Unified Development Ordinance
Article 151.3, Section 3.4
The Conservation and Protection (CP) district is established to preserve and protect natural resources and areas of environmental concern (like the Great Dismal Swamp). The district is intended to protect swamps, wetlands, and riparian corridors from erosion and sedimentation; retain and protect environmentally sensitive areas; protect archeological resources from disturbance; and preserve and maintain the aesthetic qualities and appearance of the County. The district allows low-impact recreational facilities (trails, boardwalks, docks, boat launches), visitor or interpretive centers, access ways, utilities, erosion control features, and public parks, along with typical accessory uses such as restrooms, or off-street parking areas. The district does not permit residential or commercial development, marinas, or on-site wastewater treatment. Agricultural activities may be permitted as special uses.
Unified Development Ordinance
Article 151.3, Section 3.7
The Planned Development (PD) district is established and intended to encourage innovative land planning and site design concepts that support a high quality of life and achieve a high quality of development, environmental sensitivity, energy efficiency, and other County goals and objectives by:
- Reducing or diminishing inflexibility or uniform design that sometimes results from the strict application of zoning and development standards designed primarily for individual lots;
- Allowing greater freedom in selecting the means of providing access, open space, and design amenities;
- Allowing greater freedom in providing a well-integrated mix of residential and nonresidential land uses in the same development, including a mix of housing types, lot sizes, and densities;
- Providing for efficient use of land resulting in smaller networks of utilities and streets and thereby lowering development and housing costs; and
- Promoting quality design and environmentally sensitive development that respects surrounding established land use character and respects and takes advantage of a site’s natural and man-made features, such as trees, estuaries, shorelines, special flood hazard area, and historic features.
Unified Development Ordinance
Article 151.3, Section 3.8
Overlay zoning districts are superimposed over either all or a portion of one or more underlying general zoning districts with the intent of supplementing generally applicable development regulations with additional development regulations that address special area-specific conditions, features, or plans while maintaining the character and purposes of the underlying zoning district.
- Commercial Fishing Overlay
- Special Flood Hazard Area Overlay
- Local Historic District Overlay (Placeholder - No ordinance exists yet)
- Watershed Protection Overlay