Iron Gate

Alleghany County, located in the western Allegheny Mountains of Virginia along the West Virginia border, regulates accessory dwelling units through its County Code and zoning ordinance, administered by the Alleghany County Department of Community Development under the authority of the Alleghany County Board of Supervisors. Virginia is a Dillon Rule state and the General Assembly has not enacted any statewide ADU preemption; Alleghany County's authority to regulate or prohibit ADUs derives solely from the general zoning enabling statute at Va. Code § 15.2-2280 and the ordinance-content provisions of § 15.2-2286. The county zoning ordinance establishes use districts (Agricultural A-1, Residential R-1, R-2, Commercial, Industrial, Conservation, and overlay districts) and sets the permitted-use, accessory-use, and special-use lists for each. A second dwelling on a single residential parcel is not a permitted-by-right use in the standard residential districts; ADU-style second dwellings are typically pursued through (a) family/kinship-dwelling provisions where the second dwelling is occupied by a family member, (b) a discretionary Special Use Permit approved by the Board of Supervisors following Planning Commission recommendation, or (c) minor subdivision creating a separate buildable lot. The county does not have a standalone ministerial ADU ordinance of the California / Oregon / Washington type. The Town of Iron Gate and the Town of Clifton Forge (the latter reverted from independent city status to town status in 2001) are incorporated towns within the county with their own zoning ordinances; the City of Covington is an independent city entirely outside Alleghany County's jurisdiction, despite being the county seat of Alleghany County for administrative purposes (the county courthouse and administrative offices are located in Covington under a host-city arrangement). Note: Alleghany County (with the H) is the Virginia spelling; Allegheny (without the H) is the broader regional and West Virginia spelling.

• Alleghany County Code — Zoning Ordinance
• Alleghany County Department of Community Development — Planning, Zoning, and Building Inspections
• Alleghany County Board of Supervisors — adopting body for zoning ordinance amendments and Special Use Permits
• Alleghany County Planning Commission

State-floor overlay: Virginia has not enacted any statewide ADU preemption statute. Virginia is a Dillon Rule state (see Commonwealth v. County Bd. of Arlington County, 217 Va. 558 (1977)); localities have only those powers expressly granted by the General Assembly. The general zoning enabling statute at Va. Code § 15.2-2280 grants counties, cities, and towns broad authority to regulate land use, and § 15.2-2286 enumerates the specific ordinance provisions that may be included. Neither statute, nor any section of Title 15.2 Chapter 22 Article 7, mandates that a locality permit ADUs, requires ministerial review of ADU applications, caps parking requirements, caps fees, or voids owner-occupancy requirements. Alleghany County is therefore free to permit, restrict, or prohibit second dwellings under its zoning ordinance within the ordinary constitutional limits on land-use regulation. ADU preemption bills have been introduced in the Virginia General Assembly in multiple recent sessions (2022-2025) without enactment; the statewide regulatory picture at the county level is unchanged.

Alleghany County administers or is subject to several overlay regimes that materially affect ADU siting on unincorporated parcels: (1) George Washington & Jefferson National Forest adjacency — the National Forest occupies a substantial portion of the county's land area, and parcels adjacent to or surrounded by Forest Service land face access, easement, and scenic-corridor considerations; (2) FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas along the Jackson River, the Cowpasture River, Dunlap Creek, and other tributaries, with NFIP floodplain regulations administered through the county's floodplain ordinance; (3) Karst topography — Alleghany County lies in the Valley and Ridge physiographic province with extensive limestone bedrock, sinkholes, and caves (Falling Spring Falls, sinking creeks); siting wells and septic systems requires special attention to karst hydrology and potential cross-contamination, governed by Virginia Department of Health regulations; (4) Steep-slope and ridge-protection considerations — much of the county is mountainous (elevations from approximately 1,000 feet at the river bottoms to over 3,000 feet on Warm Springs Mountain and Peters Mountain); building-code provisions for slope, drainage, and erosion apply; (5) Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act applicability — Alleghany County is NOT in the Tidewater area covered by the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act (Va. Code § 62.1-44.15:67 et seq.), so Resource Protection Areas (RPAs) and Resource Management Areas (RMAs) do not apply; (6) wildfire risk — Alleghany County has elevated wildfire risk tracked by the Virginia Department of Forestry, particularly in the steep forested areas adjacent to National Forest land, but Virginia does not have a California-style Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone regulatory overlay with mandatory ignition-resistant-construction requirements; (7) Agricultural and Forestal Districts under Va. Code § 15.2-4300 et seq. provide use-value taxation to enrolled landowners.

• George Washington & Jefferson National Forest adjacency — Approximately 40-45% of Alleghany County's land area is federal land managed by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the George Washington & Jefferson National Forest, including significant portions of the James River Ranger District. Federal regulation applies to activities within the federal boundary, not to private parcels outside it. However, parcels adjacent to or surrounded by Forest Service land face practical constraints: access easements may be required across federal land, scenic-corridor considerations may apply along forest-edge highways, and certain federal-cooperation policies inform county zoning decisions on adjacent private land. Owners of inholdings or parcels adjacent to National Forest land should consult both the county Department of Community Development and the U.S. Forest Service ranger district office in Covington.
• FEMA National Flood Insurance Program — Special Flood Hazard Areas — Alleghany County participates in the National Flood Insurance Program and administers a county floodplain ordinance satisfying the NFIP minimum standards. Principal Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) extents in the county are along the Jackson River (which runs through the heart of the county and has historically caused significant flooding, including the November 1985 flood), the Cowpasture River, Dunlap Creek, and various smaller tributaries. The Jackson River Gorge below Gathright Dam (Lake Moomaw) is subject to flood-control releases by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. An ADU in an SFHA must comply with NFIP elevation requirements (lowest finished floor at or above Base Flood Elevation plus any county freeboard), flood vent requirements on enclosed areas below BFE, and post-construction Elevation Certificate filing. Owners should confirm current-effective FIRM panel at the FEMA Map Service Center before design.
• Karst topography — well and septic siting constraints — Alleghany County lies in the Valley and Ridge physiographic province with extensive limestone bedrock and karst features (sinkholes, sinking streams, springs, caves). Karst hydrology poses elevated risk of cross-contamination between septic drainfields and groundwater wells because flow pathways can be rapid, unfiltered, and unpredictable. The Virginia Department of Health (Alleghany Health District) requires more rigorous evaluation of septic siting in karst areas, including possible required setbacks beyond the standard regulatory minimums, geotechnical evaluation, and in some cases denial of siting on parcels with severe karst features. An ADU adding load to an existing well/septic system on a karst parcel may require a more conservative engineered approach than a similar project in non-karst terrain.
• Virginia Agricultural and Forestal Districts (local option under state law) — Alleghany County may have established Agricultural and Forestal Districts under the state AFD Act. Enrollment is voluntary; participating landowners commit to keeping land in agricultural or forestal use for a period (typically 4-10 years) in exchange for use-value assessment (Va. Code § 58.1-3230 et seq.) and limited protection from certain governmental actions that would disrupt agricultural or forestal use. An ADU on an AFD-enrolled parcel is generally permitted if it is an accessory use to continued agricultural or forestal operation, but non-agricultural commercial-rental ADUs may conflict with AFD purposes.
• Virginia Department of Forestry wildfire risk — Alleghany County's mountainous, heavily forested terrain — particularly near the National Forest boundaries and in the wildland-urban interface zones around Selma, Callaghan, and the more remote ridge communities — has elevated wildfire exposure. Unlike California, Virginia does not have a statewide Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone overlay that mandates WUI-rated construction materials on a per-parcel basis. The Virginia Department of Forestry publishes wildfire risk assessments and promotes defensible-space practices, but enforcement is advisory rather than regulatory. Owners in wildfire-exposed Alleghany County locations should follow best practices but face no locality-imposed WUI construction overlay analogous to California Chapter 7A.
• Lake Moomaw (Gathright Dam) and Jackson River Gorge — federal water-resources project — Lake Moomaw, impounded by Gathright Dam on the Jackson River, sits primarily in adjacent Bath County but the dam itself and the regulated downstream Jackson River Gorge run through Alleghany County. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers controls flood releases that affect downstream Jackson River flow. Parcels along the Jackson River Gorge below the dam are subject to the variable flow regime. Lake-frontage parcels around Lake Moomaw itself are primarily in Bath County and subject to federal recreation-area access constraints; only a small portion of Lake Moomaw shoreline lies in Alleghany County.

The Alleghany County Department of Community Development is the permitting authority for building permits, zoning permits, and Special Use Permits on parcels within the unincorporated county (i.e., parcels outside the corporate limits of the towns of Iron Gate and Clifton Forge). Alleghany County comprises approximately 446 square miles of mountainous terrain in western Virginia along the Jackson River, the Cowpasture River, and the headwaters of the James River, surrounded substantially by the George Washington & Jefferson National Forest. The City of Covington is an independent city carved entirely out of the geographic area surrounded by Alleghany County and is NOT subject to Alleghany County zoning or permitting authority — Covington has its own city government, zoning ordinance, and building department. Most populated areas in the county lie along the Jackson River corridor (Selma, Boiling Springs, Low Moor, Callaghan) or the Cowpasture River valleys; the rest of the county is heavily forested and largely federal land. For an ADU-style project in the unincorporated county, the typical sequence is: (a) zoning determination from the Department of Community Development; (b) if a Special Use Permit is required, application to Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors; (c) building permit application to the county building official under the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code; (d) inspections through construction; (e) certificate of occupancy. Most parcels are not served by public utilities and require well and septic approval through the Virginia Department of Health (Alleghany Health District).