Zoning Overlays & Bonuses in Virginia (2026)
24 rules on the books across Virginia, 18 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Density Bonus Law
California Density Bonus Law (Gov Code §65915) and local implementations granting up to 50% density bonuses for affordable-housing projects.
Stafford County
Significant RestrictionsStafford County's Transfer of Development Rights program under section 28-354 lets an owner in a designated sending…
Read full rule →Albemarle County
Some RestrictionsAlbemarle County's zoning ordinance lets developers earn extra density above the standard level in the VR through R-15…
Read full rule →Alexandria
Some RestrictionsAlexandria lets a residential project increase floor area ratio, density, and height, and reduce off-street parking…
Read full rule →Fairfax County
Some RestrictionsFairfax County grants a 20 percent density bonus for single-family rezoning and special exception applications, and a…
Read full rule →Frederick County
Some RestrictionsIn Frederick County outside Winchester, Stephens City and Middletown, the only local density bonus is earned through…
Read full rule →Hampton
Some RestrictionsHampton's MD-1 townhouse district grants up to 10 extra dwelling units per development for on-site recreation amenities…
Read full rule →James City County
Some RestrictionsIn James City County's R-5 Multifamily Residential District, section 24-307 caps overall net density at 12 units per…
Read full rule →Loudoun County
Some RestrictionsLoudoun County lets developers build up to 20% more units than base zoning allows if they provide Affordable Dwelling…
Read full rule →Lynchburg
Some RestrictionsLynchburg lets R-4 multi-household developments build well beyond the district's base 21.78 units per acre, up to 29…
Read full rule →Portsmouth
Some RestrictionsPortsmouth allows up to a 20 percent density bonus above the district maximum for new commercial, industrial, D1, and…
Read full rule →Prince William County
Some RestrictionsPrince William County grants a density bonus of up to 57.5 percent above the maximum allowed residential density to…
Read full rule →Roanoke County
Some RestrictionsIn Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), the Planned Residential Development…
Read full rule →Virginia Beach
Some RestrictionsVirginia Beach lets developers add up to 30% more dwelling units in the Workforce Housing Overlay District if at least…
Read full rule →Charlottesville
Light RestrictionsCharlottesville's Development Code rewards owners who keep and rehab an existing building in the R-A, RN-A, R-B or R-C…
Read full rule →York County
Light RestrictionsIn York County, Virginia, an open space (cluster) subdivision of ten or more gross acres can earn up to a 10% density…
Read full rule →Richmond
Few RestrictionsRichmond Chapter 44 allows discretionary density bonuses through the special use permit process for projects providing…
Read full rule →Downtown Design Guide
LA's Downtown Design Guide and Community Plan governing high-rise massing, ground-floor activation, and adaptive-reuse standards in DTLA.
Charlottesville
Significant RestrictionsIn the City of Charlottesville, Virginia, the Downtown Mall sits inside the Downtown Architectural Design Control (ADC)…
Read full rule →Prince William County
Significant RestrictionsPrince William County requires every Town Center approved by Special Use Permit to submit written and graphic design…
Read full rule →Roanoke
Significant RestrictionsRoanoke's Historic Downtown Overlay District (H-1) requires a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Architectural…
Read full rule →Albemarle County
Some RestrictionsAlbemarle County's zoning ordinance sets a dedicated design district, the Downtown Crozet District (DCD), for the…
Read full rule →Hanover County
Some RestrictionsHanover County waives its usual landscaping, screening and thoroughfare-buffer rules for the Old Mechanicsville…
Read full rule →Lynchburg
Some RestrictionsIn Lynchburg's B-4 Urban Commercial District, which covers downtown, Section 35.2-47.4(d) directs that new construction…
Read full rule →Portsmouth
Some RestrictionsPortsmouth's Downtown (D1) zoning district regulates building design across five sub-districts (T3 through T6 and SD)…
Read full rule →Virginia Beach
Some RestrictionsVirginia Beach incorporates the Central Business Core District Design Guidelines by reference, and the Planning…
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