Chesterfield County panel reviews broad rewrite of zoning ordinance, highlights solar-farm rules and mobile‑home age debate

Chesterfield County’s planning and zoning committee on June 24 reviewed a near-complete rewrite of zoning ordinance Chapter 156 that would add or clarify minimum lot widths and densities, new industrial minimums, tighter junk‑vehicle rules, and detailed standards for large solar projects.

Mr. Ruben Sophie, who presented the draft, told the committee the rewrite "has been rewritten to where anybody can understand it," and said the draft preserves a countywide "general development" approach for now while leaving room to map districts later if the board so chooses.

Why it matters: The rewrite updates standards that affect where and how housing, industry and utility projects can be located across Chesterfield County. Committee members identified the solar-farm section and the proposed change to individual manufactured‑home placement rules as the most consequential items requiring further review.

Solar projects and buffers: The committee spent the most time on the new solar-project provisions. The draft includes strict buffer options (Zones A–C) and requires pollinator‑friendly plantings in the most intensive buffer (Zone C). It also sets setbacks and access requirements: the draft references a 150‑foot setback from property lines for large solar projects, a 100‑foot reference to rights-of-way in some passages, a required 66‑foot entrance width, and emergency access/turnaround provisions. The section adds rules for battery and energy‑storage handling, noise limits, decommissioning plans, and a training requirement for fire departments to coordinate with operators. A board member urged a solid, non‑see‑through fence where solar projects abut residences, churches, schools or parks; Sophie said that provision is included in the draft.

Mobile homes and affordability concerns: The draft proposes changing the allowable maximum model year for individual mobile homes entering the county from 30 years to 20 years. Committee members warned the change could exclude lower‑income residents who rely on older but habitable units. Several members emphasized that regardless of a year cutoff, units must meet habitability and code standards before utilities are connected; inspectors would verify those standards. The committee asked staff to leave the current 30‑year threshold under further consideration while refining objective habitability criteria.

Lot sizes, densities and housing types: The draft adds a 125‑foot minimum lot width for single‑family lots (new to the ordinance), maintains one dwelling per 10,000 square feet for single‑family density, sets duplex minimums at 10,000 square feet per building, and includes townhouse and multifamily size formulas that the committee asked staff to clarify (language distinguishing "structure" versus "unit" needs editing). Cluster patio, multifamily and manufactured‑home‑park minimums remained largely consistent with existing rules, except the manufactured‑home park minimum lot size remains at four acres.

Temporary structures, junk vehicles and enforcement: A new section requires permits for non‑permanent buildings (seasonal sales/storage), prohibits dilapidated temporary structures, and gives staff discretion to require compliance with codes; committee members asked whether restroom requirements and fee schedules should be updated to reflect the change. Junkyard and salvage rules were tightened to limit visible derelict vehicles to three before screening is required; members discussed specifically targeting unregistered vehicles in the language.

Mining and BZA review: The committee agreed to add language requiring mining or sand‑pit operations that seek to expand to return to the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) for review to ensure expansions do not encroach on neighboring properties.

Other changes and clarifications: The draft updates performance criteria for accessory dwelling units, regulates animal production and kennels, refines automotive repair-at-home restrictions to prevent neighbor impacts, updates public‑safety and air‑quality provisions for crematoriums, adds a mixed‑use fallback section, and reiterates existing tiny‑home limits (about 400 sq ft) with RV certification/inspection steps before occupancy.

Next steps: Staff (Derek and Sophia) will make the agreed edits — notably in the solar, junk‑vehicle, nonpermanent‑structure and mobile‑home sections — and return the draft for one more committee review in roughly two to four weeks before any referral to the full county council. There were no votes on ordinance adoption at this meeting; the committee only adopted the meeting agenda and approved prior minutes.