Yes. The activities below are exempt from the requirement to obtain a permit and post a bond prior to beginning the project. They are however NOT exempt from controlling erosion from the site.* Any project which results in total land disturbance under 10,000 square feet, or under 2,500 square feet in the Town of Orange, Town of Gordonsville, and/or on any residentially-zoned property.
* Structures utilizing pier or post foundations (e.g. a deck or pole barn)
* Home gardens and/or landscaping.
* Individual utility connections (i.e. power, water, sewer, communications, etc. connections). This does not include the installation of new wells and septic fields during home construction.
* Septic tank and drainfield repair work.
* Tilling, planting, and harvesting of agricultural crops and timber crops. The exemption for timber harvesting ONLY applies if the area will be reforested in accordance with state law, or converted to cropland and/or for livestock. The general clearing of trees is NOT exempt.
* Agricultural engineering operations (e.g. terraces, ponds, check dams, ditches, strip cropping, contour cultivating, irrigation, etc.)