Frederick County, VA Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Density Bonus Law (2026)
Key Facts
- Mechanism
- Transfer of Development Rights (TDR)
- RA sending base density
- 1 unit per 5 acres
- Eligible receiving districts
- RA, RP, R4
- Bonus conversion
- Table X-2 conversion factors
- Administering office
- Director of Planning and Development
- Density cap source
- Table X-1 maximum
Summary
In Frederick County outside Winchester, Stephens City and Middletown, the only local density bonus is earned through the Transfer of Development Rights program. A landowner who buys TDR density rights from a qualified rural sending property can convert them into bonus residential density on an eligible receiving property, above the district's base density.
The number of residential development rights that a sending property is eligible to send to a receiving property and/or transferee shall be determined by applying the sending property base density established in Subsection C, below, to the area of the sending property after deducting all the following: ... A sending property transferee may extinguish TDR density rights, sever and hold TDR density rights, sever and sell TDR density rights, or apply TDR rights to a receiving property in a receiving district in order to obtain approval for development at a density greater than would otherwise be allowed on the land in the receiving district, up to the maximum density or intensity outlined in Table X-1. ... TDR density rights may be converted to bonus density rights by an increase in the residential density on the receiving property, based on the conversion factors in Table X-2.
Full Breakdown
2. There is no by-right density bonus for amenities like affordable housing; density above the base allowance in the RA, RP or R4 Districts comes only through TDR. A, the number of residential development rights a qualifying rural sending property can transfer is calculated from the property's base density under Subsection C, after deducting rights already transferred or extinguished, existing dwellings, submerged land, floodplains, steep slopes and utility easements. D. H. I goes further: TDR density rights themselves may be converted into bonus density rights, meaning the receiving property's allowed residential density increases using the conversion factors in Table X-2, still capped by the Table X-1 maximum.
If land in the designated Agricultural and Forestal Sending Area No. 1 that already transferred bonus density is later withdrawn from that sending area, the transferred rights, bonus density included, count against any future subdivision of that property. G.
Violations & Fines
The Director of Planning and Development administers TDR qualification, sending and receiving property determinations, and issuance of TDR letters of intent and certificates under Article X. A sending or receiving property with outstanding code violations or unpaid taxes must resolve them before it can qualify for the program, per §§ 165-1002.01.C and 165-1002.02.C, and a TDR determination is final and not subject to revision once issued.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Frederick County offer a density bonus for affordable housing?
How is bonus density calculated under the TDR program?
Which zoning districts can receive TDR bonus density?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Frederick County
Compare Frederick County to another location·View the Virginia zoning overlays & bonuses overview
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