The Richmond County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) is a five member citizen body appointed by the Richmond County Circuit Court and has the authority to hear and decide on an applicant’s request for a variance.

Under Virginia Code  Section 15.2-2201 a “Variance” is defined as a reasonable deviation from certain zoning requirements such as the size of a parcel of land or the location of a structure; and, that the granting of a variance will alleviate a clearly demonstrated hardship (as distinguished from a special privilege or convenience).