ADU Pass
Staunton
No County portion
Also in: Augusta County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Staunton, No County, Virginia navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 1 ZIP code.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: allowed-with-restrictions
Staunton sits in an interesting position: the existing code's 'one dwelling unit per lot' language has historically read as an ADU prohibition in pure SFR zones, but internal-conversion ADUs are achievable and several Staunton historic neighborhoods (Newtown, Gospel Hill) have de facto two-unit arrangements through adaptive reuse. The 15 ft accessory-building height cap effectively prohibits second-story detached ADUs but allows single-story carriage-house-style structures. Mary Baldwin University and the American Shakespeare Center anchor a downtown adaptive-reuse market. SB531 (July 2027) will preempt the one-unit-per-lot language for SFR zones.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 300 | $1,200 | $90,000 | $91,200 |
| 600 | 600 | $1,400 | $192,000 | $193,400 |
| midpoint | 600 | $1,400 | $192,000 | $193,400 |
| maximum | 800 | $1,600 | $264,000 | $265,600 |
Fee breakdown (as of 2026-05)
Permitting process
Viability (permitted uses)
- Long-term rental: yes Long-term rental permitted where the ADU configuration is permitted. Mary Baldwin University students and Augusta Health workforce drive sustained year-round demand.
- Short-term rental: with-restrictions Staunton's robust tourism economy (American Shakespeare Center / Blackfriars Playhouse, Frontier Culture Museum, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library) drives strong STR demand. STR ordinance applies; downtown historic districts particularly active for short-term rental.
- Office rental: no ADU must remain a dwelling unit.
- Home office: yes Home occupation permitted under Staunton standards.
- Studio / workshop: yes Personal studio / workshop use permitted; American Shakespeare Center and downtown arts scene support an active studio culture.
- Agriculture: with-restrictions Limited within city limits; common on outlying Augusta County parcels.
- Relative support: with-restrictions Family-occupancy accessory dwelling feasible as an internal conversion; the one-unit-per-lot constraint limits detached configurations. SB531 (July 2027) will expand options.
Incentives
Contacts
Utilities
- Water: City of Staunton Public Works (Gardner Spring / North River sources) · 28d connect · $3,500
- Sewer: Middle River Regional Sewer Authority (operated jointly with Augusta County and Waynesboro) · 28d connect · $4,800
- Electric: Dominion Energy Virginia · 28d connect · $1,700
- Gas: Columbia Gas of Virginia · 28d connect · $1,500
Property values & taxes
Construction timeline
Realistic total: best 7mo · typical 10mo · worst 15mo
Modular pathway inspectors are occasional with modular
I-81 and US-11 handle modular delivery. Older Staunton historic-district streets (Newtown, Gospel Hill) have narrow streets and overhead utility constraints that complicate modular set.
Financing
Insurance impact
HOA prevalence & preemption
Older Staunton neighborhoods (Newtown, Gospel Hill, West End) are HOA-free with CofA review where historic. Newer subdivisions on the city edge (Cedar Hill, parts of west Staunton) may have HOAs.
Regulatory overlays (2)
- historic-district
Five locally-designated historic districts plus multiple NRHP listings. CofA review required for exterior changes visible from public way in locally-designated districts. - flood-zone
Limited FEMA AE flood-zone exposure along Lewis Creek (which bisects downtown). Most residential parcels are outside SFHA.
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Amendment
Contractor market (aggregate)
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: City of Staunton Code of Ordinances Chapter 10 — Zoning Ordinance
- 1976-01-01 — Staunton Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance — current chapter origin (city-ordinance)
Staunton's Chapter 10 zoning ordinance traces to the late-1970s comprehensive rewrite establishing the R-1 / R-2 / R-3 framework and the 'one dwelling unit per lot' standard. The ordinance has been amended periodically since.
Effect: Operating one-dwelling-per-lot constraint for SFR districts through the present day. - 2023-01-01 — Staunton zoning code modernization discussion (Planning Commission) (city-ordinance)
Staunton Planning Commission has periodically considered ADU and missing-middle-housing amendments as part of broader zoning modernization discussions, particularly related to the Newtown / Gospel Hill / West End historic neighborhoods.
Effect: Background only; no ordinance text adopted as of 2026-05-13. - 2026-04-14 — Virginia SB531 signed — statewide by-right ADU mandate (state-law)
Effective July 1, 2027: by-right ADU on SFR lots; $500 fee cap; consanguinity-restriction prohibition.
Effect: Will preempt Staunton's one-unit-per-lot constraint for SFR zones starting July 1, 2027.
Known issues (2)
- policy-review — Staunton's 'one dwelling unit per lot' interpretation for SFR districts is in tension with SB531; the Planning Commission will need to address this before July 1, 2027.
- other — Historic-district CofA review adds 30-60 days to projects in Newtown, Gospel Hill, Wharf, Beverley, or Stuart Addition. Plan for the CofA cycle when budgeting timeline.
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
- 24402
Post Office
- 1430 N Augusta St, 24401