Bangor ME & Richmond, VA · Member since 2018 · 166 posts · 106 votes
Hey all, I'm looking at a property in Dumbarton, right near Lakeside (two neighborhoods in Henrico County, VA), just outside of Richmond City. It is zoned as a single dwelling only, but it could be a great 3 unit. I've looked at the zoning maps for Henrico already and it is R-2. Anyone familiar with getting zones changed, whether this is really a problem at all, or familiar with Henrico County in particular?
Special use permits require public notice and meetings to get input from the community. If the house is in a neighborhood, the neighbors would never let this happen. County zoning officials probably wouldn't greenlight this anyway as chopping up houses puts extra strain on public services without any significant increase to tax revenue. Not to mention that converting a single family home to multi-family has some significant challenges that would likely make this cost-prohibitive. My advice would be not to pursue this, especially not from out of state.
John, it's an existing single-family home that already has an inlaw suite that could be converted into a 1br unit and also a basement that could be converted to a 1br. I've read through Henrico County zoning laws but didn't find much that was helpful.
Special use permits require public notice and meetings to get input from the community. If the house is in a neighborhood, the neighbors would never let this happen. County zoning officials probably wouldn't greenlight this anyway as chopping up houses puts extra strain on public services without any significant increase to tax revenue. Not to mention that converting a single family home to multi-family has some significant challenges that would likely make this cost-prohibitive. My advice would be not to pursue this, especially not from out of state.
John, you raise some great points! Thanks for bringing those to my attention, I can see why it is unlikely the county would be interested. Though my bigger pockets account is attached to Maine, I'm actually currently living in Richmond so looking for something to house hack or room hack down here while I work in Richmond for another year or two. There's already an in-law suite with separate entrance and a kitchenette, which made me think this might be worth looking into. Thank you for the zoning information though, its great to hear from someone local.