Zoning Ordinance Digital Library

About the Program

Category: Planning (Best in Category)

Year: 2014

The Zoning Ordinance Digital Library provides Henrico County staff and the public with a comprehensive interactive history of the County’s zoning ordinance from 1933 to present. The Digital Library consists of electronic copies of the zoning ordinance at every stage of its development from 1933 to present, with three new spreadsheet indexes. It replaces almost 80 years of amendments, re-codifications, and replacements contained in aging, incomplete, and poorly indexed paper documents with complete, accurate, and searchable electronic documents, accompanied by new indexes. Utilized in determining the status of nonconforming uses, vested rights, and the applicability of grandfather clauses this tool aids county staff in a more effective manner, enabling research that once took days to be completed in minutes. The Digital Library enhances and simplifies research into the history of the County’s zoning, allows for more efficient training of staff, and empowers employees closest to the public to make better informed decisions.