Chesterfield County wraps around Richmond to the south and southwest — a large, rapidly-growing suburban and rural county that has attracted major industrial investment (Lego's first US manufacturing plant, Volvo manufacturing, Amazon and other logistics). Permitting runs through the Department of Building Inspection, the Planning Department, and the Board of Supervisors, with VDOT access permits for most state-maintained roads (Chesterfield does not hold an urban-maintenance exception like Henrico or Arlington).
The Department of Building Inspection administers the Virginia USBC — building, trade (electrical, plumbing, mechanical, gas), and site-work permits. The online permit portal handles intake, review, and fee payment.
The Planning Department administers zoning, subdivision, site plan, rezoning, special exception, and conditional use review. The Planning Commission (advisory) and Board of Supervisors (final) constitute the entitlement track. The Board of Zoning Appeals handles variances.
Chesterfield zoning includes:
Chesterfield's Comprehensive Plan designates Growth Areas (Major Activity Centers), Community Centers, Rural Conservation Areas, and Rural Residential Areas. Growth is directed to designated centers along Route 1 / Route 60 / Route 360 / Chester and Midlothian corridors.
The Meadowville Technology Park — a major industrial park in eastern Chesterfield near the I-295 / Route 10 interchange — has attracted some of the most significant industrial investment in Virginia's recent history:
Data-center and industrial permits at Meadowville coordinate with:
Fort Gregg-Adams (renamed from Fort Lee in 2023) is the Army's logistics and quartermaster base, located just south of Chesterfield in Prince George County but with adjacency affecting Chesterfield's southern tier. AICUZ considerations and operational buffer zones affect land-use compatibility near the base.
Portions of Chesterfield along the James River are within the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area — a 100-foot RPA buffer landward of tidal waters. The eastern county edge along the James and the tidal tributaries (Falling Creek, Proctors Creek, Swift Creek) are affected.
See our Virginia CBPA essay.
The Chesterfield County Utilities Department provides water and sewer throughout the eastern / urbanized county. Capacity commitments, service applications, and tap fees coordinate with the department. Rural western and southwestern areas use private wells and septic.
Unlike Henrico, Chesterfield does not hold the urban maintenance exception. Most roads — including county-owned secondary roads — are state-maintained. VDOT access permits, Chapter 527 TIAs, and traffic signal warrant analyses flow through the state agency.
Major corridors: I-95, I-295, Route 1 / US 1, Route 60 / Midlothian Turnpike, Route 360 / Hull Street Road, Route 10 / West Hundred / Chester, Route 288 (beltway extension).
Three practical rules for Chesterfield:
Chesterfield is a USBC-uniform, VDOT-dependent, growth-directed Virginia county. Combined with the Meadowville industrial build-out and the Fort Gregg-Adams adjacency, it has become one of Central Virginia's most active permit markets.
Primary sources for this essay: Chesterfield County Code (Chapter 19 Zoning, Chapter 17 Subdivision, Chapter 5 Buildings); Virginia USBC (13VAC5-63); Virginia Code Title 15.2 Chapter 22; Chesterfield County Comprehensive Plan; Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act (Va. Code § 62.1-44.15:67 et seq.); Virginia Chapter 527 TIA (Va. Code § 15.2-2222.1). Chesterfield Department of Building Inspection, Planning Department, and County Utilities are the agency resources.