Environmental Rules in James City County, VA (2026)
5 rules for unincorporated James City County, Virginia.
Verified from official government sources
Stormwater Management
James City County runs its own Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program (VESMP) through the Stormwater and Resource Protection Division, requiring an approved plan before most land-disturbing activity begins. Plans must be reviewed within 60 days, active sites inspected every two weeks, and violators face civil penalties up to $1,000.00 per day.
James City County Stormwater Management Program
Significant RestrictionsJames City County Code § 8-1
(a)This chapter shall be known as the "Erosion and Stormwater Management Ordinance of James City County."(b)The purpose of this ordinance is to ensure the general health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of James City County, protect the quality and quantity of state waters from the potential harm of unmanaged stormwater and soil erosion, including protection from a land disturbing activity ...
Erosion Control
James City County requires Land Disturbing Approval before most construction-site grading, clearing, or excavation begins under chapter 8. Home gardens, ordinary landscaping, and bona fide agricultural work are exempt, but a residential subdivision's individual lots still need a plan once the development's total disturbance reaches 10,000 square feet.
James City County Erosion Control Approval
Significant RestrictionsJames City County Code § 8-7
(a)Except as provided herein, no person may engage in any land disturbing activity until Land Disturbing Approval has been issued by the county in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance.(b)Notwithstanding any other provisions of this ordinance, the following activities are not required to comply with the requirements of this ordinance unless otherwise required by federal law. The dete...
Flood Zones
James City County designates floodway, flood-fringe, approximated floodplain and coastal high-hazard districts under Sec. 24-590 of the Zoning Ordinance, based on the December 16, 2015 FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map. Any construction, fill or manufactured home placement within these districts needs a floodplain permit under Sec. 24-592, and Sec. 24-594 bans junkyards, sanitary landfills, manufactured homes and hazardous-material storage outright inside the mapped floodplain.
James City County Floodplain Zone Rules
Significant RestrictionsJames City County Code § 24-590
(b)The floodway district, minimally shown on the maps accompanying the flood insurance study, is established for purposes of these regulations using the criterion that certain areas within the floodplain must be kept free of encroachment in order that the one percent annual chance (100-year) flood be conveyed without increasing the water surface areas included in this district.(c)The flood-frin...
Boat Dock Permits
In James City County, a private noncommercial pier, boathouse or catwalk built on pilings over county wetlands does not need a wetlands permit, as long as it lets the tide flow through and leaves the natural wetland contour alone. Anything beyond that, including a commercial dock or a structure not built on pilings, needs a permit application filed directly with the county wetlands board or the state Marine Resources Commission.
Boat Dock and Pier Permits in James City County
Some RestrictionsJames City County Code §§ 22-3(a), 22-4(a)
(a)The construction and maintenance of noncommercial catwalks, piers, boathouses, boat shelters, fences, duckblinds, wildlife management shelters, footbridges, observation decks and shelters and other similar structures; provided, that such structures are so constructed on pilings as to permit the reasonably unobstructed flow of the tide and preserve the natural contour of the wetlands; ... (a)...
Flood Elevation Requirements
Sec. 24-595 of the Zoning Ordinance requires the lowest floor of any building in a James City County floodplain district to sit at least two feet of freeboard above the one percent annual chance (100-year) flood elevation, with utilities floodproofed to the same two-foot mark and an elevation certificate due before occupancy.
James City County Flood Elevation Freeboard Rule
Some RestrictionsJames City County Code § 24-595
(2)The finished elevation of the lowest floor, including the basement or cellar of any building, shall have at least two feet freeboard above the one percent annual chance (100-year) flood elevation. For nonresidential structures, excluding accessory structures which conform to 24-595(a)(9), dry floodproofing up to the level of two feet freeboard in accordance with the Virginia Uniform Statewid...
All James City County ordinances
See every category we cover for James City County: parking, noise, fences, fires, animals, pools, and more.
James City County Ordinance Hub →