ADU Pass
Warsaw
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Warsaw, Richmond County, Virginia navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 2 ZIP codes.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: allowed-with-restrictions
Warsaw is an incorporated town serving as Richmond County seat (population ~1,500). Two-step permitting: Town zoning approval, then Richmond County building permit. Court Circle historic district covers downtown. SB 531 statewide preemption effective 2027-07-01.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 350 | $1,500 | $81,550 | $83,050 |
| midpoint | 600 | $1,500 | $139,800 | $141,300 |
| maximum | 900 | $1,500 | $209,700 | $211,200 |
Fee breakdown (as of 2026-05)
Permitting process
Viability (permitted uses)
- Long-term rental: yes Long-term rental permitted; modest demand from Rappahannock Community College students and Town/County employees.
- Short-term rental: with-restrictions STR is permitted under Town zoning subject to standard requirements; transient occupancy tax administered by Town and County Commissioners of the Revenue. Warsaw STR demand is modest given the County-seat administrative character rather than primary-tourism draw.
- Office rental: with-restrictions Detached office rental requires home-occupation review.
- Home office: yes Home occupation permitted in Town residential districts.
- Studio / workshop: yes Personal studio is a permitted accessory use.
- Agriculture: no Agricultural uses are not permitted in Town residential districts; agriculture is restricted to unincorporated Richmond County A-1 outside town limits.
- Relative support: yes Family / multi-generational accessory dwellings are a common Warsaw pattern.
Contacts
Staff: Town of Warsaw Town Office (Town zoning permit intake and Town Council clerk function), Richmond County (VA) Building Inspections (Building permit authority for parcels inside Warsaw town limits), Richmond County (VA) Planning Office (CBPA administrator) (Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act review), Three Rivers Health District (VDH) (Well and septic construction permits for non-Town-utility parcels in Warsaw)
Utilities
- Water: Town of Warsaw Public Utilities municipal water on most town streets; private well on outer-edge corporate-limit parcels · 35d connect · $4,800
- Sewer: Town of Warsaw municipal sewer on most town streets; private septic (VDH-permitted) on outer-edge parcels · 40d connect · $6,200
- Electric: Dominion Energy serves the Town; Northern Neck Electric Cooperative covers some near-county parcels at the corporate-limit edges · 30d connect · $2,400
- Gas: Bottled propane (no natural-gas distribution to Warsaw) · 14d connect · $1,900
Property values & taxes
Construction timeline
Realistic total: best 8mo · typical 12mo · worst 20mo
Modular pathway inspectors are novice with modular
Financing
Insurance impact
HOA prevalence & preemption
A few newer Warsaw subdivisions carry HOAs; older town-core parcels generally do not.
Regulatory overlays (1)
- wetland-overlay
Most Warsaw town parcels are within the CBPA RMA rather than the more restrictive RPA (which is reserved for the immediate shoreline). RMA review requires erosion-and-sediment-control plan but not the strict buffer prohibitions of RPA. (map)
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Amendment
Contractor market (aggregate)
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: Town of Warsaw Zoning Ordinance layered with Richmond County (VA) Zoning Ordinance for building-permit administration; Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance applies to all parcels, adopted 1985-01-01, last amended 2024-01-01
- 1831-01-01 — Warsaw incorporated as the Richmond County seat (other)
Warsaw was officially established and laid out around the Richmond County Courthouse complex (the courthouse itself dating to 1748). The Town serves as the administrative center for Richmond County, Virginia.
Effect: Established the small-town zoning framework that still governs the Warsaw corporate limit today. - 1989-01-01 — Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act effective in Richmond County (state-statute)
CBPA Resource Protection Area / Resource Management Area buffer requirements apply throughout Richmond County including Warsaw. Most Warsaw town parcels are inland enough to fall in the RMA only, not the RPA.
Effect: Layered CBPA review on Warsaw parcels though most are in RMA rather than the more restrictive RPA. - 2026-04-14 — Virginia SB 531 signed (statewide ADU by-right preemption effective 2027-07-01) (state-statute)
Statewide ADU mandate in single-family districts; $500 fee cap.
Effect: Town of Warsaw and Richmond County will need conforming review of accessory dwelling provisions.
Known issues (3)
- other — Plan 2-3 additional weeks beyond comparable single-jurisdiction Virginia town projects.
- other — Adds 2-3 weeks to permitting and a modest CBPA review fee.
- policy-review — Projects permitted before July 1, 2027 follow current frameworks.
Richmond County — county ADU rules and overlays
County ADU ordinance
Richmond County does NOT maintain a standalone accessory-dwelling-unit ordinance with dedicated definitional and dimensional standards. ADUs in Richmond County are regulated indirectly through the Zoning Ordinance's treatment of 'accessory use,' 'accessory structure,' 'guest house,' and 'second dwelling' or 'family-member dwelling' in combination with the per-district use schedules. In the A-1 Agricultural district, which covers the great majority of county acreage, a 'family-member dwelling' or farm-labor tenant dwelling is typically permitted subject to minimum lot area (commonly 3 to 5 acres or more depending on the specific allowance), demonstrated agricultural or family-member use, and Zoning Administrator approval; a fully independent second dwelling for non-family occupancy on a single lot typically requires a Special Use Permit from the Board of Supervisors after Planning Commission recommendation. In the R-1 and R-2 residential districts, accessory structures (workshops, detached garages, no-kitchen guest cottages) are permitted by-right subject to setback, height, and lot-coverage standards; an independent second dwelling in those districts is rare and would typically require an SUP. Applicants should confirm current ordinance text with the Richmond County Building and Land Use Office before committing to a project pro forma.
County regulatory overlays
Richmond County administers several overlay regimes that bear materially on ADU projects, with coastal / tidal exposure being the dominant physical constraint along the Rappahannock River frontage. The relevant overlays are: (1) a Floodplain Overlay District tied to FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, which covers a meaningful share of waterfront and tidal-creek-adjacent parcels along the Rappahannock and its tributaries; (2) Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act jurisdiction across the entire county (Richmond 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 much of the remaining land; (3) Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) tidal-wetlands and subaqueous-bottom jurisdiction reaching any project touching tidal waters or wetlands along the Rappahannock; (4) NRHP-listed historic resources scattered across the county including the Menokin plantation (the home of Francis Lightfoot Lee, signer of the Declaration of Independence, NRHP-listed) and other colonial-era plantations and village cores; the Town of Warsaw maintains its own historic-preservation posture. Richmond County has NO California-style coastal commission, NO CalFire-equivalent WUI regulatory overlay, and NO seismic-retrofit overlay.
County permitting (unincorporated parcels)
Richmond County's Building and Land Use Office handles zoning permits, Special Use Permits, site plan review, subdivision review, Chesapeake Bay Preservation District administration, and building-permit issuance and inspection for every parcel in the county except those inside the Town of Warsaw (which administers its own zoning and permitting) and state/federal land. 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 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 is essentially limited to the Town of Warsaw service area), (6) a Floodplain Development Permit if any portion of the parcel intersects the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area, which applies to a substantial fraction of parcels along the Rappahannock River frontage and tidal creeks, (7) a Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act review — Richmond County IS a Tidewater locality subject to the CBPA, with Resource Protection Area (RPA) and Resource Management Area (RMA) rules applying across the county, (8) a Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) joint permit for any work below mean high water or encroaching on tidal wetlands, (9) US Army Corps of Engineers permit where federal waters are involved.
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 Codes
- 22460
- 22572
Post Office
- 360 Main St, 22572