While the basis of last week's ruling is a 7-acre property, the decision temporarily opens the door for all agriculturally zoned properties in the county to be subdivided into 1-acre parcels.
Voided code:
Subsection (a) of Chesterfield County's subdivision ordinance was voided last week by the Virginia Supreme Court along with two definitions.
The subsection affected : Sec. 17-36. Recordation of subdivision plat prior to compliance with zoning ordinance prohibited. (a) Except as noted in subsection (b), no plat for a lot subdivision shall be recorded unless the land is included within a residential, or townhouse residential zoning district, or is a residential use in a commercial zoning district as defined by Chapter 19 of this Code.
Previously, with any new split or division of an agricultural parcel, the parcels involved had to be at least 5 acres and have 300 feet of state maintained road frontage.
The result is that people will be able to buy up cheap ag land and subdivide it into 1 acre parcels which are much more home-buyer friendly in this housing market.
Thanks to Johnny B
FULL STORY: Chesterfield subdivision ordinance changed by court
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