{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/15.2-2283.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/15.2-2283.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/15.2-2283.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/15.2-2283.html"}],"law_id":73825,"edition_id":1,"section_id":73825,"structure_id":12775,"section_number":"15.2-2283","catch_line":"Purpose of zoning ordinances","history":"Code 1950, \u00a7\u00a7 15-821, 15-968.3; 1962, c. 407, \u00a7 15.1-489; 1966, c. 344; 1968, c. 407; 1975, c. 641; 1976, c. 642; 1980, c. 321; 1983, c. 439; 1988, c. 439; 1989, cc. 447, 449; 1990, cc. 19, 169, 384; 1992, c. 812; 1993, cc. 758, 884; 1997, c. 587; 2004, c. 799; 2008, c. 491; 2017, c. 216; 2018, c. 757.","full_text":"Zoning ordinances shall be for the general purpose of promoting the health, safety or general welfare of the public and of further accomplishing the objectives of \u00a7 15.2-2200. To these ends, such ordinances shall be designed to give reasonable consideration to each of the following purposes, where applicable: (i) to provide for adequate light, air, convenience of access, and safety from fire, flood, impounding structure failure, crime and other dangers; (ii) to reduce or prevent congestion in the public streets; (iii) to facilitate the creation of a convenient, attractive and harmonious community; (iv) to facilitate the provision of adequate police and fire protection, disaster evacuation, civil defense, transportation, water, sewerage, flood protection, schools, parks, forests, playgrounds, recreational facilities, airports and other public requirements; (v) to protect against destruction of or encroachment upon historic areas and working waterfront development areas; (vi) to protect against one or more of the following: overcrowding of land, undue density of population in relation to the community facilities existing or available, obstruction of light and air, danger and congestion in travel and transportation, or loss of life, health, or property from fire, flood, impounding structure failure, panic or other dangers; (vii) to encourage economic development activities that provide desirable employment and enlarge the tax base; (viii) to provide for the preservation of agricultural and forestal lands and other lands of significance for the protection of the natural environment; (ix) to protect approach slopes and other safety areas of licensed airports, including United States government and military air facilities; (x) to promote the creation and preservation of affordable housing suitable for meeting the current and future needs of the locality as well as a reasonable proportion of the current and future needs of the planning district within which the locality is situated; (xi) to provide reasonable protection against encroachment upon military bases, military installations, and military airports and their adjacent safety areas, excluding armories operated by the Virginia National Guard; and (xii) to provide reasonable modifications in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. \u00a7 12131 et seq.) or state and federal fair housing laws, as applicable. Such ordinance may also include reasonable provisions, not inconsistent with applicable state water quality standards, to protect surface water and ground water as defined in \u00a7 62.1-255.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":265445,"text":"Zoning ordinances shall be for the general purpose of promoting the health, safety or general welfare of the public and of further accomplishing the objectives of \u00a7 15.2-2200. To these ends, such ordinances shall be designed to give reasonable consideration to each of the following purposes, where applicable: (i) to provide for adequate light, air, convenience of access, and safety from fire, flood, impounding structure failure, crime and other dangers; (ii) to reduce or prevent congestion in the public streets; (iii) to facilitate the creation of a convenient, attractive and harmonious community; (iv) to facilitate the provision of adequate police and fire protection, disaster evacuation, civil defense, transportation, water, sewerage, flood protection, schools, parks, forests, playgrounds, recreational facilities, airports and other public requirements; (v) to protect against destruction of or encroachment upon historic areas and working waterfront development areas; (vi) to protect against one or more of the following: overcrowding of land, undue density of population in relation to the community facilities existing or available, obstruction of light and air, danger and congestion in travel and transportation, or loss of life, health, or property from fire, flood, impounding structure failure, panic or other dangers; (vii) to encourage economic development activities that provide desirable employment and enlarge the tax base; (viii) to provide for the preservation of agricultural and forestal lands and other lands of significance for the protection of the natural environment; (ix) to protect approach slopes and other safety areas of licensed airports, including United States government and military air facilities; (x) to promote the creation and preservation of affordable housing suitable for meeting the current and future needs of the locality as well as a reasonable proportion of the current and future needs of the planning district within which the locality is situated; (xi) to provide reasonable protection against encroachment upon military bases, military installations, and military airports and their adjacent safety areas, excluding armories operated by the Virginia National Guard; and (xii) to provide reasonable modifications in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. \u00a7 12131 et seq.) or state and federal fair housing laws, as applicable. Such ordinance may also include reasonable provisions, not inconsistent with applicable state water quality standards, to protect surface water and ground water as defined in \u00a7 62.1-255.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":12775,"edition_id":1,"name":"Zoning","identifier":"7","label":"article","depth":4,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12774,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:52","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:52","permalink":{"id":155213,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12775,"identifier":"7","token":"15.2\/II\/22\/7","url":"\/15.2\/II\/22\/7\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12774,"edition_id":1,"name":"Planning, Subdivision of Land and Zoning","identifier":"22","label":"chapter","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12733,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:52","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:52","permalink":{"id":154795,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12774,"identifier":"22","token":"15.2\/II\/22","url":"\/15.2\/II\/22\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12733,"edition_id":1,"name":"Powers of Local Government","identifier":"II","label":"subtitle","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12720,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:50","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:50","permalink":{"id":152369,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12733,"identifier":"II","token":"15.2\/II","url":"\/15.2\/II\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12720,"edition_id":1,"name":"Counties, Cities and Towns","identifier":"15.2","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:49","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:49","permalink":{"id":151279,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12720,"identifier":"15.2","token":"15.2","url":"\/15.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":56618,"structure_id":12775,"section_number":"15.2-2280","catch_line":"Zoning ordinances generally","url":"\/15.2-2280\/","token":"15.2\/II\/22\/7\/15.2-2280","metadata":false},{"id":56632,"structure_id":12775,"section_number":"15.2-2281","catch_line":"Jurisdiction of localities","url":"\/15.2-2281\/","token":"15.2\/II\/22\/7\/15.2-2281","metadata":false},{"id":72266,"structure_id":12775,"section_number":"15.2-2282","catch_line":"Regulations to be uniform","url":"\/15.2-2282\/","token":"15.2\/II\/22\/7\/15.2-2282","metadata":false},{"id":73825,"structure_id":12775,"section_number":"15.2-2283","catch_line":"Purpose of zoning ordinances","url":"\/15.2-2283\/","token":"15.2\/II\/22\/7\/15.2-2283","metadata":false},{"id":70348,"structure_id":12775,"section_number":"15.2-2283.1","catch_line":"Prohibition of sexual offender treatment office in residentially zoned subdivision","url":"\/15.2-2283.1\/","token":"15.2\/II\/22\/7\/15.2-2283.1","metadata":false},{"id":55641,"structure_id":12775,"section_number":"15.2-2284","catch_line":"Matters to be considered in drawing and applying zoning ordinances and districts","url":"\/15.2-2284\/","token":"15.2\/II\/22\/7\/15.2-2284","metadata":false},{"id":62867,"structure_id":12775,"section_number":"15.2-2285","catch_line":"Preparation and adoption of zoning ordinance and map and amendments thereto; 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It has been modified 17 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1962, chapter 407; in 1966, chapter 344; in 1968, chapter 407; in 1975, chapter 641; in 1976, chapter 642; in 1980, chapter 321; in 1983, chapter 439; in 1988, chapter 439; in 1989, chapters 447 and 449; in 1990, chapters 19, 169, and 384; in 1992, chapter 812; in 1993, chapters 758 and 884; in 1997, chapter <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?971+ful+CHAP0587\">587<\/a>; in 2004, chapter <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?041+ful+CHAP0799\">799<\/a>; in 2008, chapter <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?081+ful+CHAP0491\">491<\/a>; in 2017, chapter <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?171+ful+CHAP0216\">216<\/a>; in 2018, chapter <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?181+ful+CHAP0757\">757<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":75685,"section_number":"15.2-2296","catch_line":"Conditional zoning; declaration of legislative policy and findings; purpose","order_by":null,"url":"\/15.2-2296\/"},{"id":62607,"section_number":"15.2-984","catch_line":"Adoption of flood plain ordinances","order_by":null,"url":"\/15.2-984\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":67218,"section_number":"15.2-2200","catch_line":"Declaration of legislative intent","order_by":null,"url":"\/15.2-2200\/"},{"id":79593,"section_number":"62.1-255","catch_line":"Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/62.1-255\/"}],"permalink":{"id":155227,"object_type":"law","relational_id":73825,"identifier":"15.2-2283","token":"15.2\/II\/22\/7\/15.2-2283","url":"\/15.2-2283\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/15.2-2283\/","token":"15.2\/II\/22\/7\/15.2-2283","dublin_core":{"Title":"Purpose of zoning ordinances","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 15.2-2283","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section><p><span class=\"dictionary\">Zoning<\/span> <span class=\"dictionary\">ordinances<\/span> shall be for the general purpose of promoting the health, safety or general welfare of the public and of further accomplishing the objectives of \u00a7&nbsp;<a class=\"law\" title=\"Declaration of legislative intent\" href=\"\/15.2-2200\/\">15.2-2200<\/a>. To these ends, such <span class=\"dictionary\">ordinances<\/span> shall be designed to give reasonable consideration to each of the following purposes, where applicable: (i) to provide for adequate light, air, convenience of access, and safety from fire, flood, impounding structure failure, <span class=\"dictionary\">crime<\/span> and other dangers; (ii) to reduce or prevent congestion in the public <span class=\"dictionary\">streets<\/span>; (iii) to facilitate the creation of a convenient, attractive and harmonious community; (iv) to facilitate the provision of adequate police and fire protection, disaster evacuation, civil defense, transportation, water, sewerage, flood protection, schools, parks, forests, playgrounds, recreational facilities, airports and other public requirements; (v) to protect against destruction of or encroachment upon <span class=\"dictionary\">historic areas<\/span> and <span class=\"dictionary\">working waterfront development areas<\/span>; (vi) to protect against one or more of the following: overcrowding of land, undue density of population in relation to the community facilities existing or available, obstruction of light and air, danger and congestion in travel and transportation, or loss of life, health, or property from fire, flood, impounding structure failure, panic or other dangers; (vii) to encourage economic development activities that provide desirable employment and enlarge the tax base; (viii) to provide for the preservation of agricultural and forestal lands and other lands of significance for the protection of the natural environment; (ix) to protect approach slopes and other safety areas of licensed airports, including United States government and military air facilities; (x) to promote the creation and preservation of affordable housing suitable for meeting the current and future needs of the <span class=\"dictionary\">locality<\/span> as well as a reasonable proportion of the current and future needs of the planning district within which the <span class=\"dictionary\">locality<\/span> is situated; (xi) to provide reasonable protection against encroachment upon military bases, <span class=\"dictionary\">military installations<\/span>, and military airports and their adjacent safety areas, excluding armories operated by the Virginia National Guard; and (xii) to provide reasonable modifications in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. \u00a7&nbsp;12131 et seq.) or state and federal fair housing <span class=\"dictionary\">laws<\/span>, as applicable. Such <span class=\"dictionary\">ordinance<\/span> may also include reasonable provisions, not inconsistent with applicable state water quality standards, to protect surface water and ground water as defined in \u00a7&nbsp;<a class=\"law\" title=\"Definitions\" href=\"\/62.1-255\/\">62.1-255<\/a>.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":"                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nPURPOSE OF ZONING ORDINANCES (\u00a7 15.2-2283)\n\nZoning ordinances shall be for the general purpose of promoting the health,\nsafety or general welfare of the public and of further accomplishing the\nobjectives of \u00a7 15.2-2200. To these ends, such ordinances shall be designed to\ngive reasonable consideration to each of the following purposes, where\napplicable: (i) to provide for adequate light, air, convenience of access, and\nsafety from fire, flood, impounding structure failure, crime and other dangers;\n(ii) to reduce or prevent congestion in the public streets; (iii) to facilitate\nthe creation of a convenient, attractive and harmonious community; (iv) to\nfacilitate the provision of adequate police and fire protection, disaster\nevacuation, civil defense, transportation, water, sewerage, flood protection,\nschools, parks, forests, playgrounds, recreational facilities, airports and\nother public requirements; (v) to protect against destruction of or encroachment\nupon historic areas and working waterfront development areas; (vi) to protect\nagainst one or more of the following: overcrowding of land, undue density of\npopulation in relation to the community facilities existing or available,\nobstruction of light and air, danger and congestion in travel and\ntransportation, or loss of life, health, or property from fire, flood,\nimpounding structure failure, panic or other dangers; (vii) to encourage\neconomic development activities that provide desirable employment and enlarge\nthe tax base; (viii) to provide for the preservation of agricultural and\nforestal lands and other lands of significance for the protection of the natural\nenvironment; (ix) to protect approach slopes and other safety areas of licensed\nairports, including United States government and military air facilities; (x) to\npromote the creation and preservation of affordable housing suitable for meeting\nthe current and future needs of the locality as well as a reasonable proportion\nof the current and future needs of the planning district within which the\nlocality is situated; (xi) to provide reasonable protection against encroachment\nupon military bases, military installations, and military airports and their\nadjacent safety areas, excluding armories operated by the Virginia National\nGuard; and (xii) to provide reasonable modifications in accordance with the\nAmericans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. \u00a7 12131 et seq.) or state\nand federal fair housing laws, as applicable. Such ordinance may also include\nreasonable provisions, not inconsistent with applicable state water quality\nstandards, to protect surface water and ground water as defined in \u00a7 62.1-255.\n\nHISTORY: Code 1950, \u00a7\u00a7 15-821, 15-968.3; 1962, c. 407, \u00a7 15.1-489; 1966, c.\n344; 1968, c. 407; 1975, c. 641; 1976, c. 642; 1980, c. 321; 1983, c. 439; 1988,\nc. 439; 1989, cc. 447, 449; 1990, cc. 19, 169, 384; 1992, c. 812; 1993, cc. 758,\n884; 1997, c. 587; 2004, c. 799; 2008, c. 491; 2017, c. 216; 2018, c. 757.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}