Chesterfield staff reviews ZOMOD overhaul and key changes ahead of Sept. 17 public hearing

Chesterfield County planning staff on Wednesday gave the Board of Supervisors a work-session briefing on the proposed Zoning Ordinance Modernization, known as ZOMOD, and outlined the changes, outstanding issues and next steps ahead of a public hearing set for Sept. 17.

ZOMOD, a rewrite of Chapter 19 of the county code, is intended to be the legal “toolbox” that implements the comprehensive plan; staff said the rewrite updates standards the county has used since the 1970s and aims to reduce repeated exceptions under the old conditional‑use plan development process. Rachel Chieppa, who leads the ZOMOD project for county planning staff, told the board, “The zoning ordinance tells you what you can do, where you can do it, and how it can be done.”

The draft is the product of a multi‑year effort that began after the 2019 comprehensive plan update: staff released successive drafts, held six community meetings and library office hours, engaged an advisory committee and responded to more than 350 formal public comments. Chieppa said draft 4 — the version now before the board with planning‑commission recommendations — is nearly 500 pages and was designed to be more navigable in digital form, with links and hover definitions to help readers.

Major changes summarized for the board include new, renamed and consolidated zoning districts (examples include RC for rural community, SR semi‑rural, SC suburban community, SU small‑lot subdivision, TR transition residential, UR urban residential, AR alternative residential, ECR employment, EG general employment and WD warehousing/distribution). Steve Hoss, an assistant director…