Charlottesville, VA Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

City Code § 10-27 bars any land-disturbing activity in Charlottesville until the city has issued a permit under Article II, the Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program (VESMP), adopted by Ordinance No. O-24-081 on June 17, 2024. The administrator, housed within Neighborhood Development Services, will not issue that permit until an applicant submits a soil erosion control and stormwater management (ESM) plan, a stormwater pollution prevention plan, and, where required, a state general permit registration statement and a performance bond or cash escrow under § 10-9.

Section 10-24 sets the size triggers: disturbing 6,000 square feet or more but less than one acre pulls in the state's Article 2 technical criteria, and disturbing one acre or more, or being part of a common plan of development that reaches one acre, brings in the full Article 2 and 3 criteria. Minor activities are exempt under § 10-27(b), including home gardens, individual landscaping, utility service connections in existing hard-surfaced roads, and fence or post installation, unless federal law says otherwise. Single-family residences under one acre and not part of a larger common plan still owe soil erosion control compliance even when excused from the water-quantity and water-quality technical criteria under § 10-27(c).

Permanent stormwater facilities need a recorded maintenance instrument before permit issuance under § 10-33, and the city inspects active sites at least every two weeks and permanent facilities at least once every five years under § 10-34.