York County, VA Ordinances (2026)

York County, Virginia bans letting a dog run at-large anywhere in the county, in any month of the year. Sec. 4-35 defines running at-large as roaming, running, or self-hunting off the…

Sec. 17-35(a) of the York County, Virginia code bans possessing, destroying, injuring, removing or otherwise disturbing any bird egg, nest or nesting site on county-owned public…

York County, Virginia doesn't outlaw owning exotic pets outright, but Sec. 4-4 lets the county bill an owner for the actual cost, including any employee medical bills, of locating…

York County, Virginia allows household pets housed outdoors in doghouses, pens or hutches, but once a property keeps more than four dogs or cats over six months old, the zoning…

York County has no stand-alone pet-grooming ordinance; instead, Section 14-27(d) lists 'animal hospitals, grooming services, kennels or stables' among the repair, personal and business…

York County, Virginia has no breed-specific dog ban: Sec. 4-37.1(j) bars a court from finding any dog dangerous solely because of its breed. Instead, animal control and the courts…

York County, Virginia lets homeowners keep horses or livestock by right in the RC and RR zoning districts and backyard chickens by right in six residential districts, but both uses are…

York County, Virginia requires animal hospitals, veterinary clinics, and commercial kennels near homes to build for it. Sec. 24.1-416 mandates a fully enclosed, soundproofed building…

York County, Virginia allows backyard beekeeping as a residential accessory use with one setback rule: Sec. 24.1-271(g) keeps every beehive at least 50 feet from a neighboring…

York County bans playing radios, stereos or musical instruments loud enough to be plainly audible 100 feet away or across a residential property line, and flatly forbids it between…

York County, Virginia's noise ordinance sets an 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. quiet period under County Code § 16-19.2(f) and (h), barring yelling, shouting or singing above conversational…

In York County, Virginia, County Code § 16-19.2(l) makes it unlawful to keep any animal whose barking or other noise is plainly audible across a residential property line, through a…

York County, Virginia limits ordinary construction noise to 7:00 a.m. through 7:00 p.m. under County Code § 16-19.2(i), and bars pneumatic hammers, chain saws, pile drivers and similar…

York County, Virginia bars sound trucks and public address systems from amplifying sound between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. when audible across a residential property line under County…

York County, Virginia sets numeric sound-pressure limits in County Code § 16-19.3: outdoor noise reaching a residential property may not exceed 65 dB(A) from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. or…

York County, Virginia's noise ordinance does not reach aircraft. County Code § 16-19.5(g) expressly exempts locomotives, other railroad equipment, and aircraft from the specific…

York County bans parking on more than a dozen named secondary-system streets in Yorktown outright and, separately, makes it illegal to park anywhere in violation of a posted parking…

York County restricts on-street parking to permit holders on seven named Yorktown streets, including Bacon, Smith, Nelson, Ambler and Pulaski Streets, to fight congestion and protect…

York County defines a vehicle as abandoned once it sits inoperable or illegally on public property for more than 48 hours, or on private property without the owner's consent for more…

In York County, Virginia, property owners must paint required fire lane curbs traffic yellow, stripe the adjacent right-of-way with diagonal traffic-yellow markings, and post 12-inch…

In York County, Virginia no building permit can issue for new construction needing a driveway culvert pipe until the owner shows a Virginia Department of Transportation permit for that…

York County bars parking a 'commercial vehicle,' defined as 10,000 pounds or more or 21 feet or longer, hazmat carriers, heavy construction equipment, or garbage, dump, concrete and…

York County also restricts 'Recreational Vehicles,' meaning motor homes, travel trailers, campers, boats and boat trailers at 10,000 pounds or more or 21 feet or longer, from parking…

York County, Virginia's zoning code sets a minimum off-street loading space of 12 feet by 50 feet with at least 15 feet of vertical clearance under Sec. 24.1-605, required wherever a…

York County authorizes the sheriff's office to run photo speed cameras in active school crossing zones and traffic light signal cameras at monitored intersections. School zone speeders…

York County keeps a rotating Police Towing List of up to 10 companies each for Upper and Lower County, run through the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office. Light-duty tow companies must…

Operating a massage parlor anywhere in York County, Virginia is unlawful without a permit issued by the county health director under Chapter 14.3. Applicants face fingerprinting…

Anyone running a pawnshop in York County, Virginia needs a pawnbroker license from the commissioner of revenue under Section 14-30, on top of the circuit-court authorization Virginia…

Junk dealers, antique dealers and other secondhand-goods buyers in York County, Virginia need a dealer license from the commissioner of revenue under Section 14-30(b)(2), separate from…

York County restricts where a tattoo parlor can locate, keeping it at least half a mile from any place of worship, K-12 school, public library, or public park or athletic facility…

In York County, Virginia, Sec. 24.1-284(a) of the zoning ordinance flatly bans automobile repair, servicing, sales, or body work as a home occupation in every residential district…

In York County, Virginia, the Table of Land Uses at Sec. 24.1-306 lists 'Tobacco/Vape/Electronic Cigarette Store' as item 21 and marks it 'S' only in the Limited Business, General…

York County keeps sexually-oriented businesses at least 1,000 feet from schools, preschools, and colleges, and at least 500 feet from homes, places of worship, parks, hotels, and other…

York County, Virginia can order an owner to remove, repair or secure any building, wall or structure that endangers public health or safety under County Code § 7.1-17, and if the owner…

In York County, Virginia, owners of vacant developed or undeveloped lots not covered by the residential mowing rule must still cut grass, weeds, and foreign growth to twelve inches or…

York County makes it unlawful to loiter in or around any public place, whether or not the spot sits on private land, punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor. Property owners and tenants…

In York County, Virginia, Sec. 17-21 of the county code bans roller skates, skateboards and roller blades on outdoor tennis courts, tracks and sidewalks immediately next to public…

In York County, Virginia, Sec. 17-23(c) bans tossing a lit cigarette, cigar, pipe heel or match into any public area, and lets the county administrator or a designee prohibit smoking…

Sec. 17-38 of the York County, Virginia code bans urinating or defecating anywhere in a public area except at facilities provided for that purpose, with a narrow exception for…

Sec. 17-50 of the York County, Virginia code bars drinking any alcoholic beverage, or even holding an open container of one, in a public area unless it's served at a county-approved…

In York County, Virginia, Sec. 17-51 bars consuming, possessing, or being under the influence of any controlled substance defined under the Code of Virginia, marijuana included, while…

In York County, Virginia, begging, soliciting and hitchhiking are flatly banned inside county public areas under County Code Sec. 17-74, covering parks, beaches, the courthouse…

York County bars anyone under 18 from being in any public place, even on private property, between 12:30 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., unless accompanied by a parent or guardian or on a…

In York County, Virginia, the appropriate governing official may set visiting hours for any public area, including the Yorktown Waterfront, and close all or part of a park by posting…

In York County, Virginia, curbside solid waste containers must reach the roadside no more than 12 hours before pickup and be set out by 7 a.m. on collection day, then pulled back by…

York County, Virginia provides solid waste and recycling service to single-family detached homes that opt in, under Code § 19-63(a). Garbage is collected once a week and recycling…

York County collects yard waste through Sec. 19-67(b) special collection: limbs and tree trunks may not exceed 8 inches in diameter or 10 feet in length. Solid waste program customers…

In York County, Virginia, dumping solid waste or a dead companion animal on a public highway, its right-of-way, or private property without the owner's written consent violates Code §…

York County, Virginia runs curbside recycling for households and qualified small businesses under Code § 19-70. Customers are not required to sort recyclables placed in the…

York County, Virginia limits residential curbside containers to four per household and sets strict roadside timing under Code §§ 19-64 and 19-66(a). Containers must be placed near the…

York County, Virginia collects bulky items and special yard waste under Code § 19-67. Solid waste customers get three bulky items picked up per collection, four times a year at no…

In York County, Virginia, curbside recyclables are collected every other week while trash goes weekly, under County Code Sec. 19-66(b). Every enrolled household gets one recycling…

York County, Virginia requires dumpsters or another approved refuse and recycling collection method for mobile home parks and multi-family, commercial, and industrial developments…

York County, Virginia regulates running bamboo, including Phyllostachys species, under Code § 19-6(g). Landowners must maintain proper upkeep and containment measures such as barriers…

Sec. 17-57 of the York County, Virginia code requires prior notice to the appropriate governing official before any assembly, meeting, demonstration or parade expected to draw more…

In York County, Virginia, reserving a picnic shelter, group-use facility or other public area for a gathering requires a permit from the appropriate governing official under County…

York County, Virginia requires a permit from the county administrator before anyone stages, promotes, or conducts an outdoor musical or entertainment festival in the unincorporated…

York County, Virginia requires a building permit to construct or erect a swimming pool or pool system, with the fee scaled to the job's value: $90.00 up to $1,000, $120.00 up to…

York County, Virginia requires a barrier around every swimming pool, hot tub, and spa by adopting Section 303.2 ('Enclosures') of the Virginia Maintenance Code into its own building…

In York County, Virginia, charcoal grills, liquefied petroleum gas grills, braziers, hibachis and similar cooking devices are banned on the combustible balconies, patios and decks of…

In York County, Virginia, no restaurant employee may work without an unexpired, unrevoked food handler's permit issued by the health officer under Section 12-19. New hires must secure…

York County's solid waste code requires needles and other hypodermic devices to be broken, disassembled, or otherwise made unusable and safely wrapped before they go in a collection…

York County's restaurant sanitation code requires every eating establishment in the county to screen all openings to the outside air and keep fly, vermin and rodent control effective…

In York County, Virginia, owners of any building with a dwelling unit, hotel, motel or rooming house must install, maintain and inspect smoke detectors at least annually under Section…

In York County, Virginia, manufacturing fireworks is banned outright, and displaying, selling or discharging them requires a permit from the fire official under Chapter 31 of the…

In York County, Virginia, open burning or use of a special incineration device is banned for disposing of refuse, hazardous waste, tires, crankcase oil and commercial or industrial…

In York County, Virginia, campfires and other fires used solely for recreational purposes, ceremonial occasions, outdoor noncommercial food preparation or warming outdoor workers are…

York County, Virginia sets no separate volume or setback cap on residential propane in Chapter 7.1; instead every LP gas tank installation needs a mechanical permit under County Code §…

In York County, Virginia, every elevator, dumbwaiter, moving stairway and man lift outside one- and two-family homes needs an annual operating permit and inspection under the Virginia…

York County, Virginia requires a building permit before new construction, additions or structural alterations begin, under County Code § 7.1-8(a). Residential work runs $0.17 per…

York County, Virginia requires a plumbing permit for any fixture, water-supply or sewer-connection work, including manufactured-home hookups, under County Code § 7.1-8(b). New…

York County, Virginia's building code official runs six mandatory inspection stages on covered construction under County Code § 7.1-11(a), from footing trenches before concrete pours…

York County, Virginia adopts the National Electrical Code and requires a separate electrical permit for wiring and service work, enforced by the electrical inspector as the building…

York County, Virginia doesn't require fire sprinklers in ordinary single-family homes, but Sec. 24.1-233(a)(4) offers one as a compliance option for houses built taller than 35 feet…

York County, Virginia will not let a pre-school, day care center, or nursery school open without state sign-off and site safety features in place. Sec. 24.1-428 requires a Virginia…

York County, Virginia bars any land-disturbing activity until the County issues a permit under its Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program, per County Code § 10-13(a)…

York County, Virginia runs its own Virginia Stormwater Management Program (VSMP) under Chapter 23.3, adopting the state's stormwater regulations under Sec. 23.3-3. No person may begin…

In York County, Virginia, no land may be developed or structure built, moved, or altered inside the Floodplain Management Area (FMA) overlay without a zoning certificate under Sec…

In York County, Virginia, new residential construction and substantial improvements in the AE and AH flood zones must have the lowest floor, including any basement, elevated with at…

York County requires private and club marinas, docks, and boathouses to meet Virginia Marine Resources Commission design standards and to secure every applicable federal, state, and…

York County, Virginia requires stationary internal combustion engines and generators, along with chain saws, power mowers, motorboats and motor vehicles, to discharge exhaust through a…

York County, Virginia exempts ordinary air conditioning, refrigeration and heating equipment noise from its ordinance under County Code § 16-19.5(f), but the exemption ends once the…

York County requires new subdivisions in nonindustrial zoning districts to plant street trees along every abutting right-of-way under Sec. 20.5-84(b)(6). Trees must go in at least…

York County's zoning landscaping standards require at least 35% of all plant material installed on a development site to be native to the Virginia coastal plain. Sec. 24.1-242(g) also…

York County's subdivision ordinance requires heritage, memorial, significant, and specimen trees to be preserved and protected during development under Sec. 20.5-83. The Board of…

York County, Virginia allows home occupations as a residential accessory use only if the operator lives on site, the business stays under 400 square feet or 25 percent of the home's…

York County, Virginia caps by-right home occupations at one customer or client visit per hour by appointment and five visits per day, allowed only 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through…

York County, Virginia lets a resident run a small daycare out of the house without a special permit, up to a point. Sec. 24.1-282(b)(2) permits day care, pre-school, or nursery care…

In York County, Virginia, a home-based business can put up exactly one sign under the zoning ordinance's sign table, either a freestanding sign or a wall sign, never both, and it has…

In York County, Virginia, owners of occupied residential property must mow grass and lawn areas to twelve inches or less under Code § 19-6(b), with the height rule extending toward…

York County, Virginia requires a 100-foot vegetated buffer along Resource Protection Areas under Chesapeake Bay Preservation Chapter Sec. 23.2-10, and trees inside that buffer…

York County, Virginia does not ban lawn watering year-round, but its water conservation program authorizes the governing body or the county administrator to declare a water emergency…

In York County, Virginia, data centers need a special use permit from the Board of Supervisors and must meet siting standards under Sec. 24.1-489.1: buildings sit back 100 feet from…

York County caps data center noise at fifty-five A-weighted decibels and sixty-five C-weighted decibels, measured at the property boundary, or the existing ambient level from a…

In York County, Virginia, commercial motion-picture, television and sound-track productions using professional casts, settings or crews may not film in any public area without written…

In York County, Virginia, any development with shared common areas must form a nonprofit property owners' association under Sec. 24.1-497, with mandatory membership, one vote per lot…

In York County, Virginia, Sec. 24.1-497(e) makes every subdivision's declaration of covenants spell out a clearly defined procedure letting the county step in and force a remedy if the…

In York County, Virginia, a solicitor may not ring the bell or knock at any home posted with a "No Peddlers or Solicitors" sign, and door-to-door solicitation is barred outside 9:00…

In York County, Virginia, anyone acting as a door-to-door solicitor must first obtain a solicitor's permit from the Sheriff under County Code Sec. 18.2-2(a) and Sec. 18.2-21, by filing…

York County, Virginia builds its roof-design standards into the Virginia Residential Code table it locally amends: new construction must be engineered for a 100 mph three-second wind…

In York County, Virginia, homes and buildings in the coastal V and VE flood zones, the Coastal High Hazard areas most exposed to hurricane storm surge, must be elevated on pilings or…

York County, Virginia enforces rental-property maintenance through Sec. 7.1-4, which adopts the Virginia Maintenance Code's mechanical, electrical, and fire-safety chapters for…

York County sorts every taxed business into one of several license-tax classes under Section 14-27, then bills gross receipts at the rate its class carries in Section 14-26, once…

In York County, Virginia, an accessory apartment cannot be rented to the general public. It can only house family, a caretaker, or a domestic employee, and the property owner must…

York County, Virginia allows residential carports, garages and utility sheds as accessory structures, but bans containerized cargo units outright and holds every shed to setback…

In York County, Virginia, a single-family detached home may have one accessory apartment by right, capped at 1,000 square feet or 35% of the principal structure's floor area, whichever…

York County, Virginia caps residential yard and garage sales at two per lot each calendar year, with each sale limited to three consecutive days and participation capped at the…

York County, Virginia bans theft-deterrent wire fencing on residential property outright, allowing it only to confine livestock under state law or as a narrow, size-limited…

York County, Virginia sets fence heights by yard location for single-family lots under Sec. 24.1-271(j): up to 8 feet in a rear yard, 6 feet in a side yard, and just 4 feet in a front…

York County, Virginia requires a building permit and an engineer-certified design for every accessory solar energy facility, capping ground-mounted arrays at the height of the…

York County, Virginia charges every hotel, motel, tourist home, and other lodging place a transient occupancy tax of 5% of the total room charge plus a flat $2 per night, under County…

York County, Virginia treats Airbnb- and VRBO-style short-term rentals as taxable "Lodging Facilities" under County Code Sec. 21-92, since the definition expressly covers "any place…

In York County, Virginia, a short-term rental home (tourist home or bed and breakfast) needs a special use permit backed by a detailed operating narrative and floor plan, plus…

York County, Virginia does not write a separate noise standard into the base short-term rental ordinance for everyday overnight guests. The only STR-specific noise clause sits in Sec…

York County, Virginia keeps short-term rental parking off the public street. Sec. 24.1-409(c) requires all parking demand generated by a rental home, tourist home, or bed and breakfast…

York County, Virginia does not print a flat headcount for short-term rental homes, tourist homes, or bed and breakfasts. Under County Code Sec. 24.1-409(g), the Board of Supervisors…

York County, Virginia ties every bed and breakfast and tourist home to a live presence. Sec. 24.1-409(d)-(e) requires the B&B owner to live on the premises or next door and personally…

York County, Virginia fixes minimum yard depths by zoning district in its dimensional standards tables. A single-family home in the R13 High Density district needs a 30-foot front…

York County, Virginia caps single-family home height at 35 feet before extra fire-safety conditions kick in under Sec. 24.1-233. Homes with a ridgeline or roofline above 35 feet must…

York County, Virginia requires any owner of a residential, commercial, or industrial property who runs up excessive water use from a leaking line or fixture to promptly repair the leak…

York County requires every car wash, whether the main use of a site or an accessory to another business, to run a low-volume water recycling system that reclaims at least eighty…

In York County, Virginia, an open space (cluster) subdivision of ten or more gross acres can earn up to a 10% density bonus by providing recreation area beyond the standard 7.5% of…

York County requires an administrative permit before any mobile food vending vehicle operates on commercially or industrially zoned property. Operators must carry a valid York County…

York County bans vending and peddling in its public areas, including parks, beaches, boat landings, and other county-owned grounds, unless a nonprofit organization holds a permit or a…

York County limits mobile food vending to commercial and industrial zoning districts listed in the Code § 24.1-306 land-use table, plus the commercial areas of any approved mixed-use…

In York County, Virginia, no landmark, building, structure, fence, or sign within the Yorktown Historic District overlay may be erected, altered, restored, demolished, or moved without…

York County, Virginia requires full cut-off fixtures on most outdoor lighting tied to development. Under Sec. 24.1-260(f), any fixture emitting more than 3,000 initial lumens, roughly…

York County, Virginia limits how much light a development's outdoor lighting can throw onto neighboring land. Sec. 24.1-260 caps illumination at property lines to 0.5 footcandles where…

In York County, Virginia, any illuminated sign is capped at 0.5 footcandle measured at property lines next to nonresidential land and 0.1 footcandle next to residential land, and…

In York County, Virginia, a regional shopping center over 350,000 square feet with at least 1,500 feet of Interstate System frontage and direct access to an intersecting Primary System…

In York County, Virginia, off-premises billboards with commercial messages are banned outright, but on-site electronic message center signs get a detailed rulebook under Sec…

In York County, Virginia, homeowners and candidates get extra temporary signs for free during the 90 days before an election through 10 days after: unlimited small signs up to six…

York County, Virginia's zoning code sets the ground rules for keeping livestock as a land use. Sec. 24.1-414.2 requires a minimum two-acre parcel for any agricultural use involving…