Fauquier County, VA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Sec. 14-3 of the Fauquier County Code enumerates a non-exclusive list of conditions the board of supervisors has declared to be nuisances, and item (5) covers obstructions caused or permitted on any street or sidewalk to the danger or annoyance of the public, along with stones, rubbish, dirt, filth, slops, or vegetable matter thrown or placed on a street, sidewalk or other public place. Because the list is expressly non-exclusive, other obstructive conditions causing injury or annoyance to the public can also be reached under the general nuisance-prohibition language in Sec.

14-2. Once the health officer finds an obstruction meets this definition, Sec. 14-9 requires written notice to the owner, occupant or person in charge, directing that the condition be remedied within a stated period not to exceed ten days, with a two-day window to appeal the notice to the board of supervisors before it takes effect, except where the health officer finds an imminent hazard. If the deadline in the notice passes without compliance, Sec. 14-10 lets the county direct its own officers to clear the obstruction and bill the cost to the property owner, collectible in the same manner as county taxes.

Abatement is supplemental to other remedies; Sec. 14-1 makes clear the nuisance chapter adds to, rather than replaces, other Code provisions bearing on the same conduct, such as right-of-way or vegetation rules found elsewhere in the Code.