Zoning Ordinance Rewrite

The Planning Commission and its subcommittees are currently meeting during work sessions to continue to revise draft Zoning Ordinance text. The public meeting schedule is posted below. The Planning Commission continues to direct updates to the draft ordinance text during its work sessions in preparation for sending a recommended Zoning Ordinance to the Board of Supervisors for consideration, which is currently expected in the summer of 2023.

Meeting Documents, Videos and Schedules

Review Planning Commission meeting agendas and documents.
View live and archived video of meetings.
View all public meetings on the county's calendar.

Planning Commission and Subcommittee Zoning Ordinance Rewrite Meeting Schedule

Date	Time	Location	Type
Thursday, March 16	9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.	Board Room, Government Center	Uses Subcommittee
Thursday, March 16	6:00 - 10:00 p.m.	Dulles Room, Government Center	Planning Commission Work Session
Wednesday, March 22	1:00 - 4:00 p.m.	Board Room, Government Center	Uses Subcommittee
Thursday, March 23	6:00 - 10:00 p.m.	Board Room, Government Center	Planning Commission Work Session
Thursday, March 30	1:00 - 4:00 p.m.	Board Room, Government Center	Uses Subcommittee
Monday, April 10	1:00 - 4:00 p.m.	Board Room, Government Center	Uses Subcommittee
Saturday, April 15	9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.	Board Room, Government Center	Planning Commission Work Session
Tuesday, April 25	1:00 - 4:00 p.m.	Board Room, Government Center	Uses Subcommittee
Thursday, May 4	6:00 - 10:00 p.m.	Board Room, Government Center	Planning Commission Work Session
Thursday, May 11	1:00 - 4:00 p.m.	Board Room, Government Center	Uses Subcommittee
Thursday, May 11	6:00 - 10:00 p.m.	Board Room, Government Center	Planning Commission Work Session
Thursday, May 18	6:00 - 10:00 p.m.	Board Room, Government Center	Planning Commission Work Session
Monday, June 5	6:00 - 10:00 p.m.	Board Room, Government Center	Planning Commission Work Session

Stay Informed About This Project

Provide Comments on the Proposed Zoning Ordinance

Members of the public may provide input about the proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance at any time by submitting this online comment form or by calling 703-777-0246.

May 19, 2023 Draft Zoning Ordinance Text

That latest version of the draft Zoning Ordinance, published on May 19, 2023, includes the Planning Commission's work to date. The commission and its subcommittees have met for more than 20 work sessions to consider draft regulations and to direct updates to the proposed text. The commission continues to revise the draft ordinance and is working toward a final recommended text that the Planning Commission will forward to the Board of Supervisors for consideration in the summer of 2023.

Prior Versions of the Draft Ordinance

August 2022 and January 2023 Drafts

The Planning Commission published various chapters of the draft text for two public hearings.

August 30, 2022, Public Hearing: The Planning Commission began considering the text in Chapter 7: Development Standards; Chapter 8: Signs; Chapter 10: Nonconformities and Adaptive Reuse; Chapter 11: Procedures; Chapter 12: Officials, Boards and Commissions; and Chapter 13: Definitions and Rules of Interpretation. Since the August 30 public hearing, the nonconformities section of Chapter 10 and the rules of interpretation section of Chapter 13 have been merged into Chapter 1: Introduction. The adaptive reuse section has been relocated to Section 4.09 in Chapter 4: Use-Specific Standards. As a result, Procedures is now Chapter 10; Officials, Boards, and Commissions is Chapter 11; and Definitions is Chapter 12.

January 24, 2023, Public Hearing: The Planning Commission began considering text in Chapter 1: Introduction; Chapter 2: Zoning Districts; Chapter 3: Uses; Chapter 4: Use-Specific Standards; Chapter 5: Overlay Districts; Chapter 6: Natural and Environmental Resources; portions of Chapter 7: Open Space; Chapter 9: Attainable Housing; and the remainder of Chapter 10: Procedures – Additional Requirements.

Since the two public hearings were held, the Planning Commission has continued to review text and direct updates to the text during regular work sessions. The Planning Commission’s work to date is captured in the May 19, 2023 draft Zoning Ordinance, which is linked above. The commission continues to work toward a complete recommended Zoning Ordinance that it will forward to the Board of Supervisors in the summer of 2023 for the Board’s consideration. The Board of Supervisors may further refine the draft Zoning Ordinance text before ultimately voting to adopt a new Zoning Ordinance, which is likely to occur by the end of 2023.

April 18, 2022 Draft

The first draft of proposed Zoning Ordinance text was based on the work of the Zoning Ordinance Committee and published on April 18, 2022. At that time, the county opened a comment period for 90 days.

Read a complete and final report of public comments received through enCodePlus. (PDF).

Following the 90-day comment period, the April 18, 2022, draft text was forwarded to the Planning Commission, which has directed updates to the proposed text during the work sessions listed above. The chapters of subsequent draft Zoning Ordinance text were presented at Planning Commission Public Hearings on August 30, 2022 and January 24, 2023. The Planning Commission continues to work toward a final recommended draft Zoning Ordinance that the Planning Commission is currently scheduled to deliver to the Board of Supervisors in summer 2023.

Contact Us

For questions about the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite project, email Planning and Zoning or call 703-777-0246.