Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Scottsville, Virginia

Town of Scottsville’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Scottsville town limits: the Town of Scottsville adopts and administers its own zoning ordinance (the 'town of scottsville zoning ordinance').

  • Ordinance was adopted under Title 15.2, Chapter 22 of the Code of Virginia, and applies to the town only.
  • Editor's note says the ordinance is printed as it appears in the town's code and that subsequent amendments are indicated by history notes following amended provisions; amendments were not individually reviewed.
  • Zoning map is adopted by reference (sec. 1.7) and is the final authority on zoning status.

  “this ordinance, to be cited as the "town of scottsville zoning ordinance," is hereby ordained, enacted and published by the town council of scottsville, virginia”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Land inside Scottsville town limits

  • Districts named in Sec. 7.0: rural areas (RA, ch. 8); village residential (VR, ch. 9); residential R-3 (ch. 10); commercial (C, ch. 11); light industry (LI, ch. 13); heavy industry (HI, ch. 14); public (P, ch. 14); overlays flood hazard (FH, ch. 16), historic (H, ch. 18), entrance corridor (EC, ch. 19).
  • District boundaries are on the official zoning map, which was not retrieved.

  “for the purposes of this ordinance, the town of scottsville [is] hereby divided into the following zoning districts:”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Village Residential (VR) district inside Scottsville town, main single-family residential district: minimum lot size for conventional development

  • Figures are from the Sec. 9.3 area and bulk table, which is marked (amended 2009 and 2021).
  • Cluster development (Sec. 9.4) uses the smaller cluster columns; the public water and sewer cluster column is 2,500 sq. ft. with 33% minimum open space.
  • The VR intent (Sec. 9.1) says VR districts are intended where no public water or sewerage service is currently available or where central systems serve partially or fully.

  minimum lot size, conventional development: >= 60000 sq ft · minimum lot size, cluster development: >= 40000 sq ft (cluster development option) · minimum lot size, cluster development with public water and sewer: >= 2500 sq ft (cluster development option with public water and sewer; minimum 33% open space)

  “requirements conventional development cluster development cluster development, public water and sewer gross density 0.7 du/acre 0.7 du/acre 4 du/acre minimum lot size 60,000 sq. ft. 40,000 sq. ft. 2,500 sq. ft.”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Village Residential (VR) district inside Scottsville town, main single-family residential district: minimum yards (front, side, rear)

  • Yard figures are from the Sec. 9.3 table (conventional column; cluster columns differ, see table).
  • Cluster development with public water and sewer uses front 15 ft and side 8 ft.
  • Amended 2009 and 2021 per table heading.

  minimum front yard, conventional: >= 25 ft · minimum side yard, conventional: >= 15 ft · minimum rear yard, conventional: >= 20 ft

  “yards, minimum: front 25 feet 25 feet 15 feet side 15 feet 15 feet 8 feet rear 20 feet 20 feet 20 feet”

• Building heightSpecified

  Village Residential (VR) district inside Scottsville town: maximum structure height

  • Same maximum in conventional and both cluster columns of the Sec. 9.3 table.

  maximum structure height: <= 35 ft

  “maximum structure height 35 feet 35 feet 35 feet”

• Living in an RVProhibited

  Living, sleeping or other occupancy of recreational vehicles and other major recreational equipment parked or stored on a residential lot inside Scottsville town

  • Major recreational equipment includes recreational vehicles, travel trailers, pickup campers, motorized dwellings, tent trailers, boats and boat trailers (Sec. 4.12.1.1).
  • The prohibition extends to any other location not approved for such use.
  • Sec. 4.12.3 limits parking of trucks of 12,000 lb GVW or more and dual-wheeled recreational vehicles in residential districts other than RA.
  • Septic, floodplain and health rules were not checked for any RV use.

  “no major recreational equipment shall be used for living, sleeping or other occupancy when parked or stored on a residential lot or in any other location not approved for such use.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Double-wide mobile homes on individual lots in the Village Residential (VR) district inside Scottsville town

  • Listed as a by-right use in Sec. 9.2.1, subject to reference 5.3 (mobile homes on individual lots), which was not opened.
  • Single-wide mobile homes are not listed in the VR by-right list.

  “double-wide mobile homes on individual lots (reference 5.3, mobile homes on individual lots).”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Town of Scottsville or Albemarle County directly.

• Building permit — Building permits for new homes inside Scottsville town
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption inside Scottsville town
• Building code adopted — Building code adoption for buildings inside Scottsville town
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Scottsville town
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy inside Scottsville town

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Town of Scottsville means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:

• Water Crystal Quest Filter any source — well, rain, or creek — to drinking-clean.
• Power Bluetti Solar generators and home battery backup for living off the grid.
• Septic Soil percolation test kit Run your own perc test before paying an engineer — the first thing a septic office asks about.
• Water Well water test kit Bacteria, nitrates, hardness — know what the well on a parcel is really pumping.

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