The Board of Supervisors of Mathews County shall be responsible
for the administration of this chapter and, where applicable, shall
hereinafter be referred to collectively as the Board. The Board may,
however, designate an agent to administer all or part of this chapter.
Once appointed by a resolution of the Board, the agent shall
be designated to administer this chapter. The agent and/or Board shall
perform their duties as regards to subdivisions and subdividing in
accordance with this chapter and the Virginia Land Subdivision Act.
Mathews County is a developing County without either the benefits
or detriments of a large bureaucracy. Therefore, the governing body
delegates to the agent certain oversight and review responsibilities
as are enumerated, hereinafter, within this chapter as an additional
safeguard to conformity and compliance with the spirit and intent
of the Code of Virginia, the Mathews County Comprehensive Plan, the
Chesapeake Bay Act, the Mathews County Zoning Ordinance,[1] the Erosion and Sediment Control Ordinance of Mathews
County[2] and other appropriate legislation to ensure the continued
health, safety and welfare of the residents of Mathews County.
Persons owning property (whether real or riparian leaseholds)
adjoining any major subdivision shall be given notice of the filing
of the preliminary plat by the subdivider by certified mail after
authorization has been given by the agent. The required notification
shall be given by the applicant on the standard County "Notification
of Adjacent Property Owner Concerning Proposed Subdivision" form.
Adjoining property owners is construed to also include those directly
across roads or restricted waters (500 feet or less) from the proposed
subdivision.
In the performance of his duties, the agent may call for opinions
or decisions, either verbal or written, from other departments and
agencies in considering details of any submitted plat. This authority
of the agent shall have particular reference to the Resident Highway
Engineer, the Health Officer, and the Erosion and Sediment Control
Administrator. In developments totaling over five lots, the agent
may require the developer, at the developer's expense, to have
studies made to determine feasibility.
In addition to the regulations herein contained for the platting
of subdivisions, the agent may establish any reasonable additional
administrative procedures deemed necessary for the proper administration
of this chapter.
In addition to the regulations herein contained for the platting
of subdivision, the agent may, from time to time, recommend to the
governing body any reasonable additional administrative procedures
deemed necessary for the proper administration of this chapter.
A.
Minor subdivision: A minor subdivision shall be a division of a parent
tract of land into five or fewer lots. Multiple minor subdivisions
from the same parent tract that increase the total lot count of the
combined subdivisions to more than five lots shall not be permitted.
Residue or residual parcels not attached to an adjoining tract shall
count towards the total number of divisions of a tract of land.
B.
Major subdivision: A subdivision with more than five lots. The term
"major subdivision" shall include any subdivision of a parent tract
of more than five lots that is designed and developed as a single
unit, regardless of the number of owners and subdividers involved
or the number of parcels or tracts of land encompassed by the subdivision.
The term "major subdivision" shall also include any subdivision which
initially contains fewer than five lots, but which is intended to
become a subdivision of more than five lots at some future time through
additions. Residue or residual parcels not attached to an adjoining
tract shall count towards the total number of divisions of a tract
of land.
No plan shall be approved for development usage where the principal
effect of the design is to subvert the purpose of these regulations
by inclusion of excessively unbalanced distribution of land among
lots or inclusion of open spaces which are inappropriately located
or which will not contribute to the future amenity of the subdivision.
Designs are subject to review on the basis of all of the setback and
environmental standards and constraints set forth in this chapter
and the Zoning Ordinance.[1] In addition to the above, the following standards shall
apply to any request for subdivision covered by this section must
be met in subdivision requirement.
A.
No part of lot area necessary to meet density requirements shall
be located in a wetland, or covered by any body of water.
B.
All resubdivisions, including sales, which constitute resubdivisions,
shall be in conformance with this chapter.
C.
An average lot area or residential cluster (either condominium or
otherwise) shall be designed to promote harmonious relationships with
surrounding adjacent and nearby developed properties and, to this
end, may employ such design techniques as may be appropriate to a
particular case, including coordination of yard dimensions, location
of lots of various sizes, location of buildings with respect to property
boundary lines, location of open spaces and maintenance woodlands
and vegetation.
D.
The preservation of wetlands and natural vegetation, and particularly
large trees on steep slopes, along watercourses and in stream valleys,
should be recognized as a primary design consideration in review and
approval of an application under this section.
This chapter is written for the protection of the citizens, both present and future, of Mathews County and specifies the manner in which land is to be subdivided, thereby creating rights in and to the affected property. A proposed subdivision becomes vested upon the filing of a subdivision application along with the filing of a proposed subdivision survey, dated not more than 12 months before the filing of the application with the information required in § 140-70 or 140-76 of this chapter. The zoning and subdivision requirements in effect at the time of application must be met.
