General performance criteria.

Richmond, Va., City Code § 14-263

in effect

Sec. 14-263. - General performance criteria. (a) Through its applicable land use ordinances, regulations and enforcement mechanisms, the City shall require that any use, development or redevelopment of land in Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas meet the following performance criteria: (1) No more land shall be disturbed than is necessary to provide for the proposed use or development. (2) Indigenous vegetation shall be preserved to the maximum extent practicable, consistent with the use or development proposed. Indigenous vegetation may be replaced with other vegetation that is equally effective in retarding runoff, preventing erosion and filtering nonpoint source pollution. (3) Where the best management practices are utilized that require regular or periodic maintenance to continue their functions, such maintenance shall be ensured through a maintenance agreement with the owner or developer or some other mechanism approved by the City that achieves an equivalent objective. Maintenance agreements submitted for best management practices installed or used in areas of the City served by the municipal separate storm sewer system pursuant to Section 14-331 will be accepted if consistent with the requirements above. (4) All development exceeding 2,500 square feet of land disturbance shall be accomplished through a plan of development review process consistent with Code of Virginia, § 15.2-2286(A)(8) and subdivision (1)(e) of 9VAC25-830-240 of the Virginia Administrative Code. (5) Land development shall minimize impervious cover consistent with the proposed use or development. (6) Any land disturbing activity that exceeds an area of 2,500 square feet (including construction of all single-family houses, septic tanks and drain fields, but otherwise as defined in Code of Virginia, § 62.1-44.15:51) shall comply with the requirements of Article V of this chapter. (7) Where applicable, stormwater management criteria consistent with the water quality protection provisions of the Virginia Stormwater Management Program Regulations shall be satisfied. (b) Subject to the foregoing, the following stormwater management options shall be considered to comply with this subsection: (1) Incorporation on the site of best management practices that meet the water quality protection requirements set forth in this subsection. For the purposes of this subsection, the site may include multiple projects or properties that are adjacent to one another or lie within the same drainage area where a single best management practice will be utilized by those projects to satisfy water quality protection requirements; (2) Compliance with a locally adopted Regional Stormwater Management Program, which may include a Virginia Pollution Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) permit issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia to the City for its municipally owned separate storm sewer system discharges, that is reviewed and found by the Commonwealth to achieve water quality protection equivalent to that required by this subsection; and (3) Compliance with a site-specific VPDES permit issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia, provided that the City specifically determines that the permit requires measures that collectively achieve water quality protection equivalent to that required by this subsection. (c) Any maintenance, alteration, use or improvement to an existing structure that does not degrade the quality of surface water discharge, as determined by the City, may be exempted from the requirements of this subsection. (d) Stormwater management criteria for redevelopment shall apply to any redevelopment, whether or not it is located within an intensely developed area designated by the City. (1) Silvicultural activities in Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas are exempt from this article, provided that silvicultural operations adhere to water quality protection procedures prescribed by the Virginia Department of Forestry in the January 1997 edition of Forestry Best Management Practices for Water Quality in Virginia Technical Guide. The Virginia Department of Forestry will oversee and document installation of best management practices and will monitor in-stream impacts of forestry operations in Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas. (2) The City shall require evidence of all wetlands permits and delineation approvals required by law prior to authorizing grading or other on-site activities to begin. (3) A Chesapeake Bay Site Plan shall be required for any land disturbance, development or redevelopment within a designated Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area. No Richmond erosion and stormwater management program permit, building permit, or land disturbing permit issued pursuant to Article V of this chapter shall be issued for any activity until the City has approved a Chesapeake Bay Site Plan in accordance with the requirements of this section and Section 14-264. (4) On-site sewage treatment systems not requiring a State pollutant discharge elimination system permit shall, for new construction, provide a reserve sewage disposal site with a capacity at least equal to that of the primary sewage disposal site. This reserve sewage disposal site requirement shall not apply to any lot or parcel recorded prior to October 1, 1989, if the lot or parcel is not sufficient in capacity to accommodate a reserve sewage disposal site, as determined by the local Health Department. Building shall be prohibited on the area of all sewage disposal sites until the structure is served by public sewer or an on-site sewage treatment system which operates under a permit issued by the State Water Control Board. All sewage disposal site records shall be administered to provide adequate notice and enforcement. (5) On-site sewage treatment systems not requiring a State pollutant discharge elimination system permit shall be pumped and maintained at least once every five years. Such pumping and maintenance shall be performed in a manner approved by the District Health Department. Immediately upon having the sewage treatment system pumped and maintained, the owner of a sewage treatment system shall certify on a form approved by the District Health Department or an on-site service professional that such pumping and maintenance was performed. The pumping and maintenance required by this section shall be performed only by an individual or entity approved by the District Health Director or licensed by the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. However, in lieu of the mandatory pump-out, the District Health Department shall, consistent with 9VAC25-830-130(7)(a), allow installation and maintenance of a plastic filter in the sewage treatment system tank outflow pipe or documentation every five years, certified by an operator or on-site soil evaluator licensed or certified under Code of Virginia, Title 54.1, Ch. 23 (Code of Virginia, § 54.1-2300 et seq.) as being qualified to operate, maintain, or design on-site sewage systems, demonstrating that the sewage treatment system has been inspected and maintained, that the sewage treatment system is functioning properly, and that the tank does not require pumping. (Code 2004, § 50-331; Code 2015, § 14-263; Code 2020, § 14-263; Ord. No. 2014-116-89, § 2, 5-27-2014; Ord. No. 2018-025, § 1, 2-26-2018; Ord. No. 2024-176, § 2, 7-22-2024)

Source: City of Richmond, Virginia, Code (2026 recodification) and Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/va/richmond/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICICO_CH14FLMAERSECODR_ARTIVCHBAPRAR_DIV4LAUSDEPECR_S14-263GEPECRFetched: 11/8/2026