A blog post by Jonathan Knopf, Executive Director for Programs, and Maria Dougherty, Senior Associate, HousingForward Virginia
In many Virginia communities, it’s illegal to build a duplex. The modest two-unit homes that once provided affordable housing for working families are banned outright in large swaths of the Commonwealth. That restriction doesn’t appear in any newspaper headline or budget debate—it lives quietly in local zoning codes.
That’s a big problem.
The Hidden Force Shaping Virginia’s Housing Landscape
Through this work, we’ve seen how restrictive zoning practices ripple through every corner of the housing ecosystem—limiting what gets built, where, and for whom.
Zoning codes written decades ago still govern what’s possible in most Virginia communities. Duplexes and small apartment buildings that once provided naturally affordable options are often ignored as potential uses. Onerous lot size and setback requirements regularly make smaller homes, including accessory dwelling units that could help seniors age in place, very difficult to build. These restrictions have real consequences for racial equity, economic opportunity, and community well-being. And until recently, they have gone mostly unexamined and unchallenged.
Making the Invisible Visible: The Virginia Zoning Atlas
This is why we spent the last three years building the Virginia Zoning Atlas—a tool that, for the first time, visualizes and simplifies complex zoning codes across the Commonwealth. As of last November, every locality in Virginia is now included in the Atlas.
Developed in partnership with Capital One, Virginia Housing, and the National Zoning Atlas, this platform transforms hundreds of pages of dense, often inaccessible municipal code into free, usable data. Community leaders will be able to see at a glance what types of housing are allowed in their neighborhoods and how their community compares to others statewide.
The Virginia Zoning Atlas matters because you can’t change what you can’t see. For funders, it provides grantees with a powerful, data-grounded advocacy tool.
From Data to Action: Introducing ZONED OUT
Understanding the problem is only the first step. That’s why we’re launching ZONED OUT—a comprehensive outreach and education campaign designed to turn the Virginia Zoning Atlas into a platform for change.
Throughout 2026, ZONED OUT will bring data and information on zoning directly to Virginia’s housing leaders through tailored programming:
Zoning 101 sessions provide foundational knowledge for advocacy groups and community organizations new to zoning issues.
Zoning Matters sessions speak to three audiences—policymakers, housing professionals, and community advocates—with customized content for each.
Bringing Up Zoning panels convene local stakeholders and national experts for deep-dive discussions on topics like accessory dwelling units or missing middle housing.
ZONED IN mini-conferences bring the full power of the Virginia Zoning Atlas to individual communities for collaborative problem-solving.
All programming is free to participants thanks to support from Virginia Housing. We’re also partnering with organizations like Incremental Development Alliance, Southern Urbanism, and YIMBY Action to bring top-tier expertise statewide.
An Invitation to Partners and Funders
Zoning reform is one of the few housing solutions that doesn’t require new public funding. When communities update their codes to allow more housing types, they unlock private investment and expand housing choice at little to no cost to local government. But making this change requires education, advocacy, and sustained engagement—and it means building coalitions across different sectors, bringing together developers and tenant advocates, planners and community organizers.
If you’re a funder interested in supporting systems-level change in housing, we welcome conversations about supporting the ZONED OUT campaign. Additional funding will allow us to expand our reach and serve more communities.
If you lead or fund an organization working on housing, economic development, or community equity, we’d love to bring a ZONED OUT session to your network.
If you’re curious about how zoning shapes housing in your community, explore the Virginia Zoning Atlas and join us for an educational session.
The zoning restrictions that limit housing in Virginia weren’t written overnight, and they won’t change overnight. But they can change—if the people who need to change them can first see exactly what they’re dealing with.
Ready to get involved?
Visit housingforwardva.org to:
- Learn more about the Virginia Zoning Atlas
- Submit an interest form for ZONED OUT programming
- Explore partnership and funding opportunities
Questions?
Contact Jonathan Knopf (jonathan@housingforwardva.org) or Maria Dougherty (maria@housingforwardva.org)