Spotsylvania Courthouse, VA

Spotsylvania County has no breed ban. A dog can only be declared dangerous after a court hearing based on what it actually did, such as seriously injuring a person or another companion…

Spotsylvania County bans keeping any wild or exotic animal as a pet outright, and requires sellers to post a notice listing prohibited species by name, from monkeys and raccoons to…

Spotsylvania County bans letting a dog run at large off its owner's property without immediate control, with escalating misdemeanor penalties and a $100-per-dog civil fine for dogs…

Spotsylvania County caps dog ownership at 50 dogs four months or older per person or entity, no matter how many parcels the dogs are kept on, and licensing does not raise that ceiling.

Spotsylvania County allows keeping domestic laying hens on R-1, R-2, R-3, R-R, V, PD-H, Ru and PRR lots under Sec. 23-5.3.2(f), starting at two hens and scaling up to a maximum of six…

Spotsylvania County regulates veterinary practices through its zoning code rather than a separate animal-business ordinance. "Veterinary hospitals/services" is a defined zoning use…

Spotsylvania County bans parking any commercial vehicle, trailer or semitrailer on or adjacent to county roads, highways and streets for commercial purposes under Sec. 12-118, and…

Spotsylvania County bans parking on sidewalks, in front of driveways without the owner's permission, within intersections, within 15 feet of a fire hydrant or fire station entrance…

Keeping an inoperable vehicle in plain view on residential, commercial or agricultural property is a declared public nuisance in Spotsylvania County under County Code Sec. 12-20…

Spotsylvania County's zoning ordinance requires every new commercial, industrial or institutional building to provide off-street loading berths at least 15 feet wide, 25 feet long and…

Spotsylvania County bans operating a car stereo, tape player, CD player or other amplifier inside a motor vehicle loud enough to be heard 100 feet away, on any public or private…

Spotsylvania County bars letting a dog or other animal bark or make noise plainly audible inside a neighbor's home for more than one cumulative hour in any 24-hour period, enforced…

Spotsylvania County sets maximum sound levels by zoning classification under Sec. 14-52: 65 dBA daytime and 60 dBA nighttime in residential zones, 70/65 in commercial, 65/60 in office…

Construction, repair, remodeling, demolition, and grading noise is exempt from Spotsylvania County's noise limits only between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. under Sec. 14-53(a)(1). Outside…

Spotsylvania County caps how loud a car, truck or motorcycle can be on public roads: engine and exhaust noise cannot exceed set dBA levels measured 100 feet away, ranging from 76 dBA…

Spotsylvania County exempts backyard bonfires and campfires from its open burning permit under County Code Sec. 9-102(b), but only if the fire qualifies as a "recreational fire" under…

Spotsylvania County requires smoke detectors in every dwelling unit, hotel, motel, rooming house, group home and dormitory built before the state's Uniform Statewide Building Code took…

Spotsylvania County requires a county open air incineration permit and a 1,000-foot setback from any occupied dwelling to burn debris waste in residential, office or mixed-use zoning…

Spotsylvania County bans fireworks displays without a fire marshal permit under Article II of Chapter 9, requiring a 30-day-advance application, a certified pyrotechnician, and $1…

Spotsylvania County restricts outdoor watering, car washing, pool filling and other nonessential uses once the county administrator declares a water emergency under Chapter 22. County…

Spotsylvania County caps grass and lawn growth on occupied residential lots under one-half acre at twelve inches under Sec. 14-9(d). The zoning administrator enforces the limit, and a…

Inside Spotsylvania County's 100-foot Chesapeake Bay Resource Protection Area buffer, existing trees and other vegetation cannot be cleared or disturbed without the County…

Spotsylvania County's Mixed Use (MU) zoning district lets a rainwater collection or harvesting system extend into a required rear or side yard setback, provided it stays at least three…

Spotsylvania County caps residential fences and walls at ten feet in the side or rear yard and four feet in the front yard under Sec. 23-5.2.2(3)(b), with a lower limit inside the…

Spotsylvania County bans barbed wire and electrified fencing on lots under one acre in the agricultural and residential districts, and prohibits razor wire everywhere except…

Spotsylvania County's zoning ordinance allows an accessory apartment, a small second dwelling on the same lot as a detached house, attached house, or townhouse, only within the Mixed…

Backyard sheds and other accessory structures in Spotsylvania County cannot cover more than thirty percent of the required rear yard when attached to a single-family home, and Sec…

Spotsylvania County splits home-based work into two zoning categories with opposite sign rules. A home occupation, the low-impact option with no customers or employees, bans signage…

A Spotsylvania County home occupation cannot receive any customers or clients at the property at all under Sec. 23-5.4.2(8), and may keep no more than two service vehicles parked there…

Home occupations are allowed in any dwelling unit in Spotsylvania County under Sec. 23-5.4.1, subject to zoning administrator approval and the development standards in Sec. 23-5.4.2…

Spotsylvania County's zoning code does not have a separate 'short-term rental' use; short-stay lodging in a private home is classified as a bed and breakfast, capped at stays of 30…

Spotsylvania County has no Airbnb-style short-term rental ordinance separate from its bed and breakfast use. Both tiers, Bed and Breakfast I and II, are zoned only as an owner-occupied…

Under the Spotsylvania County Litter Control Ordinance, Code § 19-127 makes it unlawful to drop, deposit or discard litter on any public or private property in the county outside…

Spotsylvania County lets the board of supervisors decide whether Solid Waste is collected by county personnel or by permitted Commercial Collectors, and County Code § 19-26 restricts…

Spotsylvania County places Green Box collection containers at Convenience Centers for residents who display a residential refuse decal, and Code § 19-6 spells out what cannot go into…

Spotsylvania County bans large and bulky items like furniture, appliances, tires and building materials from its Green Boxes; those items must go to a landfill instead. Sec. 19-6 sets…

Spotsylvania County has no curbside yard waste pickup, and its Green Box drop-off sites refuse brush outright, so County Code Sec. 9-102(g) instead lets residents burn leaves, twigs…

Spotsylvania County makes it a Class 2 misdemeanor to urinate or defecate in public, or in any place open to public view, outside a public restroom facility. Sec. 14-18 covers streets…

Spotsylvania County bans alcohol at its own recreation area: the Ni River and Hunting Run Reservoirs park. County Code § 22-240 prohibits any use of alcoholic beverages in the…

Spotsylvania County levies a nine percent transient occupancy tax on every hotel, motel, boardinghouse and travel campground room rented for fewer than thirty consecutive days, under…

Spotsylvania County has not adopted a data center moratorium; instead County Code § 22-47 bars any data center or similar water user from using public potable source water for…

Spotsylvania County treats data centers as a distinct zoning use requiring board-of-supervisors special use approval in most commercial and office districts, including Offices 1 (O-1)…

Anyone staging an outdoor musical or entertainment festival in unincorporated Spotsylvania County must get a special entertainment permit from the Board of Supervisors before the…

Spotsylvania County requires a parade permit from the county administrator at least 21 days before any march, procession or exhibition on a county highway, street or parking lot…

Spotsylvania County's subdivision ordinance, Code § 20-7.1.2(a), requires the restrictive covenants of any homeowners' or property owners' association created for a subdivision to make…

Spotsylvania County's subdivision ordinance requires a developer to form a Virginia nonstock-corporation homeowners' or property owners' association, under Code § 20-7.1.2(a), whenever…

Spotsylvania County will only adjust a water or sewer bill for a leak if the customer reports and repairs it and then proves that to the county administrator. County Code § 22-339 lets…

Spotsylvania County bars door-to-door solicitors from entering any residential property posted with a 'no soliciting' sign and from soliciting after sunset. Sec. 18-31 and Sec. 18-33…

Spotsylvania County requires every door-to-door solicitor to hold a sheriff-issued permit before going door to door, per Sec. 18-35. Applicants pay a $20 fee, submit to fingerprinting…

Spotsylvania County can order owners to remove, repair, or secure any building or wall that endangers public health or safety, and if the owner ignores 30 days' certified-mail and…

Spotsylvania County limits weeds to fifteen inches on vacant developed or undeveloped property inside a subdivision or commercially zoned area under Sec. 14-9(c). The rule exempts…

Show-window signs in Spotsylvania County's office, commercial and industrial districts do not need a sign permit, but they cannot take over the glass. Sec. 23-5.8.5(c)(11) limits signs…

Spotsylvania County bans digital and electronic signs that flash, blink or run animated presentations under Sec. 23-5.8.6(4). The only carve-out is for displays that simply show date…

Freestanding sign height in Spotsylvania County depends on how close the lot sits to an Interstate 95 interchange. Sec. 23-5.8.2(c) caps signs at 25 feet everywhere more than 2,600…

Spotsylvania County's outdoor lighting ordinance exempts holiday decorative lighting from its commercial lighting standards only while it stays temporary. Sec. 23-5.12.3(c) requires…

Spotsylvania County's health officer investigates nuisance complaints under Chapter 13 and must issue written notice once a violation is confirmed. The notice gives the property owner…

Spotsylvania County treats a wide range of property conditions as criminal nuisances under Chapter 13. Sec. 13-2 makes causing or maintaining any nuisance a Class 1 misdemeanor, and…

To report a nuisance code violation in Spotsylvania County, contact the health officer, whose duty under Sec. 13-26 is to inspect the county and open an investigation whenever a…

Spotsylvania County's Right to Farm Program (Chapter 13A) protects bona fide commercial agricultural and forestal operations from being declared a nuisance so long as they follow…

Spotsylvania County's Right to Farm Program shields commercial agricultural and forestal operations from nuisance lawsuits and prosecutions under Chapter 13A of the county code. Sec…

Spotsylvania County holds air conditioners, heat pumps, and other heating and cooling equipment to the daytime noise limits in Sec. 14-52's zoning table around the clock. There is no…

Spotsylvania County requires anyone who buys secondhand precious metals or gems, chapter 17's 'dealer', to hold a sheriff-issued permit, post a $10,000 bond, and file a $200…

Spotsylvania County defines and regulates pawnbrokers under chapter 17.1, requiring every pawnbroker to file a daily electronic report of pledged and purchased goods with the Sheriff's…

Operating a massage establishment in Spotsylvania County without a valid permit is a Class 1 misdemeanor under County Code Sec. 11.1A-4. The permit, issued by the county administrator…

Spotsylvania County limits sheriff-requested vehicle towing to firms on its towing rotation list. Sec. 12-226 creates a towing advisory board and restricts the article to law…

Spotsylvania County confines adult oriented businesses to its I-1 and I-2 industrial districts and requires a 1,000-foot buffer from residences, schools, parks, churches, and other…

Spotsylvania County zones tattoo parlors as a personal service establishment, the same use category as barber shops and tanning salons, rather than as a stand-alone use. That…

Spotsylvania County allows a small automobile, tractor, or trailer repair shop in its rural and agricultural districts, A-1, A-2, A-3, and Ru, only as a special use capped at 1,000…

The county's department of building inspection, created under Sec. 5-3 and run by the building official, inspects construction for code compliance, and Sec. 5-124 sets a mandatory…

Spotsylvania County will not issue a plumbing permit under the building code unless the person doing the work holds a valid, unexpired, unrevoked certificate from the building…

Spotsylvania County adopts Volume I and specified Volume III sections of the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code by ordinance, and the county's own building official enforces it…

Spotsylvania County will not issue an electrical permit under the building code unless the person doing the work holds a valid, unexpired, unrevoked certificate from the building…

Spotsylvania County sorts every licensed business into one of several BPOL tax classes under County Code Sec. 11.1-10, each carrying its own rate per $100 of gross receipts, from eight…

Spotsylvania County bars motorcycles, ATVs, mopeds, minibikes and other motor vehicles from any bicycle and pedestrian trail the county has established for public use, under County…

Spotsylvania County runs no red-light camera program at intersections. Its only photo enforcement is Sec. 12-27's school crossing zone speed cameras: sheriff's office units using radar…

Spotsylvania County requires a special use permit for solar energy facilities in its agricultural and rural districts, plus a construction phasing plan, decommissioning plan, and a…

Spotsylvania County's Chesapeake Bay Preservation ordinance names Johnson grass, kudzu, and multiflora rose as noxious weeds under Sec. 6A-3 and lets landowners remove them, along with…

No one may start a land-disturbing activity in Spotsylvania County without an approved erosion and stormwater management (ESM) plan and a Land-Disturbance Permit under Sec. 8-3.1(A)…

Any land-disturbing activity of 2,500 square feet or more in Spotsylvania County must follow an approved erosion and sediment control (ESC) plan under Sec. 8-2.2(A) and Sec. 8-4.1(B)…

Spotsylvania County regulates development in flood-prone land through its Floodplain Overlay District, which covers every privately and publicly owned parcel identified as a special…

Spotsylvania County requires new construction and substantial improvements in mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas to elevate the lowest floor, including any basement, to at least…

Spotsylvania County declares obstructions on streets and sidewalks, and dumping stones, rubbish, dirt or vegetable matter in a public place, to be a nuisance under Sec. 13-3(5). The…

Spotsylvania County treats an unsafe or unrepaired sidewalk, gutter or curbstone as a nuisance under Sec. 13-3(6), and Sec. 13-5 charges every owner, lessee, tenant or occupant of real…

Spotsylvania County bars any retail location within 1,000 linear feet of a school or licensed child day center from selling nicotine vapor products or hemp products intended for…

Spotsylvania County designates historic landmarks and Historic Overlay Districts through its Historic Preservation Commission and board of supervisors, protecting sites with "historic…

Spotsylvania County requires every outdoor luminaire on commercial, office and industrial property to be a full cutoff or fully shielded fixture under Sec. 23-5.12.4(1) of the zoning…

Spotsylvania County caps nonresidential outdoor lighting at 0.5 footcandles measured at the property line wherever it borders residential property, under Sec. 23-5.12.4(2) of the…

In Spotsylvania County's Agricultural 2 (A-2) zoning district, Sec. 23-6.3.4(e) sets a 30-foot front yard, a 10-foot side yard and a 35-foot rear yard for every use and structure…

Spotsylvania County caps the height of houses and most structures in its residential zoning districts, including R-1, R-2 and R-3, at thirty-five feet under Sec. 23-6.6.4. Chimneys…