This page gathers the Botetourt County rules a Daleville, Virginia homeowner should confirm before a patio, a retaining wall, a walk, or a fire feature. Daleville is unincorporated, so the county, not a town building office, is the authority. The outcome is a short list of questions for Development Services, plus the published thresholds that were on the county and state pages on October 9, 2026. Confirm them again before work. Rules change, and this page is not an approval.
Where are permits handled, and which code is in force?
Development Services is at 57 S. Center Drive, Daleville, VA 24083. The county permitting page takes residential, commercial, and land-disturbance applications by email; the page lists the office's contact details. As of January 18, 2025, building permits must comply with the 2021 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code. Plans are digital, and paper larger than 11 by 17 inches has not been accepted since June 1, 2021. Published hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The zoning page says no permitted structure or use is built without a permit from the building official and approval by the zoning administrator. No patio exemption was published on the pages reviewed. Ask before you assume a patio or walk is exempt. Proffers, if any, come from that office. Private covenants can add a review. This page does not name a subdivision.
What does the state code say about retaining walls?
The county has not published its own wall-height table. The adopted statewide code exempts retaining walls that support less than three feet of unbalanced fill, unless they impound Class I, II, or III-A liquids or support a surcharge other than ordinary fill. Other code rules still apply. A separate exemption covers freestanding concrete or masonry walls not over six feet, which is not the retaining-wall rule. A special flood hazard area can pull exempt work back into permitting. Above three feet of unbalanced fill, expect an application and ask what drawings the county wants.
How a wall is planned, separate from the permit, is on the retaining-wall page.
When does land disturbance or floodplain review apply?
The county erosion page requires a land-disturbing permit for commercial and subdivision projects and for any project disturbing more than 10,000 square feet. An impact assessment can require a permit for smaller work. The application expects a checklist, stormwater plans, and a bond. A review fee is published there. This guide does not repeat the dollar amount.
Floodplain is a different map. The floodplain management page says the county participates in the National Flood Insurance Program and uses a Flood Hazard Overlay District: floodway, flood fringe shown as zone AE, and approximate zone A. The climatic design sheet, updated March 2024, lists NFIP community 510018 and a Flood Insurance Rate Map date of December 17, 2010. Later FEMA studies can supersede that date. County GIS can show a flood layer, and the zoning page says the layer is not guaranteed. Confirm with Planning and Zoning before grading in a mapped zone.
What burning rules sit beside a fire feature?
Two calendars are in print, and they do not match. The Virginia Department of Forestry 4 p.m. law runs February 15 through April 30 and limits open-air burning before 4 p.m. within 300 feet of woods or dry grass. A fully contained commercial pit or chiminea, in good condition, with a quarter-inch or smaller screen, is not treated as open-air burning on that page, and the page says a locality may be stricter. Botetourt Code Chapter 11 requires precautions before burning brush, leaves, grass, or debris, and from March 1 through May 15 it limits those fires within 300 feet of woodland or brushland to 4 p.m. through midnight.
Neither source is a clearance diagram for a masonry fireplace. The county family fire-safety page says not to leave fire pits unattended. Feature planning is on the fire feature page. Patio scope is on the patio page.
What has to happen before the first dig?
Contact Virginia 811 at least three working days before excavation. Weekends and legal holidays do not count. The homeowner FAQ says the service is free, landscaping is a covered example, the contractor makes the request, and the homeowner should confirm it. A later phase needs its own ticket.
Bring wall height, disturbed area, and any flood-zone question to Development Services before you treat an exemption as a yes. Related project pages are on the services hub. The request form is on the home page.
Sources named on this page were read on October 9, 2026. An office can revise a rule after that date, so confirm the current text before anyone digs.