Prince William County, VA · Prince William County Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 32)
B-3, Convenience Retail District. The intent of the B-3 District is to provide for areas within the rural area as defined by the Comprehensive Plan where convenience goods and services may be located. The B-3 District is intended to implement the convenience retail land use classification of the Comprehensive Plan. The purpose of this district is to serve nearby residents, rather than pass-by or regional traffic, promote employment opportunities, and enhance the tax base of Prince William County. Description abridged from Sec. 32-401.30 of the Prince William County Zoning Ordinance -- sentences carrying figures are omitted here so this text can never contradict the standards table, which carries a citation on each value. Read that section for the district's own words in full.
Development standards in B-3
Maximum FAR
0.1
32-401.34
Maximum height
35 ft
32-401.34
Maximum lot coverage
80%
32-401.34
Front setback
not recorded
not in our sources — check the ordinance
Read from Prince William County Code Chapter 32 (Zoning), effective through 2025-09-09.
How complete is this market? Across 147,740 parcels we answer 97.3% of the 6 questions this site is built to answer, each with a source you can check. The rest are shown as “not recorded” rather than filled in — we would rather be short than wrong. A further 3,451 properties inside the county line are zoned by an incorporated town with its own ordinance, not by the county, so this county ordinance does not govern them and they are not counted above or below — which is why we publish this market as Prince William County (excl. incorporated towns). Look one of those up and we will tell you which town governs it.
Permitted uses in B-3
AllowedRetail Retail is permitted by right (Sec. 32-401.31), but B-3 is the CONVENIENCE retail district: Sec. 32-401.34 caps the district at five acres, all non-residential use at 15,000 gross sq ft, and any single use at 8,000. Served with the note 'Including big-box' before S171, which the district's own standards refute.
AllowedRestaurant A restaurant is by right (Sec. 32-401.31), but a DRIVE-THROUGH or drive-in requires a Special Use Permit in B-3 (Sec. 32-401.33). Served with the note 'Drive-throughs permitted' before S171, which read as by right.
Not AllowedHotel A hotel is listed in B-1 (Sec. 32-401.11) and in no other business district; it is absent from B-3's permitted, secondary and special uses. A use not specified in a zoning district is prohibited there (Sec. 32-200.03). Served here as Allowed before S171.
Not AllowedSTR - Short-Term Rentals Prince William's Zoning Ordinance has no 'short-term rental' use -- the phrase does not appear in Chapter 32. What it has is a bed and breakfast inn, defined in Part 100 and expressly available 'for transient occupancy', with standards at Sec. 32-300.15; and 'short-term lodging', which Part 100 defines narrowly as time-share units. (A lodging house is NOT a route to it -- Part 100 excludes 'accommodations used for transient occupancy' from that term.) Neither appears in this district's permitted, secondary or special use sections, and a use not specified in a zoning district is prohibited there (Sec. 32-200.03). (Sec. 32-200.03)
"Conditional" means the use generally requires a public hearing or special-exception approval — a very different timeline and risk profile from a by-right permit.
This is the zone. What about the parcel?
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