Albemarle County, VA Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

2A splits home occupations in the Rural Areas (RA) zoning district, which covers most of the county outside Charlottesville and the Town of Scottsville, into two classes. A major home occupation may operate inside the dwelling or an accessory structure, and may have customers, clients and students visit, but the combined area used for the business, including outdoor storage, cannot exceed 25 percent of the dwelling's gross floor area or 1,500 square feet. , up to six days a week. A minor home occupation must stay entirely inside the dwelling under the same 1,500-square-foot cap, but may not receive any customers, clients or students at all.

Sales at either type are limited to goods hand-crafted on-site. 2A(l) bans a specific list of home occupations outright regardless of size, including animal rescue centers, junkyards, restaurants, storage yards, gun sales unless family-made on-site, pet grooming, body shops, equipment or vehicle rentals, shooting ranges, commercial stables, veterinary clinics and fireworks manufacturing. 5, which costs $30 under the fee schedule at § 1-504; for major home occupations, the Zoning Administrator must mail written notice to every abutting landowner at least five days before acting on the clearance.

The Board of Supervisors can waive the area cap up to 49 percent of the dwelling's floor area, or waive the traffic limit, but only after specific findings that the change would not alter the character of the surrounding rural or residential area.