD. This may include a condition to allow public access to the Wellington at River Farm HOD and its landmark, buildings, structures, or land to the extent permitted by local, state, or federal law.
Adopted: 7-13-2021
Effective: 7-14-2021
The amendment established four special permit application fees, restored permissions for three uses, and included several clarifications and editorial revisions.
Adopted: 6-22-2021
Effective: 7-1-2021
The amendment increases the minimum acreage required to be in agricultural production from 5 acres to 7 acres when establishing an agricultural operation; establishes an agritourism definition with a tiered system based on associated acreage ranges and total number of attendees per day, and standards; creates a by-right option for bed and breakfasts when in conjunction with an agricultural operation and located on 20 acres or more; permits food trucks in association with agritourism, limited brewery, limited distillery, and farm winery; renames “quarters for a tenant farmer and his family” to farm worker housing with additional standards; and modifies and relocates the provisions for wayside stands.
Adopted: 4-13-2021
Effective: 4-14-2021 and 7-1-2021
The amendment establishes the Wellington at River Farm Historic Overlay District (WHOD), concurrent with a Comprehensive Plan Amendment PA 2020 IV-MV1, addressing the proposed establishment of the WHOD; and rezoning application RZ 2021-MV-001, adding the WHOD to the property and defining the boundaries of the WHOD on the Zoning Map.
As part of the zMOD project the WHOD regulations were adopted in two versions: in the current Zoning Ordinance (ZO) format and in the zMOD format. The regulations provided in the current ZO format are the governing zoning ordinance text until zMOD becomes effective on July 1, 2021. Once zMOD becomes effective, the language provided in the current ZO format would automatically be replaced with the proposed language in the zMOD format.
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