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.
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.
Certified copies of this chapter and all amendments thereof
shall be filed in the offices of the Planning Commission, the County
Administrator, and the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Carroll County.