Marion's zoning ordinance on containers: Sec. 5-1 and Sec. 14-3(c)

Marion's town code and its zoning ordinance both speak to storage containers on property inside the town limits, in different words; the town code's Sec. 38-2 is quoted on our Smyth County permit guide, and the zoning ordinance is read here.

We found no use of the words "shipping container" in the posted ordinance, and no sentence in either document that ties one permit to the other. So the first question for the Zoning Administrator is which permit a container on your lot needs, and on which form; ask it before you pick a size or a delivery date, since the permit sets how long the box can stay.

Sec. 14-3(c) of Marion's zoning ordinance allows portable temporary storage containers "in any zoning district provided that the following requirements are met," and each one shapes the drop:

• A permit. "A temporary zoning permit is required" (item 2).
• A clock. Up to 30 days "unless approved by the zoning administrator or otherwise specified in this ordinance" (item 1); item 11 says "A temporary use permit may be renewed for one additional period of time with approval from the planning commission."
• A building. Not on any lot without "an existing principal building or a principal building under construction," and only "as an accessory use to the principal use of the lot" (item 3).
• A purpose. Only "construction, both new structures and remodeling, fire damages to the principal structure, or relocation" (item 4).
• Placement. "Only one storage container will be allowed on a lot or lots contiguously owned," meeting the front yard setback "to the greatest extent possible" and "at least ten feet from the side and rear property lines or in a private driveway," or else with the zoning administrator's approval (item 8); none in the public right-of-way (item 5).
• No hookups, no stacking. The container "shall not be connected to utilities" (item 6), and stacking containers, or materials or merchandise on top of one, is prohibited (item 7).
• Clear access. Not on or blocking "a required parking space, public sidewalk, circulation aisle, or fire access lane," and causing no "visual obstruction to pedestrians or motor vehicles leaving or entering the property" (item 10).

On non-residential property, such as a commercial lot, item 9 says "more than one portable storage container may be allowed on a lot," each in the side or rear yard and at least ten feet from those lines, under a temporary use permit, with site plan review for more than one.

If the town grants the permit, a container rental fits a stay measured in weeks: it runs month to month at $165 a month for a 20-ft or $235 a month for a 40-ft, with free delivery and leveling within 75 road miles and free pickup inside that zone when the work is done.

Marion's zoning ordinance defines the term in Sec. 9-3, definition 71: "Portable storage containers: a transportable unit designed and used for the temporary storage of materials or furnishings associated with construction, renovation, or relocation activity on the property where the container is placed."

The definition then excludes "the use of storage containers for a consecutive ten (10)-day period or less for loading and unloading furnishings (moving residences)" and "The temporary storage of construction items while building or remodeling structures." We found no line in the ordinance saying that an excluded use needs no permit, or saying what governs one instead, so a short loading window or a jobsite box is a question for the Zoning Administrator, not an assumption to make on delivery day.

The definition turns on what the unit is designed and used for, so when you call the town, say what the box will hold and why it is there.

Sec. 5-1 of Marion's zoning ordinance, headed "Accessory Structures and Uses. (Zoning Permit Required)," is the route the ordinance sets for a detached structure that serves a home or a business: item 8 says "A zoning permit must be obtained from the Town of Marion Zoning Administrator before placing any accessory structure." The same list says at item 7, "Portable storage containers and trailers will not be permitted as accessory structures."

Item 7 is the line to read before buying a box to keep on a lot inside the town, and the reason to raise a plan like that with the Zoning Administrator while it is still a plan.

In unincorporated Smyth County, outside the town limits, the county's ordinance applies instead; the reasons a town and its county can treat the same box differently are laid out in our answer on city and county container rules. A purchase there is a county question: within 75 road miles, a used cargo-worthy 20-ft is $3,200 delivered and a 40-ft around $4,900, with sizes and the drop itself on our Marion containers page.

The Town of Marion posts its Zoning Ordinance as a PDF, and its Zoning page lists that ordinance beside the Town Code. The front matter dates adoption to July 19, 1982 and lists amendments through "August 18, 2025, Livestock & Exotic Animals"; the cover reads "Adopted November 20, 2023." Town code Sec. 86-1 says the ordinance "is not set out in this Code" and that copies "are kept on file and available for public inspection in the office of the town manager."

We found no amendment to Sec. 5-1, definition 71 or Sec. 14-3 in the Town Council and Planning Commission agendas and minutes the town posted from August 18, 2025 through October 5, 2026. Council minutes from June 2026 do record the town attorney's work on a town code update, with public hearings to come, so ask for the current text by section and item number, and note the date of the answer.

Zoning questions on a Marion lot go to the Zoning Administrator, whom the ordinance charges to "administer and enforce" it. The town's Zoning page lists that desk at 138 West Main Street, Marion, VA 24354, phone 276-378-5017; Marion Town Hall's main line, at the same street address, is (276) 783-4113.

Building permits come from the county. Marion's town code has the Smyth County Building Inspector enforce the construction and rehabilitation parts of the state building code inside the town, since the town council "does not have a licensed building inspector" (Sec. 18-1), and Sec. 18-2 asks for "a zoning permit from the town engineer" and a copy of the permit "obtained from the county" before construction of buildings or other structures begins. Whether placing a container counts as that construction is for those offices; the county's desk is listed on our Smyth County permit guide, and the state's storage-container exemption from its building code is explained on our Virginia container permit guide.

Where a mapped flood zone touches the parcel, the ordinance's floodplain overlay requires a permit for "All uses, activities, and development occurring within any floodplain district," and it counts "permanent or temporary storage of equipment or materials" as development. The town's residential zoning permit form asks "Is the project in a flood zone?" and opens with the parcel tax map number and zoning district, so have those ready when you call, and ask who reviews floodplain permits.