Building Setbacks & Zoning in Montgomery County, VA (2026)
3 rules for unincorporated Montgomery County, Virginia.
Verified from official government sources
Setback Rules
Montgomery County's A-1 Agricultural District requires a 40-foot front yard, 15-foot side yards for each principal structure, and a 40-foot rear yard, with accessory buildings kept at least 10 feet from side or rear lot lines, per County Code § 10-21.
Yard Setback Minimums in Montgomery County's A-1 Zone
Some RestrictionsMontgomery County Code § 10-21
Minimum yards: Front. Forty (40) feet (also refer to additional setback requirements pertaining to residential uses near intensive agricultural operations, section 10-41(16)). Side. Fifteen (15) feet for each principal structure. Rear. Forty (40) feet. Accessory buildings. No accessory building may be located closer than ten (10) feet to a side or rear lot line.
Structure Height Limits
Montgomery County caps buildings in the A-1 Agricultural District at 40 feet, but a structure can go taller with a special use permit if it adds two extra feet of setback for every foot over 40, up to a 100-foot maximum setback, per County Code § 10-21.
Building Height Limit in Montgomery County's A-1 Zone
Some RestrictionsMontgomery County Code § 10-21
Maximum building height. No building or structure, except for exempted structures provided for in section 10-2(5)(b) of this chapter, shall exceed forty (40) feet in height, as defined, except by special use permit and that for every one (1) foot above forty (40) feet, the building or structure shall be set back an additional two (2) feet up to a maximum of one hundred (100) feet.
Lot Coverage Limits
In Montgomery County outside Blacksburg and Christiansburg, the A-1 Agricultural District caps building coverage at 20 percent of a lot and impervious surface coverage at 30 percent, per County Code § 10-21's lot requirements for the district.
Max Lot Coverage in Montgomery County's A-1 District
Some RestrictionsMontgomery County Code § 10-21
Maximum coverage. No more than twenty (20) percent of any lot shall be covered by buildings and no more than thirty (30) percent of any lot shall be covered by impervious surfaces.
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