Norfolk

Norfolk operates Virginia's most progressive ADU ordinance among Hampton Roads cities as of 2026, after the City Council adopted a by-right ADU pathway on September 24, 2025 by amending Table 3.2.0.12 and Section 4.3.0.3(e) of the Norfolk Zoning Ordinance. The amendment permits ADUs by right (no Conditional Use Permit) in single-family residential districts on lots of 6,000 sqft or larger (SF-6 and equivalent), with detached ADUs capped at 800 sqft or 35% of the primary dwelling's finished floor area (whichever is greater), and attached ADUs capped at the first-floor footprint of the principal dwelling. The ordinance permits one ADU per lot maximum, requires owner-occupancy of either the principal dwelling OR the ADU (this was the principal point of community debate during the 2024-2025 rulemaking and was retained in the adopted ordinance), and requires the ADU to share the principal dwelling's street address rather than carry a separate one. Smaller-lot single-family districts (SF-3, SF-4, SF-5) and the form-based downtown districts established in the 2018 NZO comprehensive rewrite retain prior treatment of accessory uses without the new by-right ADU pathway; in those districts, ADU proposals continue to follow the pre-2025 accessory-apartment Special Use Permit framework. Multifamily, mixed-use, and commercial districts treat second dwellings under their respective use tables. Federal-trust parcels (Naval Station Norfolk; portions of NSA Hampton Roads) are exempt from Norfolk zoning entirely; concurrent-jurisdiction federal parcels are subject to city zoning only by federal consent. The Floodplain Management Overlay applies to a substantial fraction of city parcels (Norfolk has more residential parcels in FEMA SFHA than any other major Virginia city), and the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area RPA/RMA framework applies citywide (Norfolk is a designated Tidewater locality). The Norfolk Architectural Review Board reviews exterior modifications visible from a public right-of-way within designated local historic districts (Ghent, West Freemason, East Ocean View, Berkley, Larchmont-Edgewater, and a handful of smaller districts).

The City of Norfolk administers several overlay regimes that bear materially on ADU projects, and the combination of Hampton Roads coastal-plain geography, extensive Elizabeth River and Chesapeake Bay frontage, military-installation adjacency, and dense pre-1920 historic urban fabric makes Norfolk one of the most overlay-dense independent cities in Virginia. The relevant overlays are: (1) a Floodplain Management Overlay tied to FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, which covers the largest share of city parcels of any major Virginia city — Hampton Roads is one of the most flood-exposed metro areas in the United States given coastal-plain geometry, sea-level-rise trajectory, and regional subsidence; (2) Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area jurisdiction across the entire city (Norfolk is a Tidewater locality designated under Va. Code Section 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 most remaining landward extent; (3) Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) tidal-wetlands and subaqueous-bottom jurisdiction reaching any project touching tidal waters, wetlands, or beaches; (4) the Naval Station Norfolk and NSA Hampton Roads / Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek Air Installations Compatible Use Zone (AICUZ) noise-compatibility framework restricting residential intensification in higher-noise zones (particularly affecting Ocean View, Norview, Wards Corner, and the corridor under the NS Norfolk approach pattern); (5) the Norfolk Architectural Review Board jurisdiction over multiple designated local historic districts including Ghent (one of the oldest and largest), West Freemason, East Ocean View, Berkley Historic District, Larchmont-Edgewater, Colonial Place-Riverview, Park Place, and smaller districts; (6) National Register of Historic Places listings for the Norfolk Customs House, the Hunter House Victorian Museum, the Moses Myers House, and multiple NRHP districts overlapping but not coextensive with the local ARB districts; (7) the Norfolk Naval Shipyard Restoration Advisory Board jurisdiction over Superfund-listed and DERP (Defense Environmental Restoration Program) contaminated sites — primarily affecting parcels adjacent to historic shipyard operations on the Elizabeth River Southern Branch in Berkley. Norfolk has NO California-style coastal commission (Virginia has no coastal-commission analog), NO CalFire-equivalent WUI regulatory overlay, and NO seismic-retrofit overlay.

• Floodplain Management Overlay — extensive Norfolk SFHA coverage
• Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area: Resource Protection Area and Resource Management Area
• Naval Station Norfolk, NSA Hampton Roads, and JEB Little Creek AICUZ
• Norfolk Architectural Review Board local historic districts (Ghent, West Freemason, East Ocean View, Berkley, Larchmont-Edgewater, Colonial Place-Riverview, Park Place)
• Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) tidal-wetlands and subaqueous-bottom jurisdiction

Because Norfolk is an INDEPENDENT CITY (county-equivalent), there is no separate county to coordinate with — the city is its own permitting authority for all matters that would in a typical state involve both city and county. A typical by-right ADU permit bundle in Norfolk on an SF-6+ parcel includes: (1) pre-application zoning verification confirming SF-6+ eligibility and parcel readiness, (2) Residential Building Permit application via the Norfolk e-permitting portal at norfolkvapermits.force.com with stamped plans, (3) Zoning Compliance / ADU Verification confirming the 800 sqft / 35% size cap, owner-occupancy affidavit, single-ADU-per-lot rule, and address-sharing requirement, (4) Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical trade permits, (5) Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) facility-charge payment for the new dwelling unit (substantial; see fees below), (6) Norfolk Department of Utilities water connection (Norfolk is one of the few Hampton Roads cities that owns and operates its own water system; Norfolk also supplies water under contract to Virginia Beach and Chesapeake), (7) Floodplain Development Permit if any portion of the parcel is within the mapped 100-year Special Flood Hazard Area — required on a SUBSTANTIAL fraction of Norfolk parcels given the city's pervasive Chesapeake Bay and Elizabeth River frontage, sea-level rise trajectory, and low coastal-plain elevation, (8) Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act review (Norfolk is fully within the CBPA; Resource Protection Area buffer applies along the Elizabeth River branches, the Lafayette River, and tidal portions of Pretty Lake, Mason Creek, Tanners Creek, and the city's other tidal waterways), (9) Architectural Review Board review for parcels within designated local historic districts (Ghent, West Freemason, East Ocean View, Berkley Historic District, Larchmont-Edgewater, and smaller districts), (10) construction inspections through Norfolk Development Services. For non-SF-6+ ADUs requiring an SUP/CUP, the same bundle applies plus a Planning Commission hearing and City Council hearing on the SUP application.