Roanoke County, VA Ordinances (2026)

Anyone operating or wanting to operate an adult business in Roanoke County, outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem, needs a $500 permit from the chief of police in…

Roanoke County Code Chapter 16.1 requires anyone who buys secondhand precious metals or gems in the county, defined in § 16.1-21 as a 'dealer,' to get a $200 annual permit from the…

Pawnbrokers in Roanoke County need two approvals before opening: a business license taxed at 0.36 percent of gross receipts under County Code § 10-59, and a police-issued permit that…

Running a massage parlor in Roanoke County requires a permit from the director of public health under Chapter 11, not just a business license. Section 11-26 makes it unlawful to…

Roanoke County doesn't license towing and wrecker companies directly. Instead, County Code § 12-14 creates a towing advisory board, formed under Virginia Code § 46.2-1217, to advise…

Roanoke County's zoning ordinance bars the retail sale of vape and nicotine-vapor products, other alternative nicotine products, and smokable hemp products from convenience stores…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), the park code defines three classes of electric power-assisted bicycle by top assisted speed at §…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), the R-1 Low Density Residential District requires a 30-foot front setback for principal structures…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), the R-1 Low Density Residential District caps building coverage at 35 percent of a lot's total area…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), the R-1 Low Density Residential District caps principal structures at 45 feet and accessory…

Roanoke County's noise ordinance runs a general 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. curfew across a list of specific activities in § 13-21, including repairing or rebuilding a motor vehicle loudly…

Roanoke County's noise ordinance does not reach aircraft. Section 13-19 of the County Code lists twelve categories of sound exempt from the noise-disturbance rules in Chapter 13…

Exterior loudspeakers and other sound-amplification equipment, whether mounted on a building, a vehicle, or used indoors to broadcast outside, cannot run between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00…

Construction, repair, alteration or demolition equipment cannot run in Roanoke County between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Section 13-21(1) of the county code lists that overnight work…

Roanoke County treats two kinds of vehicle sound as noise disturbances any time of day, not just overnight: driving without a factory-equivalent muffler on a public street or in a…

Roanoke County treats a dog's noise as a public nuisance once it's plainly audible at least once a minute for ten straight minutes, either inside a neighbor's dwelling or fifty feet…

Roanoke County's only numeric decibel limit in its code applies to small wind energy systems: the zoning ordinance caps their noise at 60 dBA measured at the closest property line. The…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), the Planned Residential Development (PRD) district allows density bonuses above its 5-unit-per-acre…

Roanoke County bars outdoor truck loading and unloading within 100 yards of a home between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., and separately bars running a trash collection vehicle in that same…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), dumping rubbish, trash, garbage or litter on any public street, road, right-of-way, park or alley, or…

Roanoke County runs free weekly curbside garbage collection for residential customers under County Code Sec. 20-24(a). Waste must be bagged, and hazardous material, ashes, construction…

County Code Sec. 20-24(a)(1)-(2) requires curbside garbage containers set within five feet of the curb by 7 a.m. on collection day and pulled back at least ten feet from the…

Roanoke County lets residential customers bag small amounts of yard waste in their county cart on the regular pickup day; larger amounts go in disposable containers weighing no more…

Roanoke County collects bulk items and brush free every other week for residential customers under County Code Sec. 20-25(a) and (e). Items go out within five feet of the curb, clear…

Roanoke County requires every nonresidential solid waste generator and every company that manages or recycles waste in the county to file an annual recycling report with the Solid…

Roanoke County provides free weekly curbside garbage collection to residential customers under Roanoke County Code § 20-24(a), outside the Town of Vinton, which runs its own service…

Roanoke County requires every dumpster and other refuse-service container in every zoning district to be screened from view, with screening at least six feet high. The rule sits in the…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), elevator construction and maintenance are governed by the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code…

Roanoke County adopts the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code under Sec. 7-16, making a building permit mandatory for constructing, altering or demolishing any structure in the…

Roanoke County's building official inspects a building or structure once it's reported unsafe and files a report on its use and the extent of any damage under Sec. 7-65, part of the…

Roanoke County requires anyone doing paid electrical work for the public to hold a county certificate of qualification under Sec. 7-42, on top of the building permit the Virginia…

Roanoke County requires paid plumbing work to be done by a certified worker under Sec. 7-42, permitted as a trade permit under Sec. 7-72, and it charges a separate forty-dollar fee for…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the cities of Roanoke and Salem), no one may disturb land until the county has granted land-disturbance approval. Section 8.1-5 pulls in any…

Construction work in Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the cities of Roanoke and Salem) needs a filed erosion and sediment control plan before land disturbance begins. Section 8.1-11…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), the Floodplain Overlay (FO) District bars new construction, fill, or manufactured homes in a…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), new or substantially improved homes in a mapped flood zone must sit higher than the base flood…

Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the cities of Roanoke and Salem) exempts camp fires and recreational fires from its open-burning permit and refuse-disposal rules. Section 9-9(2)…

Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the cities of Roanoke and Salem) bans open burning of refuse, tires, hazardous waste, and salvage materials under § 9-8, but permits yard debris and…

Roanoke County Code § 15-7(10) bans carrying, shooting, firing, exploding or throwing fireworks, firecrackers, rockets, torpedoes or missiles of any kind in any county park without a…

Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the cities of Roanoke and Salem) licenses food trucks as peddlers of "family supplies of a perishable nature" under § 10-45, taxed at $50.00 a year…

Roanoke County classifies a food truck as a peddler or itinerant merchant under County Code § 10-45, so operators need a business license from the commissioner of the revenue before…

Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the cities of Roanoke and Salem) amended the Statewide Fire Prevention Code to bar charcoal burners and other open-flame cooking devices from…

Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the cities of Roanoke and Salem) sorts businesses into rate classes for its BPOL license tax under Chapter 10, Article II. Contractors pay 16 cents…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), owners of occupied residential property under half an acre must cut grass or lawn areas once growth…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), removing a tree of 24 inches or more in trunk diameter from a site's disturbed area during…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), the zoning ordinance requires at least 50 percent of the plantings on a site that needs a development…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), owners of vacant developed or undeveloped land, including parcels that already carry buildings, may…

Roanoke County's Unsafe Buildings and Structures article lets the building official order repair or demolition of any structure that's deteriorated, unsanitary, a fire hazard or…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), launching or landing a drone in a county park is barred unless it happens in an area the director of…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), anyone bothered by tall weeds or grass, or by trash piling up on a nearby parcel, can report it…

Roanoke County caps ordinary households at three dogs and six cats over four months old per dwelling under County Code § 5-24(a); no more than two of the cats may be unaltered. Keeping…

Roanoke County has no breed ban: § 5-26.5(d) says no dog can be declared dangerous or vicious 'solely because it is a particular breed.' Instead, the county regulates dog by dog…

Roanoke County has designated one platted wild bird sanctuary, the La Bellevue Subdivision tract, under County Code § 5-3. Inside its mapped boundary the county may post markers…

Roanoke County does not require spaying or neutering pets generally. The only mandatory spay/neuter rule in the code applies narrowly: under § 5-26.2(c)(3), a dog that a court has…

Roanoke County bans letting a dog, exotic or poisonous animal, or exotic bird or poultry run loose off its owner's property at any time of year, under County Code § 5-28(a). The only…

Roanoke County lets residents keep hens, but not roosters, on single-family lots outside agricultural zoning under County Code § 5-38. Coops must sit at least ten feet from side and…

Roanoke County lets residents keep honeybees as an accessory use, but Sec. 5-91 fixes strict spacing: hives must sit at least ten feet from a neighbor's property line and forty feet…

Roanoke County requires every cat over four months old to carry a current license tied to rabies vaccination, caps ownership at six cats per dwelling with no more than two left…

Roanoke County allows pet grooming as a home occupation under its zoning ordinance, but caps it at one customer at a time and eight animals per day, with all animals kept indoors. The…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), anyone leading a parade or public assembly of more than ten people on county streets, sidewalks…

Anyone wanting to hold an activity in a Roanoke County park that Chapter 15 otherwise prohibits, such as an exclusive gathering or reservation, must first get a permit from the…

Roanoke County treats any street fair, festival, carnival or similar event expected to draw 500 or more people outdoors as an "Outdoor Gathering" use under its zoning ordinance, which…

Roanoke County levies a seven percent transient occupancy tax on hotel and travel-campground rent under County Code Sec. 21-202. The operator or booking intermediary collects it from…

Roanoke County's transient occupancy tax reaches short-term rentals booked through a platform: County Code Sec. 21-201 defines 'hotel' broadly and taxes any 'accommodations…

Renting out a room or an entire home short-term in Roanoke County (outside the cities of Roanoke and Salem) requires a zoning permit before the first guest ever checks in. In the R-1…

Roanoke County does not set a fence height or self-closing-gate spec for backyard pools. Instead, County Code § 4-11 requires every swimming pool, public or private, to be kept…

Anyone doing commercial door-to-door solicitation in Roanoke County must first get a permit from the commissioner of the revenue under Roanoke County Code § 19-3, providing their name…

Posting a prominently displayed 'NO SOLICITORS' notice on your Roanoke County property makes it unlawful for anyone to solicit there under Roanoke County Code § 19-6. Section 19-7…

Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem) protects farmland through two rural zoning districts, AG-3 Agricultural/Rural Preserve and AG-1…

Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem) tells new residents up front that its rural AG-3 and AG-1 districts are agricultural: both zoning purpose…

Roanoke County Code § 15-8(1)-(2) bars anyone from entering or remaining in a county park or recreation facility while intoxicated and separately bars drinking or offering a drink of…

Roanoke County makes it a crime to urinate or defecate on a sidewalk, street or any public place, or anywhere other people are present, unless it's in a bathroom or restroom built for…

Roanoke County parks open every day from one-half hour after daylight until one-half hour before sunset under Roanoke County Code § 15-9(1). Parks with lighted athletic fields stay…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), a zoning permit is normally required before erecting any structure. Fences are specifically exempted…

Roanoke County caps residential fences at four feet only where they sit in front of the building line; fences elsewhere on the lot have no county height cap, though corner-lot sight…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), a retaining wall built inside a required buffer yard on a site plan cannot exceed four feet in…

Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem) has no standalone data-center ordinance. Sec. 30-28 defines a "data center," and Sec. 30-29-6 folds it…

Roanoke County caps how long a vehicle can sit on a public street: § 12-52(a) bars parking or standing in one spot on any street, highway or public way for more than five consecutive…

Roanoke County can tow an unattended or abandoned motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer off public or private property under County Code § 12-13. A vehicle left more than ten days on…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), commercial buildings must provide off-street loading spaces sized on a sliding scale tied to floor…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), a truck or commercial vehicle designed for more than two rear wheels cannot be parked in the AR…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), off-street parking areas generally must be paved with concrete, asphalt, bituminous pavement, brick…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), enclosed space below a flood-elevated floor can't be lived in and must let floodwater pass through…

Roanoke County regulates illumination on every sign in the county, including the off-premises billboards allowed in its commercial and industrial districts, through a flat glare ban…

Roanoke County caps light trespass from exterior lighting at 0.5 foot-candles measured at adjoining streets or residential properties, for any use or development that has to go through…

Roanoke County allows changeable-message tri-vision billboard faces only on existing or replacement off-premises signs in its C-2, I-1 and I-2 districts, and only if each image holds…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), a property with an accessory apartment isn't a rental-only setup: Code § 30-82-1(B)4 caps a lot to…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), a homeowner can add an accessory apartment to a detached single-family home by right under Code §…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), a zoning permit is required before you erect a shed, playhouse, gazebo, storage building or other…

Roanoke County allows solar energy systems by right, with a permit, in every zoning district, but sets separate design standards for roof-mounted panels (three feet above the roofline…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), a home-based business can't turn the street into client parking. Code § 30-82-3(B)4 holds a home…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), a home business is zoned as either a Type I or Type II home occupation under Code § 30-82-3, each…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), a Type I home occupation can't advertise with any sign at all. Code § 30-82-3(C)4 bans signage…

Running a licensed family day care home in Roanoke County (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem) is a permitted residential use, but the zoning ordinance requires proof…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), a garage or yard sale is allowed as an accessory use on a residential lot, but only twice in any…