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

Town of Damascus’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside Damascus town limits

  “This ordinance and map are adopted according to the authority of Code of Virginia, § 15.2-2280 et seq.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  R-1 Single-Family district (with public water and public sewer) inside Damascus town

  • Table applies to R-1 with public water and public sewer
  • No agricultural or rural-residential district appears in the table

  minimum site size: >= 10000 sq ft

  “R-1 Single-Family (with public water and public sewer) 10,000 (or 0.229 acres) 30 10 10”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — R-2 Single-Family and Multifamily district (with public water and public sewer) inside Damascus town

    “R-2 Single-Family and Multifamily (with public water and public sewer) 10,000 (or 2,500 sq. ft. per dwelling unit, whichever is greater)/0.229 acres 30 20 20”

• SetbacksSpecified

  R-1 Single-Family district inside Damascus town

  • Front yard on each street for double-frontage and corner sites
  • Accessory buildings: not in a front yard, nor within 5 feet of another building or a property line (Sec. 9.2-4)

  front yard: >= 30 ft · side yard: >= 10 ft · rear yard: >= 10 ft

  “R-1 Single-Family (with public water and public sewer) 10,000 (or 0.229 acres) 30 10 10”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — R-2 Single-Family and Multifamily district inside Damascus town

    “R-2 Single-Family and Multifamily (with public water and public sewer) 10,000 (or 2,500 sq. ft. per dwelling unit, whichever is greater)/0.229 acres 30 20 20”

• Building heightSpecified

  All zoning districts inside Damascus town

  • Limit is expressed in finished floors, not feet
  • Applies to any building or structure, including storage space

  maximum finished floors above ground level: <= 3 floors

  “No building or structure shall be constructed or erected which contains more than three finished floors above ground level”

• Living in an RVProhibited

  Use of a recreational vehicle as a residence on a lot inside Damascus town

  • Except as otherwise permitted or restricted elsewhere in the ordinance
  • Major recreational equipment may not be parked or stored in a residential front yard more than 72 hours (Sec. 9.2-6)

  temporary residence limit: <= 10 consecutive days (except as otherwise permitted or restricted)

  “no recreational vehicle, trailer, garage, barn or other similar vehicle, building or structure erected on any lot shall be used as a residence, temporarily or permanently”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Manufactured homes in the R-3/MHP district inside Damascus town

  • Permitted as principal use in a mobile home park in R-3/MHP
  • Rules for other districts not reviewed

  “Mobile home and manufactured home dwelling in mobile home park.”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Private wastewater facilities (privies, septic tanks, cesspools) inside Damascus town

  • Construction or maintenance of such facilities is unlawful except as provided in the chapter
  • The exceptions were not in the sections reviewed

  “it shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool, or other facility intended or used for the disposal of wastewater.”

• Mandatory utility hookupSewer (with conditions)

  Houses, buildings or properties used for human occupancy inside Damascus town abutting a street, alley or right-of-way with a public sewer

  • Applies where the property abuts a street, alley or right-of-way containing a public sanitary or combined sewer
  • Connection due within 90 days after official notice
  • Owner pays; sewer must be within 250 feet of the property line
  • Water connection rule not found

  maximum distance to public sewer: <= 250 feet · connection deadline after notice: <= 90 days

  “provided the public sewer is within 250 feet (76.2 m) of the property line.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Subdivisions inside Damascus town

  • Where sanitary sewers are not provided, approval requires a written county health department statement that the area is satisfactory for septic tanks
  • Plat review fees exist in Appendix B

  “The administrator shall not approve any subdivision where sanitary sewers are not provided unless the agent shall receive in writing from the county health department”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Development in floodplain districts inside Damascus town

  • Must comply with the VA USBC and town subdivision regulations
  • Application must include base flood elevation and topographic information

  “All uses, activities, and development occurring within any floodplain district, including placement of manufactured homes, shall be undertaken only upon the issuance of a permit.”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Town building sewer permit fee inside Damascus town; plat review fees are in Appendix B

  • Zoning and building permit fees were not found
  • Industrial sewer permit fee set by town council

  residential or commercial building sewer permit and inspection fee: 350 USD

  “A permit and inspection fee of $350.00 for a residential or commercial building sewer permit”

• Permit processPartial

  Zoning permits inside Damascus town

  • Application needs a scaled site plan
  • Building permit process not found

  “Each application for a zoning permit shall be accompanied by a site plan drawn to scale”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Building permits inside Damascus town
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption inside Damascus town
• Building code adopted — Building code inside Damascus town
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Damascus town
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy inside Damascus 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.