Agricultural (A-1) Zoning08/2022
AGRICULTURAL (A-1)
A-1 District: Agricultural (A-1) districts preserve and enhances the low-density character and the natural resources of the rural areas of the
county where agriculture, forests, and open space uses are dominant. Residential development is allowed under the guidelines and density
established by the sliding scale. Lands qualifying for inclusion in the Agricultural (A-1) district shall be within areas mapped as rural or
resource stewardship in the Comprehensive Plan. The A-1 zoning areas are not served by public water and sewer and are not in close
proximity to other public services. The minimum area required to create an A-1 district is ten (10) acres of contiguous land.
What can I do by right in an A-1 District?
There are uses that are designated as "by right" which means you do not have to apply for a special use permit. The uses do, however, have
to comply with all approved plans and permits, development standards, and performance standards included in the Montgomery County
Zoning Ordinance and with all other applicable regulations. The "by right" uses include:
• Agriculture
• Agriculture, intensive
• Agriculture, small-scale
• Amateur radio tower
• Bed and Breakfast Inn
• Camp, day
• Cemetery
• Church
• Data pole
• Dwelling, single family
• Farm Enterprise
• Fire, police and rescue stations
• Home occupation
• Manufactured (mobile) home, Class A or B
• Mitigation bank
• Natural area
• Park, unlighted
• Pet, farm
• Pet, household
• Playground, unlighted
• Public utility lines, water, sewer and other
• Public Use/Public Facility
• Sawmill, temporary
• School
• Short-Term Tourist Rental
• Solar Energy System, minor (no more than 50% of parcel or
1 acre, whichever is less)
• Telecommunication tower, attached
• Veterinary practice, animal hospital
Temporary family healthcare structures are allowed, subject to the requirements of Sec. 10-41 (2A).
Accessory structures are also allowed, subject to the requirements of Sec. 10-41 (1).
What uses require a Special Use Permit?
Some uses are allowed in the A-1 district with the permission of the Board of Supervisors through the Special Use Permit process (applications
available from the Planning Dept.). These include:
• Accessory structures greater than
the principal structure in height
and/or size**
• Amateur radio tower greater than
75 ft.
• Boarding house
• Campground
• Camp, overnight
• Civic club
• Contractor’s storage yard
• Country club
• Country inn
• Custom meat cutting, processing
and packaging
• Day care center
• Disposal facility, landfill
• Exploratory activities associated
with extractive industries
• Extractive industry & accessory
uses, including, but not limited to,
the mining of minerals, operation of
oil and gas wells
• Farm enterprise with less than 40 ft.
of public road frontage**
• Flea Market
• Game preserve
• Garden center
• General store or specialty shop
(gross floor area of 2,000 sq. ft. or
less)
• Golf course
• Golf driving range
• Grain mill, feed mill
• Home business
• Junkyard, automobile graveyard
• Kennel, commercial*
• Livestock market
• Park, lighted
• Park and ride lot
• Playground, lighted
• Public utility plant, water or sewer
(not including distribution or
collection lines), or other
• Public utility substation
• Recreational vehicle park
• Recycling collection point
• Repair shop, automotive*
• Restaurant (gross floor area of
2,000 sq. feet or less)
• Rural resort
• Sawmill
• School of special instruction
• Shooting range*
• Slaughterhouse
• Solar energy system, major (More
than 50% of parcel or greater than
1 acre in project area)
• Solid waste collection point
• Stable, commercial
• Stone engraving and sales
• Structure, non-residential, over
20,000 gross sq. ft
• Structure, 40+ ft. in height
• Telecommunications facility, micro
wireless
• Telecommunications facility, small
cell
• Telecommunications tower,
freestanding
• Transition House
* Special use restrictions apply to automotive repair shops, kennels, and shooting ranges. See section 10-21 (7).
** Special use requests reviewed by the Board of Zoning Appeals
08/2022
Building & Lot Requirements
Each zoning district has different lot and building requirements; which are meant to insure the compatibility of new development with
the existing development in the surrounding area.
Minimum Lot Area:
1 acre
Lot Access:
Lots must be accessible from a VDOT road or from a hard-surface
private street designed by a professional engineer to meet current
VDOT subdivision street requirements. There are two exceptions:
1) One (1) lot divided from a parent parcel may be served by a
private access easement at least forty (40) feet in width and
connected to a road in the VDOT system.
2) A lot in a family subdivision may use a twenty (20) ft.
easement to connect the lot to a road currently in the VDOT
system.
Maximum Coverage:
No more than twenty percent (20%) of lot may be covered by
buildings and no more than thirty percent (30%) of any lot shall
be covered by impervious surfaces.
Minimum Width:
120 feet at the minimum setback line of the front yard. Frontage
requirements for family subdivisions and public utilities or public
water and sewer installation lots shall be in accord with the
Montgomery County Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance.
Maximum Length/Width Ratio:
Five to one (5:1) for any lot less than 20 acres in area.
Minimum Yards: (Also see 10-41(15) (d) for setback from
intensive agricultural operations):
• Front: 40 feet
• Side: 15 feet for each principal structure
• Rear: 40 feet
Accessory Buildings:
Accessory buildings must be a minimum of ten (10) feet from side
or rear lot lines.
Maximum Building Height:
No building or structure, except for exempted structures provided
for in Section 10-2(5)(b) of the Zoning Ordinance, shall exceed 40
feet in height, as defined, except by Special Use Permit and that
for every 1 foot above 40 feet, the building or structure shall be
set back an additional 2 feet up to a maximum of 100 feet.
Subdivision Sliding Scale
Sliding Scale is one method the County uses to decrease the density of development in the Agricultural (A-1) and Conservation (C-1)
districts.
The maximum gross density is the maximum number of lots one can create by subdividing a parent parcel. Each parcel in the county
which existed when the current zoning ordinance was approved (12/13/1999) is considered a parent parcel.
In the Agricultural (A-1) District, the maximum number of lots one can create is determined by the amount of land in each parent
parcel (see table below). For example, if you have between 3.0 to 10.0 acres of land, you can subdivide that land into three lots. A
lot must be at least one (1) acre in size. So, if your parent parcel is only 2.3 acres, you will only be able to create two lots.
How you subdivide your parent parcel depends on the size of lots you want to create, on the number of lot assignments you want to
assign to each lot, and on the availability of an onsite water supply and
adequate wastewater treatment (which may further limit the number
of lots).
Lots which have been created from a parent parcel cannot be further
subdivided unless more than one lot assignment was given to the
parcel during the initial subdivision of the property.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Montgomery Co. Planning & GIS Services
755 Roanoke Street, Suite 2A
Christiansburg, VA 24073
CALL 540-394-2148 | EMAIL mcplan@montgomerycountyva.gov
VISIT www.MontgomeryCountyVA.gov/Planning
A zoning permit and/or site plan may be required to proceed with the uses listed on this data sheet. See section 10-53 of the Montgomery County Code, or
call the Planning Department, to determine the required development approvals.
This sheet is intended to only be a guide for development regulations in this zoning district. Please see Chapter 10 of the Montgomery County Code for the
specific regulations. The full texts of the zoning and subdivision ordinances are available at the Planning Department Webpage or at www.municode.com.
Permissible Density: Sliding Scale
Size of Parent Parcel Number of Permitted Lots
Less than 1 acre 0 lots
Less than 2 acres 1 lot
Less than 3 acres Up to 2 lots
3.0 to 10.0 acres Up to 3 lots
10.01 to 30.0 acres Up to 4 lots
30.01 to 50.0 acres Up to 5 lots
50.01 to 70.0 acres Up to 6 lots
70.01 to 90.0 acres Up to 7 lots
90.01 to 110.0 acres Up to 8 lots
110.01 to 130.0 acres Up to 9 lots
More than 130.0 acres Add 1 lot per additional 20
acres