Prince William County, VA · Prince William County Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 32)
Planned Mixed Development (PMD). The Planned Development—Mixed Use District (PMD) is intended to encourage and accommodate a mix of commercial, office, and residential development with flexibility of design necessary to implement the economic development goals and objectives as set forth in the Comprehensive Plan. More specifically, it is intended to implement the community employment center and regional employment center land use classifications of the Comprehensive Plan. The PMD provides a single zoning district which promotes an integrated business community within which businesses and residences are conveniently linked. The PMD should be established in areas served by a freeway or interstate highway or serviced by a minor arterial or greater designation roadway. The objectives of the PMD are: Description abridged from Sec. 32-405.01 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 PMD
Maximum height
Set by 6. Nonresidential height maximums shall be as provided in Part 280 of this chapter. — see 32-405.04
Maximum lot coverage
Set by 5. The housing types, development standards and secondary use provisions applicable to part 306 of this chapter shall govern residential development in the PMD. — see 32-405.04
Minimum lot size
Set by 5. The housing types, development standards and secondary use provisions applicable to part 306 of this chapter shall govern residential development in the PMD. — see 32-405.04
A standard shown as "set by" is banded in the ordinance — it depends on what you build or on the lot itself, so no single figure is true for the whole zone. The cited table is the authority; read the tier that matches your intended structure.
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 PMD
AllowedOffice Per development plan. (Sec. 32-405.03)
AllowedRetail Per development plan. (Sec. 32-405.03)
AllowedMulti-Family Residential Per development plan. (Sec. 32-405.03)
ConditionalHotel Per development plan. (Sec. 32-405.03)
ConditionalSTR - 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.) This district lists its residential uses but takes its COMMERCIAL uses by reference -- from the land bay designations of Sec. 32-280.11, or from another district's list, or from the approved master plan. Some of those referenced districts do permit hotels and short-term lodging, so whether transient lodging is available here depends on your parcel's designation. (Sec. 32-405.03)
"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?
Zone rules are the starting point — the answer for a specific property also depends on lot
size, overlays, existing improvements and site conditions. Run a free address lookup to see
what applies to one property.