A. 
No person shall subdivide any tract of land that is located within the unincorporated area of Carroll County, Virginia, except in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.
B. 
This chapter shall not apply to any subdivision that was fully surveyed by a certified land surveyor and a plat made thereof recorded in the Circuit Court Clerk's Office of Carroll County, Virginia, and from which lots were sold or improvements were made pursuant to such survey plat prior to July 1, 2009, provided that any alterations to such a subdivision after July 1, 2009, shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter. Furthermore, this chapter shall not apply to subdivisions that were fully surveyed and a plat thereof recorded in the Clerk's office of Carroll County prior to July 1, 2009, provided that any alterations thereto after July 1, 2009, shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter. The Administrator shall, upon request, make a determination as to whether or not a subdivision was created prior to July 1, 2009, and to what extent such a subdivision is subject to the terms of this chapter. The Administrator shall issue a written opinion stating the Administrator's conclusions and the reasons therefore. The person requesting such an opinion shall provide all necessary information to the Administrator.
No owner or agent of the owner of any parcel of land located in a proposed subdivision shall transfer or sell such parcel before a plat of said subdivision has been approved by the Administrator in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and has been duly recorded in the Circuit Court Clerk's office located in the Carroll County Courthouse. Violations of this section may be punished in accordance with § 216-45 of this chapter; however, nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the recordation of the instrument by which the land is transferred or the passage of title between the parties to the instrument.
The recordation of the final plat shall operate to transfer to the County, in fee simple, such portion of the premises platted as is on such plat set apart for streets, alleys, or other public use and to transfer to the County any easement indicated on such plat to create a public right of passage over the same. There shall be no duty on the County to construct, maintain, or improve said streets, alleys, or public access.
A. 
Cemetery.
(1) 
Land set aside for the development of a cemetery shall not be required to follow the provisions of this chapter; provided, however, that this property shall be served by a thirty-foot right-of-way from a state-maintained road. A cemetery shall be defined as a single division of property in which the land is used or intended to be used for the burial of the dead, and dedicated for cemetery purposes, including columbariums, crematories, and mausoleums. The plat showing the cemetery boundary and right-of-way shall be submitted to the subdivision agent for review and approval.
(2) 
Land divided for the purpose of establishing a separate parcel as a cemetery where the property has been used as a cemetery prior to January 1, 2014, shall not be required to follow the provisions of this chapter; provided, however, that the plat showing the cemetery boundary shall be submitted to the subdivision agent for review and approval.
B. 
Land divided for the purpose of the placement of utilities shall not be required to follow the provisions of this chapter. The plat showing the boundary of such property shall be submitted to the subdivision agent for review and approval.
C. 
A division of property by will which devises parcels with an acreage or boundary description shall not be a subdivision as defined herein; provided, however, that all improvements constructed on the parcels created shall comply with the International Building Code at the time of construction of improvements thereon, and all parcels created shall not be further divided without compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
D. 
A division of property for the purpose of removing a portion of the property from the Growth Tier listed in the Carroll County Comprehensive Plan and placing this property into the Agriculture Tier of the Comprehensive Plan for the purpose of establishing a conservation easement, an Agricultural District, or a Forestal District on such property shall not be considered a subdivision as defined herein, provided that a plat of the area to remain in the Growth Tier shall be submitted to the subdivision agent for review and approval, the area to remain in the Growth Tier shall not be less than 200 feet in depth from the road right-of-way, and the portion of the property to be placed into the Agriculture Tier and subsequently placed in a conservation easement, an Agricultural District, or a Forestal District shall be served by a minimum fifty-foot wide right-of-way which shall be shown on the plat. Prior to approval, evidence must be presented that the property to be placed in a conservation easement, Agricultural District or Forestal District qualifies and will be accepted under such easement or district.
Any property owner desiring to make application for a variance shall file a written application for a variance with the Administrator. The application and accompanying maps, plans, or other information shall be acted upon by the Administrator within 60 days of date of filing. A notice of the application for a variance shall be published in a newspaper having general circulation in Carroll County, which notice shall state the application requests, why it is requested, and shall give notice of a public hearing concerning said application. The applicant shall pay all costs associated with the request.
A. 
Requirements for submission of applications. The applicant shall submit the following:
(1) 
A copy of all preliminary maps, plans or other information related to the application.
(2) 
A list of names and addresses of all of those owning property adjacent to the property for which a variance is being requested.
(3) 
Narrative description of the nature of the variance and justification as set forth in this section.
(4) 
A filing fee in the amounts provided in § 216-13G.
B. 
Criteria for deciding upon variance. The following criteria shall be used by the Planning Commission in reaching its decisions regarding requests for variances:
(1) 
An unusual situation or when strict adherence to the general regulations would result in substantial injustice or hardship. Hardship is defined in physical terms and not in financial terms; and
(2) 
The authorization of the variance will not create a substantial detriment to adjacent or nearby property; and
(3) 
The situation is not of so general or recurring a nature as to make reasonably practicable the formulation of general regulations to be adopted as amendment(s) to this chapter; and
(4) 
The hardship is created by the physical character of the property or of the property. Personal, pecuniary (financial), or self-inflicted hardship shall not be considered grounds for the authorization of a variance.
C. 
Written reasons for variance. Any exception thus authorized shall be stated in writing, with the reasoning on which the variance was justified set forth.
D. 
Conditions may be attached. The Planning Commission may attach such conditions and safeguards to the variance as it deems necessary to protect the general public interest.
Any person, firm or corporation aggrieved by the Administrator's objection to a plat or a failure to approve a final plat may appeal to the Carroll County Board of Supervisors. All such appeals shall be brought before the Board and a decision announced by that body within 30 days following the objection or rejection of the plat by the Administrator. The Board of Supervisors may direct that the final plat be approved if it finds that the action of the Administrator was arbitrary, unreasonable, or discriminatory. If the decision of the Board is in agreement with the Administrator's disapproval of the plat and the subdivider further contends that such disapproval was not properly based on the ordinance applicable thereto or was arbitrary or capricious, he may then appeal to the Circuit Court having jurisdiction of such land, and the Court shall hear and determine the case.
Any person or persons violating the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a fine of not more than $500 for each lot or parcel of land so subdivided or transferred or sold, and each such subdivision and each individual sale in violation of this chapter shall constitute a separate offense. The description of such lot or parcel by metes and bounds in the instrument of transfer or other document used in the process of selling or transferring shall not exempt the transaction from such penalties or from the remedies herein provided.
This chapter may be amended from time to time by the Board of Supervisors in accordance with § 15.2-2240 et seq. of the Code of Virginia 1950, as now or hereafter in effect.