Ridge

Also known as Ridge Road, West Henrico, Tuckahoe, Brook Run, Three Chopt

ADU Pass helps homeowners in Ridge — a USPS locale inside Henrico, No County, Virginia — navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This locale covers 1 ZIP code.

1 ZIP code

Locale-specific ADU details

Site (parcel physics)

Slope:

Mean slope5%
Parcels over 12% slope12%

Soil:

Dominant classCecil-Pacolet sandy loam (Piedmont upland series)
Expansive clay risk22%
Liquefaction risk2%

Lot profile:

Median lot size21,000 sqft
Median lot width105 ft
Median existing FAR0.15
Flag-lot parcels8%

Geo-hazards:

Seismic designationB
Parcels in FEMA SFHA2%
Bedrock depth (median)22 ft
Groundwater depth (median)30 ft

Recent ADU permit activity

Window12 months ending 2025-12-31
Approved / withdrawn / denied0 / 0 / 0

Utility capacity (upgrade likelihood)

Housing stock age:

% built pre-19602%
% built pre-198025%
Median year built1,989

Electric service drop:

% overhead service35%
Panel-upgrade likelihood20%

Sewer lateral:

Replacement likelihood8%
Typical replacement cost$6,500

Water pressure:

ZoneHenrico DPU West Henrico high zone
Typical PSI70 psi
Sprinkler trigger PSI40 psi

Gas availability: available — VNG service throughout the Ridge area.

Locale property values

Median value$465,000
Median tax$3,999/yr
Effective rate0.9%

Ridge typical: two-story colonial or contemporary on 0.35-0.75 acre lots, 2,200-3,400 sqft. ZIP 23233 with strong school-driven demand pricing in the $400K-$575K band.

Locale market rent

Sq ftRent
400$1,410/mo
600$1,825/mo
800$2,065/mo

Locale HOA prevalence

% parcels under HOA70%

Sharp contrast with the older Regency neighborhood. Ridge's later platting era coincides with HOA universality in West Henrico subdivisions. HOAs in this market commonly impose architectural review on accessory structures; CUP applicants frequently need HOA architectural approval in addition to the county process.

Locale overlays (1)

  • wetland-overlay — CBPA Resource Protection Area buffers reach a small share of Ridge along headwater tributaries to Tuckahoe Creek north of Pump Road. Most interior Ridge parcels are in the less-restrictive Resource Management Area. · +30d · +5% cost
    Tidewater locality CBPA review. Limited impact for most Ridge parcels.

Inherited from the city

These sections come from the city page. Click through to the Henrico ADU research for details.

  • ADU legality
  • legal history
  • size range
  • permitting process & fees
  • permit forms
  • contacts
  • utilities
  • incentives
  • resale value impact
  • construction timeline
  • pre-approved plans
  • financing
  • insurance impact
  • service complexity
Henrico — city ADU rules and incentives

ADU legality: allowed-with-restrictions

Henrico County has explicit pre-existing ADU framework (Section 24-4406). Net effect: ADUs are legal subject to CUP, hard 800-sqft cap, no STR. SB531's July 2027 by-right mandate likely does not apply because Henrico's pre-2026 ordinance is qualifying.

City cost envelope

$211,450 all-in for a 600 sqft ADU (permit + build). Midpoint scenario.

Permit fee bundle: $1,200 (2026-05).

City viability (selected uses)

Long-term rentalwith-restrictions
Short-term rentalno
Home officeyes
Relative supportwith-restrictions
County: no attribution (synthetic bucket)

No county

This city sits in the state's "no county" bucket — its ADU rules derive directly from state law and city ordinance without a county intermediary. No county-level sections apply.

Virginia state — ADU law and programs

State ADU law

Virginia has NOT enacted a statewide ADU preemption law. Virginia is a Dillon Rule state — localities possess only those powers expressly granted by the General Assembly — and the statutes granting zoning authority (Va. Code § 15.2-2280 et seq.) leave ADU regulation to local ordinances. ADU permission, setbacks, parking, size, and owner-occupancy rules therefore vary by county, independent city, and town. Virginia is unique in that it has 38 independent cities that function as counties (neither in nor subordinate to the surrounding county), meaning 'the county' for any given Virginia property may be an independent city rather than a true county. Several ADU preemption bills have been introduced in recent General Assembly sessions (2022 through 2025) without enactment; none have advanced past committee as of the Assembly's 2026 regular session adjournment.

State financing programs

Virginia does not operate an ADU-specific statewide loan, grant, or forgivable-loan program. Virginia Housing (formerly the Virginia Housing Development Authority, VHDA — rebranded 2020) administers general first-time-homebuyer, down-payment-assistance (DPA), mortgage-credit-certificate, and rehabilitation products that can be applied to ADU-adjacent purchases or improvements when eligibility criteria are met, but none target ADU construction as a distinct product. The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) administers federal HOME and CDBG pass-through funds that local jurisdictions can direct toward ADU-adjacent rehab, but there is no state-level ADU-dedicated line item. Federally available products (FHA 203(k), Fannie Mae HomeReady and HomeStyle Renovation, Freddie Mac CHOICERenovation) remain the primary ADU financing path for Virginia homeowners.

State housing programs

Virginia does not run a state-level pre-approved-ADU-plan catalog, statewide impact-fee-waiver statute for ADUs, or streamlined-review mandate. State-level programs that touch ADU-adjacent policy are coordinated primarily through the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and Virginia Housing, and act by funding or assisting local jurisdictions rather than by preemption. Local ADU activity — Arlington County's Accessory Dwellings program (detached ADUs permitted since 2008, liberalized 2020), Alexandria's accessory-dwelling ordinance, Fairfax County's accessory-living-unit program, and Charlottesville's 2021 zoning-code changes — is authorized under the localities' Va. Code § 15.2-2280 zoning authority, not by state mandate.

  • DHCD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program — Federal CDBG funds administered by DHCD to eligible non-entitlement Virginia localities for community-revitalization, housing-rehab, and infrastructure projects. Not ADU-specific. Participating localities can direct CDBG funds toward housing-rehab projects where local policy supports ADUs.
  • DHCD HOME Investment Partnerships Program — Federal HOME funds administered by DHCD to Virginia participating jurisdictions and non-profits for affordable-housing acquisition, rehab, and new construction. Not ADU-specific; can be directed to ADU-adjacent rehab at local discretion.
  • Virginia Housing Commission — Permanent advisory commission of the General Assembly that studies housing-policy questions and recommends legislation. Has periodically studied ADU preemption and missing-middle housing without recommending statewide enactment as of 2026-04-21.
  • Local ADU ordinances under Va. Code § 15.2-2280 authority — Not a state program — listed here because Virginia ADU policy is executed entirely at the locality level under the § 15.2-2280 zoning grant. A homeowner seeking to build an ADU consults the zoning ordinance of the specific county, city, or town where the parcel is located.
Federal (United States) — ADU-relevant rules and programs

Federal ADU law

The United States has no federal statute that directly regulates accessory dwelling unit entitlement or design. Land-use authority over ADUs resides with states and local governments under the traditional police power. Federal engagement is limited to financing (Fannie/Freddie/FHA/VA/USDA), flood insurance (FEMA/NFIP), and discretionary housing programs (HUD), which are recorded in sibling sections of this file.

Federal financing programs

Federal housing-finance agencies and GSEs set nationwide underwriting rules that govern whether an ADU can be financed, appraised, and counted toward mortgage qualifying income. The relevant actors are Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA (HUD), VA, and USDA Rural Development.

Federal tax credits

There is no ADU-specific federal tax credit. ADUs may incidentally qualify for existing federal energy-efficiency and clean-energy tax credits when the ADU construction includes qualifying measures.

Federal housing programs

HUD administers several discretionary programs that can fund ADU-related activity at the grantee's election, but none is an ADU-specific program.

ZIP Code

  • 23242

Post Office

  • 10509 Patterson Ave, 23238