White Stone

Lancaster County does NOT maintain a standalone accessory-dwelling-unit ordinance with dedicated definitional and dimensional standards. ADUs in Lancaster County are regulated indirectly through the Zoning Ordinance's treatment of 'accessory use,' 'accessory structure,' 'guest house / guest cottage,' and 'family-occupied second dwelling' in combination with the per-district use schedules. In the A-1 Agricultural / Residential and A-2 Rural Conservation districts, which cover the great majority of county acreage outside the town footprints and the waterfront R-1 areas, a 'family-member dwelling' or farm-labor tenant dwelling is typically permitted subject to minimum lot area (commonly 3 to 10 acres depending on the district and the familial relationship), demonstrated agricultural or family-member use, and Zoning Administrator approval; a fully independent second dwelling for non-family occupancy typically requires a Special Use Permit from the Board of Supervisors after Planning Commission recommendation. In the R-1 Limited Residential district (which covers the majority of waterfront lots along the Rappahannock River, Corrotoman River, and Chesapeake Bay frontage), a 'guest cottage' or detached accessory structure without independent kitchen facilities is generally permitted as a by-right accessory structure subject to setback, height, and lot-coverage standards; a second independent dwelling on the same waterfront parcel requires an SUP and typically encounters Chesapeake Bay Preservation District RPA-buffer constraints that make siting difficult. In the R-2 General Residential district (denser residential areas adjacent to the towns), accessory-structure rules apply with tighter setback standards. Applicants should confirm current ordinance text with the Zoning Administrator before committing to a project pro forma — the ordinance has been amended periodically and specific ADU-like allowances vary by district and by interpretation of the 'customarily incidental' accessory-use standard.

Lancaster County administers several overlay regimes that bear materially on ADU projects, and coastal / tidal exposure is the single most important physical constraint on county land use. The relevant overlays are: (1) a Floodplain Overlay District tied to FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, which covers a large share of the county because Lancaster County is a tidewater peninsular jurisdiction (low elevation, extensive Rappahannock River, Corrotoman River, and Chesapeake Bay frontage, with deep internal tidal creeks and marsh systems); (2) Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act jurisdiction across the entire county (Lancaster is a Tidewater locality designated under Va. Code § 62.1-44.15:67 et seq.), with Resource Protection Area (RPA) buffers of 100 feet from perennial water bodies and tidal wetlands and Resource Management Area (RMA) coverage on nearly all remaining landward extent; (3) Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) tidal-wetlands and subaqueous-bottom jurisdiction reaching any project touching tidal waters, wetlands, dunes, or beaches; (4) locally-adopted historic overlays and NRHP-listed corridors including the vicinity of Historic Christ Church (a 1735 Robert 'King' Carter-era colonial Anglican church, NRHP-listed and a National Historic Landmark), the Irvington Historic District (administered by the Town of Irvington, not the county), and numerous NRHP-listed plantations and village cores across the county; (5) state parkland at Belle Isle State Park (on the Rappahannock River), with adjacency impacts on permitting for nearby parcels. Lancaster County has NO California-style coastal commission (Virginia has no coastal-commission analog; coastal regulation flows through the CBPA, the VMRC for tidal-wetlands permits, and local ordinances), NO CalFire-equivalent WUI regulatory overlay (Virginia has no statewide WUI overlay), and NO seismic-retrofit overlay. However, the combination of pervasive floodplain, pervasive CBPA, and regular VMRC joint-permit triggers makes this one of the more overlay-dense rural counties in Virginia despite its modest population.

• Floodplain Overlay District
• Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act (CBPA) Resource Protection Area and Resource Management Area
• Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) tidal-wetlands, subaqueous-bottom, and sand-dune jurisdiction
• Historic Christ Church vicinity, Irvington Historic District, and NRHP-listed plantations

Lancaster County's Department of Planning and Land Use handles zoning permits, Special Use Permits, site plan review, subdivision review, and Chesapeake Bay Preservation District administration for every parcel in the county except those inside the Towns of Kilmarnock, White Stone, and Irvington (which administer their own zoning and permitting) and state/federal land. Building Inspections issues building permits and trade permits for the same non-town territory. A typical ADU-like permit bundle (where a second dwelling is permitted) includes: (1) a Special Use Permit from the Board of Supervisors with Planning Commission recommendation, unless the parcel qualifies for an A-1 / A-2 family-member or farm-labor dwelling allowance, (2) a Zoning Permit confirming use compliance and district setback compliance, (3) a Building Permit with stamped residential plans, (4) Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical trade permits, (5) a Virginia Department of Health (VDH) - Three Rivers Health District construction permit for well and/or septic on parcels not served by public water or sewer (which is the great majority of parcels — public sewer coverage is limited to portions of Kilmarnock and small service-district pockets), (6) a Floodplain Development Permit if any portion of the parcel is within the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — which is a LARGE fraction of parcels in Lancaster County because the county is a peninsular tidewater jurisdiction with Chesapeake Bay to the east, the Rappahannock River estuary to the south, and extensive internal tidal creek and marsh systems, (7) a Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act review — Lancaster County IS a Tidewater locality subject to the CBPA, with Resource Protection Area (RPA) and Resource Management Area (RMA) rules applying across nearly the entire county given its tidal geometry, (8) a Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) permit for any work below mean high water or encroaching on tidal wetlands, (9) a US Army Corps of Engineers permit where federal waters are involved, and (10) Historic District review if the parcel is within a designated local historic overlay (portions of the Christ Church vicinity and scattered NRHP-listed plantations).