The following regulations are hereby adopted for the subdivision of
land within unincorporated portions of Northumberland County, and from and
after the effective date of this chapter, every owner or proprietor of any
tract of land to which these regulations apply who subdivides such tract as
provided in these regulations shall cause a plat of such subdivision developed
and prepared in accordance with these regulations, with reference to known
or permanent monuments, to be made and recorded in the office of the Clerk
of the Circuit Court, wherein deeds conveying such land are required to be
recorded.
The purpose of this chapter is to establish certain subdivision standards
and procedures for Northumberland County, Virginia. These are a part of a
long-range plan to guide and facilitate the orderly beneficial growth of the
community and to promote the public health, safety, convenience, comfort,
prosperity and general welfare. More specifically, the purpose of these standards
and procedures is to provide a guide for the change that occurs when lands
and acreage become subdivided as a result of development for single-family
dwellings, business or industrial purposes; to provide assurance that the
purchasers of lots are buying a commodity that is suitable for development
and use; and to make possible the provision of public services in a safe,
adequate and efficient manner.
This chapter is known and may be cited as the "Subdivision Ordinance
of Northumberland County, Virginia."
A.
Word usage. Words in the present tense include the future,
words in the singular number include the plural and the plural the singular,
unless the natural construction of the words indicates otherwise; the word
"lot" includes the word "parcel"; the word "shall" is mandatory and not directory;
the word "approved" shall be considered to be followed by the words "or disapproved,"
and reference to this chapter includes all ordinances amending or supplementing
the same; all distances or areas refer to measurement in a horizontal plane.
B.
ALLEY
BLOCK
BUILDING LINE
COUNTY
CUL-DE-SAC
EASEMENT
ENGINEER
FEES
GOVERNING BODY
HEALTH OFFICIAL
HIGHWAY ENGINEER
LOT
LOT, CORNER
LOT, DEPTH OF
LOT, DOUBLE FRONTAGE
LOT, INTERIOR
LOT OF RECORD
OWNER
PLAT OF SUBDIVISION
PROPERTY
STREET
STREET, CONNECTING
STREET OR ALLEY, PUBLIC USE OF
STREET, SERVICE DRIVE
STREET WIDTH
SUBDIVIDE
(1)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(2)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(3)
(4)
(5)
SUBDIVIDER
SUBDIVISION AGENT or AGENT
SURVEYOR
Definitions For the purpose of this chapter, certain
words and terms used herein shall be interpreted or defined as follows:
A permanent service way providing a secondary means of access to
abutting properties.
An area enclosed by adjacent and usually intersecting streets.
The distance which a building is from the front line or front boundary
line.
Northumberland County, Virginia.
A street with only one outlet and having an appropriate turnaround
for a safe and convenient reverse traffic movement.
A grant by a property owner of the use of land for a specific purpose
or purposes.
A civil or highway engineer licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The imposition of reasonable fees and charges by the Board of Supervisors
for the review of plats and plans and for the inspection of facilities required
to be installed.
The Board of Supervisors of the County.
The health director or sanitarian serving the County.
The resident engineer employed by the Virginia Department of Transportation.
A numbered and recorded portion of a subdivision intended for transfer
of ownership or for building development for a single building and its accessory
buildings.
A lot abutting upon two or more streets at their intersection; the
shortest side fronting upon a street shall be considered the front of the
lot and the longest side fronting upon a street shall be considered the side
of the lot.
The mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.
An interior lot having frontage on two streets.
A lot other than a corner lot.
A lot which has been recorded in the office of the Clerk of the appropriate
court.
An owner of property being subdivided, whether or not represented
by an agent.
The schematic representation of land divided or to be divided.
Any tract, lot, parcel or several of the same adjacent to each other
for the purpose of subdividing.
The principal means of access to abutting properties.
Such street as may be necessary to connect one or more subdivision
streets to a public street.
The unrestricted use of a specific area or right-of-way for ingress
and egress to two or more abutting properties.
A public right-of-way generally parallel and contiguous to a major
highway, primarily designated to promote safety by eliminating promiscuous
ingress and egress to the right-of-way by providing safe and orderly points
of access to the highway.
The total width of the strip of land dedicated or reserved for public
travel, including roadway, curbs, gutters, sidewalks and planting strips.
The division of a parcel of land into three or more lots or parcels
(for the purpose of this chapter, one division creates two lots or parcels,
two divisions creates three or more parcels, etc.) for the purpose of transfer
of ownership or building development, except that:
The division of land into nine or less lots or parcels shall not be
considered a subdivision, provided that:
No further division is allowed unless complete subdivision regulations
are met.
A plat of each lot, prepared by a surveyor, must be recorded in the
Clerk's office of the Circuit Court, approved by the Subdivision Agent
for meeting the requirements of this section. The dedicated right-of-way,
as shown on the plat for the access road and roads within the division, must
meet the Virginia State Department of Transportation's requirements for
width, alignment, sight distance and drainage, as certified by the Department
of Transportation's Highway Engineer, unless the Board of Supervisors
grants an exception.
Deed restrictions and plats for each lot must specify that the County
and state will not be responsible for any costs involved in having the roads
brought up to state specifications for acceptance into the State Secondary
System of Highways and must indicate whether or not the right-of-way meets
each of the existing State Department of Transportation requirements for acceptance
into the secondary system.
An all-weather road with a surface of at least four inches of bank run
material or the equivalent with two inches of crushed run gravel (blue stone)
or the equivalent must be completed to each lot within 60 days of closing
sale of such lot with a road surface, not including the shoulders or ditches,
must be at least 18 feet wide. Adequate soil erosion and sedimentation control
measures must be taken during road construction according to approved plans.
Lots shall be arranged, designed, shaped and contiguous in order to
provide satisfactory and desirable sites for buildings. Lots shall not contain
peculiarly shaped elongations solely to provide necessary square footage of
area which would be unusable for normal purposes unless approved by the governing
body.
The Agent shall not approve any division of land for residential building
purposes where sanitary sewers are not provided until the Agent has received,
in writing, from the Health Official a statement to the effect that each lot
proposed in the division is satisfactory for the installation of septic tanks
and drainfields as well as a 100% reserve drainfield replacement area for
each drainfield, and that such approval by the Agent is only with the understanding
that where septic tanks are to be installed, these must be approved on an
individual lot basis by the Health Official.
A benchmark must be located in or near any division of land that is
adjacent to any floodplain, approved by the Agent for location and delineated
on the plat with reference to the location and elevation.
The division of land into lots or parcels, all of which are two acres
or more in size (excluding all street rights-of-way and off-site sewage easements)
and do not exceed 25 in total number, shall not be considered a subdivision,
provided that:
No further division into less than two acres is allowed unless complete
subdivision regulations are met.
A plat of each lot, prepared by a surveyor, must be recorded in the
Clerk's office of the Circuit Court approved by the Subdivision Agent
for meeting the requirements of this section. The dedicated right-of-way,
as shown on the plat for the access road and roads within the division, must
meet the Virginia State Department of Transportation's requirements for
width, alignment, sight distance and drainage, as certified by the Department
of Transportation's Highway Engineer, unless the Board of Supervisors
grants an exception.
Deed restrictions and plats for each lot must specify that the County
and state will not be responsible for any costs involved in having the roads
brought up to state specifications for acceptance into the State Secondary
System of Highways, and must indicate whether or not the right-of-way meets
each of the existing State Department of Transportation requirements for acceptance
into the secondary system.
An all-weather road with a surface of at least four inches of bank run
material or the equivalent with two inches of crushed run gravel (blue stone)
or the equivalent must be completed to each lot within 60 days of closing
sale of such lot with a road surface, not including the shoulders or ditches,
must be at least 18 feet wide. Adequate soil erosion and sedimentation control
measures must be taken during road construction according to approved plans.
Lots shall be arranged, designed, shaped and contiguous in order to
provide satisfactory and desirable sites for buildings. Lots shall not contain
peculiarly shaped elongations solely to provide necessary square footage of
area which would be unusable for normal purposes unless approved by the governing
body.
The Agent shall not approve any division of land for residential building
purposes where sanitary sewers are not provided until the Agent has received,
in writing, from the Health Official a statement to the effect that each lot
proposed in the division is satisfactory for the installation of septic tanks
and drainfields as well as a 100% reserve drainfield replacement area for
each drainfield, and that such approval by the Agent is only with the understanding
that where septic tanks are to be installed, these must be approved on an
individual lot basis by the Health Official.
A benchmark must be located in or near any division of land that is
adjacent to any floodplain, approved by the Agent for location and delineated
on the plat with reference to the location and elevation.
A division of a lot or parcel for the purpose of sale or gift, by deed
or will to a member of the immediate family of the property owner, shall not
be considered a subdivision. Only one such division shall be allowed per family
member and shall not be for the purpose of circumventing this chapter. For
the purpose of this subsection, a member of the immediate family is defined
as any person who is a natural or legally defined offspring, spouse, sibling,
grandchild, grandparent, parent, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew of the owner.
[Amended 10-11-2007]
Divisions ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Divisions made to establish rights-of-way, boundary lines, well lots,
common areas and remote drainfield lots.
An individual, corporation, developer or registered partnership owning
any tract or lot of land to be subdivided, or a group of two or more persons
owning any tract or lot of land to be subdivided, and any individual who has
received power of attorney or authority to act on the behalf of the owners
in planning, negotiating for, in representing or executing the legal requirements
of the subdivision.
The representative of the Board of Supervisors of Northumberland
County who has been appointed to serve as the Agent of the Board in the approving
of subdivisions plats and/or any assistant similarly appointed to serve as
the Agent of the Board for such purpose when the Agent is unable to serve.
A certified land surveyor licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
