Planning & Zoning

General Information

The Cumberland Planning and Zoning Department is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the County’s subdivision and zoning ordinances, as well as the erosion and sediment control ordinance. These duties include the review and approval of subdivision plats, site plans, and the processing of rezoning, conditional use permits, and variance applications. The Department also processes fireworks and festival permit applications.  The Department also staffs the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA).  

The Department also collaborates with the County Administrator in the long-range planning process projects.  These include updates to the Comprehensive Plan and implementation of the Plan.  The Department is responsible for Zoning and subdivision text amendments as well as the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to visualize and map county geographic and demographic data to support long-range planning and land use decisions.

County Code

The County Code of Ordinances addresses the specific requirements for things such as zoning, subdivision, taxation, solid waste, fees, and offenses among other things.  These ordinances are maintained electronically on the internet by the Municode Corporation.  There is a direct link to the Cumberland County Code of Ordinances in the grey box to your left.  From there, you will find an index of the County Code as well as search and print features.  The County updates the Code as needed; however, it often takes time for new ordinances approved by the Board of Supervisors to be officially codified and included in the text of the ordinance.  On the home page of the Cumberland Ordinances link, you will see a section labeled "Adopted Ordinances Not Yet Codified".  Here is where you will find these ordinances that have been approved, but not yet included in the actual body of the Ordinance.  If you have any questions relating to the subdivision, zoning, or erosion and sediment control ordinances, please direct them to the Planning Department.  The erosion and sediment control ordinance can be found in Chapter 34, Article II, the Subdivision Ordinance can be found in Chapter 54, and the Zoning Ordinance can be found in Chapter 74.

Code Enforcement

Cumberland County is committed to providing a beautiful, safe, and healthy environment for all its citizens.  To achieve this goal, the county seeks to clean up areas visible from roads and adjacent properties where there are code violations.

If you would like to make a complaint or have any questions, please contact Mrs. Stephany Johnson by email at sjohnson@cumberlandcounty.virginia.gov. 

Comprehensive Plan

The Comprehensive Plan includes an inventory and analysis of the County and its current policies, as well as goals and objectives to guide future growth. The Plan is an official statement of policy that provides guidance for the future physical development of the County.   The current Comprehensive Plan was updated in December 2023, and can be found in the grey box to your left labeled Comprehensive Plan.