Hanover County, VA Parking Rules: RV & Boat Parking (2026)

Section 26-58(5) of the Zoning Ordinance lists storage of recreational vehicles, utility trailers, boat trailers and similar vehicles as a permitted accessory use in the RS, Single-Family Residential District, the county's standard single-family zone covering most of Mechanicsville, Atlee and other unincorporated suburban neighborhoods outside Ashland. The vehicle may sit in the driveway serving the residence or in the rear yard. Three conditions apply: the vehicle must display valid license plates and a current state inspection decal as required for operation on public highways, it cannot be used for a commercial purpose, and if parked in the driveway it must stay entirely within the improved area.

The ordinance defines "driveway" narrowly: a single improved roadway that runs from a public or private road to a parking space, garage or dwelling, or that connects directly to the improved area, and that has received all required approvals from the Virginia Department of Transportation. Parking on an unimproved strip of lawn, or outside that defined driveway, does not qualify for the accessory-use exemption. 3(5), so the rule reaches Hanover Courthouse, Beaverdam and Montpelier as well as suburban subdivisions. Enforcement runs through the Planning Department's Zoning Administrator, who may cite a property owner whose RV, boat or trailer sits outside the driveway's improved surface or lacks current plates and inspection.