The Patrick County Board of Supervisors will hold a joint public hearing with the Planning Commission on Monday, Oct. 19, to consider proposed changes to the county’s subdivision ordinance, including expanded oversight of land divisions involving parcels smaller than five acres.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the third-floor meeting room of the Patrick County Veteran’s Memorial Building on Rucker Street in Stuart.
The proposed ordinance, last updated on Sept. 9, would require certain land divisions involving parcels of less than five acres to undergo review and approval before the property could be transferred or sold.
The draft states that single-lot conveyances of less than five acres must be submitted to a subdivision agent for review and approval before being recorded. It also requires an approved and recorded final plat for certain conveyances that would leave a remaining parcel of less than five acres.
Supervisors have expressed differing opinions about the proposal, which supporters say is intended to protect buyers from purchasing property that cannot accommodate a home.
Board Chairman Andrew Overby, of the Dan River District, said the proposed changes arose after county staff, residents and another supervisor raised concerns about property being subdivided and marketed as suitable for construction.
“There’s been some problems where those supposed buildable lots have not been able to perk, and the people who had purchased those properties didn’t know that until they had purchased the properties,” Overby said.
