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Campbell County staff to draft code update defining "abortion facility" and requiring special-use reviews
Summary
After staff presented map- and definition-based options, the board signaled support for a local definition that would require a special-use permit for standalone abortion facilities and asked staff to advertise a code update for the July cycle; members debated 1.5-, 3- and 5-mile exclusion radii and hospital exclusions.
Staff presented two main regulatory approaches for abortion clinics: a map-based exclusion that bars clinics within a set radius of schools and a definition-based approach that carves standalone abortion facilities out of the county’s professional-office rules. "The Virginia register of regulations provides the following definition for an abortion facility: a facility in which 5 or more first-trimester abortions per month are performed," Miss Roush told the board when reading state language the county could reference.
Board members discussed legal and practical tradeoffs, including whether to exclude hospitals from new restrictions and the legal risk of an outright ban. A county attorney/staff member warned that "the purpose of zoning is to regulate the use of land," noting that an explicit ban could be subject to legal challenge. After debate about distances, definitions and hospital exclusions, the board directed staff to prepare code-update text for the July amendment cycle that would include a local definition and the special-use permit pathway, and to advertise the proposed change for public hearing.
