[Amended 6-9-1993; 11-12-2003; 4-26-2005; 2-28-2007]
Words and terms set forth below shall have the
meanings ascribed to them. Any word, term(s), or phrase used in the
Frederick County Code Subdivision of Land chapter not defined below
shall have the meaning ascribed to such word, term or phrase in the
most recent edition of Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, unless in the
opinion of the Subdivision Administrator, established customs or practices
in Frederick County, Virginia, justify a different or additional meaning.
Furthermore, for the purpose of this Code, certain words, terms and
phrases are herein defined as follows:
ABUT
To physically touch or border upon, or to share a common
property line.
ADMINISTRATOR, SUBDIVISION
The representative of the Board of Supervisors who has been
appointed to serve as the agent of the Board in approving the subdivision
plats.
AFFIDAVIT
A written declaration conducted before a notary public or
other authorized official.
AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES
Any of the following activities on land which is eligible
for land use assessment:
A.
Cultivating the soil, raising or harvesting
any agricultural, aquacultural, horticultural, floricultural or viticultural
commodity on a farm, including the raising, feeding, training or management
of animals and poultry, excluding kennels.
B.
Handling, drying, packing, grading or storing
on a farm any agricultural or horticultural commodity in its unmanufactured
state but only if the owner, operator or tenant of the farm regularly
produces more than half the commodity so treated.
C.
The proposal to develop or the actual development
of a forest, either through planting or natural regeneration, or both,
or the actual maintenance of a forest by applying proven forest management
practices. Such land shall, at the time of consideration as forestland,
be under a timberland plan or shall actually carry sufficient forest
growth of suitable character and so distributed to give reasonable
assurance that a stand of merchantable timber can be developed therefrom.
AMENDMENT
A revision to this chapter approved by the Frederick County
Board of Supervisors.
AVERAGE DAILY TRIPS
The average number of vehicles forecast to travel over a
specified segment of street during a twenty-four-hour period.
AVIGATION EASEMENT
An easement above the ground that covers the area designated
by the Frederick County Comprehensive Plan as the Airport Support
Area.
BOARD
The Board of Supervisors of Frederick County.
BOUNDARY LINE ADJUSTMENT
A change in the boundary line between adjoining lots, tracts
or parcels which does not create new lots or reduce the number of
existing lots.
BUFFER
A required area used to separate and/or screen one use from
another.
BUILDING RESTRICTION LINE
An imaginary line fixed at a specified minimum distance from
the boundaries of a lot that limit the placement of structures.
CENTRAL WATER AND SEWER FACILITY
A water or sewer system serving more than one lot, dwelling
or use that is owned and operated by a municipality, private individual
or corporation, licensed by the State Water Control Board and Health
Department and approved by the Frederick County Board of Supervisors.
CODE OF VIRGINIA
All applicable regulations of Title 15.2, Chapter 22, Article
6, of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended.
COMMISSION
The Planning Commission of Frederick County.
COMMON OPEN SPACE
Land that is used for recreational purposes, environmental resource protection, buffer areas, stormwater management areas and passive areas that are dedicated to the residents of a development for use and maintenance, and is protected to ensure that it remains in such uses, unless utilized under the provisions of §
165-402.07A of Chapter
165, Zoning.
[Amended 8-12-2009]
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
A general plan for the future of Frederick County, adopted
by the Frederick County Board of Supervisors according to the provisions
of the Code of Virginia.
CONTIGUOUS
Abutting or having a boundary or portion thereof which is
coterminous.
COVENANTS
A legally recorded, private agreement between the buyer and
seller that asserts legal requirements or restrictions on the use
of the land being transferred.
CONVEY
To transfer ownership or title to another.
COUNTY CODE
All applicable rules and regulations of Frederick County.
CUL-DE-SAC
A street with only one outlet and having a turnaround for
reverse traffic movement.
DEED OF DEDICATION
A legally recorded document specifying the transfer of property
rights related to subdivision improvements and facilities.
DEVELOPER
The legal or beneficial owner or owners of a parcel of land
included in a proposed development, including the holder of an option
or contract to purchase or other persons having enforceable proprietary
interests in such land.
DEVELOPMENT
The construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural
alteration, relocation or enlargement of any structure; any mining,
excavation, landfill or land disturbance; and any use or extension
of the use of land.
DIRECT ACCESS
A direct means of vehicular approach that provides immediate
physical entrance to a property.
DRAINAGEWAY
Any natural or artificial watercourse, trench, ditch, swale
or similar depression through which surface water flows.
DRIVEWAY, SHARED PRIVATE
A deeded right-of-way or access easement serving as common
access to two or more lots from a dedicated public road.
EASEMENT
A right granted by a property owner for the use of a specified
piece of land for a specific purpose or purposes.
ENGINEER
A person duly licensed as such by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
EROSION
The process by which earth or rock material is moved from
one location to another by wind or water.
EROSION CONTROLS
Measures that comply with the Virginia Erosion and Sediment
Control Handbook and the standards of Frederick County which prevent erosion and sedimentation on adjoining properties
or in drainageways.
EROSION CONTROL PLAN
An engineered document depicting the proposed methods for
preventing erosion of soil from a parcel or parcels of land.
FLOODPLAIN
A relatively flat or low land area adjoining a river, stream
or watercourse which is subject to partial or complete inundation
resulting from a storm with an average frequency of once per every
100 years, as defined by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
and depicted on Flood Insurance Rate Maps.
GRADE
The degree of rise or fall of a sloping surface.
GRADING
Any stripping, clearing, cutting, filling or stockpiling
of earth or land.
GRANTEE
One to whom a conveyance is made.
GRANTOR
One who makes a conveyance.
GROSS RESIDENTIAL DENSITY
The total number of residential dwellings divided by the
total gross area within the perimeter boundaries of a development.
The "gross residential density" within a section or phase of a development
shall be the number of residential dwellings in the section divided
by the total area within that section.
HEALTH OFFICIAL
The Director of the Lord Fairfax Health District or his representative.
HIGHWAY ENGINEER
The resident engineer employed by the Virginia Department
of Transportation who has jurisdiction over Frederick County.
HISTORICAL FEATURE
A structure or site of historical and cultural significance
and recognized as such by the County, state or federal government.
IMPROVEMENT
Any man-made, immovable item which becomes part of or is
affixed to real estate.
LAND
Ground, soil or earth above or below the surface.
LAND DIVISION
The subdivision of one parcel of land into two or more parcels
or any changes to the boundary of any lot, tract or parcel of land.
LAND DISTURBANCE
Any activity involving the clearing, cutting, excavating,
filling, grading or any other activity which alters land topography.
LOT
A numbered and recorded portion of a subdivision intended for transfer of ownership or for building development which conforms to the requirements of Chapter
165, Zoning.
LOT, CORNER
A lot abutting two or more streets at their intersection.
LOT, FRONT
The side of a parcel facing or coterminous with a street
or right-of-way. For the purposes of this chapter, lots fronting on
more than one street shall define the front property line as the shortest
side having road frontage.
LOT LINE
A line described by metes and bounds, depicting the boundary
of parcels of land.
LOT OF RECORD
A lot which has been recorded in the office of the Clerk
of the Circuit Court of Frederick County.
MASTER DEVELOPMENT PLAN
A general plan depicting the development of a parcel or parcels in accordance with the requirements of Article
VIII of the Chapter
165, Zoning.
MISDEMEANOR
An offense of lesser gravity than a felony, for which punishment
may be a fine or imprisonment.
MONUMENT
Markers placed in the ground to indicate the location of
property boundaries.
NATURAL STORMWATER DETENTION AREAS
Areas of poorly drained soils which are subject to periodic
flooding and act as areas to temporarily store stormwater. In some
cases, "natural stormwater detention areas" will contain floodplain
and wetland areas.
PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY
A pedestrian circulation network designed to enhance public
safety by separating pedestrian traffic from vehicular traffic.
PERFORMANCE BONDING
A guaranty to cover the cost of public improvements in an
approved subdivision.
PLAT
Includes the terms "plat," "map," "plot," "replat" and "replot";
a map or plan of a tract or parcel of land prepared by a licensed
surveyor or engineer.
PRIVATE SEWAGE SYSTEM
A sewage disposal system not operated by the Frederick County
Sanitation Authority that has approval of the State Water Control
Board.
PROPERTY
Any tract, lot or parcel of land.
PROPERTY OWNERS' ASSOCIATION
A private, nonprofit organization or corporation of property
owners, established to own, operate and maintain various common facilities
or properties.
RECREATIONAL FACILITY
An area or structure designed and equipped for the conduct
of sports, leisure-time activities and other customary and usual recreational
activities.
RESERVE STRIPS
A strip of land set aside during a subdivision to prevent
adjoining properties from connecting to an interior road system.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
Land dedicated, reserved for or occupied by a street, railroad,
utility or other similar use.
ROAD
A street dedicated to Frederick County or the Virginia Department
of Highways. Also, an existing, privately owned right-of-way which
serves as the principal means of access to more than one property.
SCREEN
A method of visually shielding or obscuring adjoining property
uses from each other by fencing, walls, berms or densely planted vegetation.
SEDIMENTATION
Deposited silt or soil that is being or has been moved by
weathering or by man.
SETBACK
The required distance between a building or structure and
a lot line.
SETBACK LINE
An imaginary line fixed at a specified minimum distance from
the boundaries of a lot that limits the placement of structures.
SIDEWALK
A paved surfaced or leveled area, separated from the street,
serving as a pedestrian walkway.
SINKHOLE
Any natural depression in the surface of the ground which
provides a means through which surface water can enter into subsurface
aquifers.
STEEP SLOPES
Land area where the slope exceeds 35%.
[Amended 1-26-2022]
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PLAN
A plan showing the layout of all facilities and easements
along with the appropriate drainage calculations necessary to provide
for positive drainage from a parcel.
STORMWATER RUNOFF
The portion of precipitation that flows from a drainage area
on the land surface in open channels or in stormwater conveyance systems.
STREET
The principal means of vehicular access to a property.
STREET, ARTERIAL
A street so classified by the Virginia Department of Transportation
or by the standards of Frederick County which collects and distributes
traffic to and from collector streets.
STREET, COLLECTOR
A street, so classified by the Virginia Department of Transportation
or by the standards of Frederick County, designed to collect and distribute
traffic to and from local streets.
[Amended 6-25-2008]
STREETLIGHT
External lighting for the purpose of illuminating pedestrian
and vehicular travelways.
STREET, LOCAL
A street, so classified by the Virginia Department of Transportation
or by the standards of Frederick County, designed to provide access
to adjoining or abutting properties.
[Amended 6-25-2008]
STREET, SERVICE DRIVE
A right-of-way generally parallel and contiguous to a major
highway, primarily designed to promote safety by eliminating promiscuous
ingress and egress to such major highway by providing safe and orderly
points of access to the highway and streets ending in culs-de-sac.
STREET SIGN
A sign, situated outdoors and located in the street right-of-way,
which identifies a specific portion of a road network system.
STREET WIDTH
The total width of the strip from property line to property
line, dedicated or reserved for public use or travel, including roadways,
curbs, gutters, sidewalks and planting strips.
SUBDIVIDE
To divide any tract, parcel or lot of land into two or more
parts.
SUBDIVIDER
An individual, group, corporation or registered partnership
owning any tract, lot or parcel of land to be subdivided.
SUBDIVISION
The division of a lot, tract or parcel of land into two or
more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions of land for sale, development
or lease; or the tracts or parcels of land resulting from the division
of property.
SUBDIVISION, MAJOR RURAL
Any subdivision resulting in the cumulative total of four
or more traditional five-acre lots, family division lots, or rural
preservation lots from a single parcel in the RA Rural Areas District.
[Amended 12-9-2009]
SUBDIVISION, MINOR RURAL
Any subdivision resulting in the cumulative total of three
or fewer traditional five-acre lots, family division lots, or rural
preservation lots from a single parcel in the RA Rural Areas District.
[Amended 12-9-2009]
SURVEYOR
A person duly licensed as such by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
UTILITY, PUBLIC
Any agency which, under public franchise or ownership or
under certificate of convenience and necessity, provides the public
with electricity, gas, heat, steam, communication, rail transportation,
water, sewage collection or other similar service.
VACATION OF PLAT
Action by the Board of Supervisors to nullify a plat as specified
by §§ 15.2-2270, 15.2-2271 and 15.2-2272 of the Code
of Virginia, as amended.
WATERSHED
A basin in which all surface water drains to a centrally
located stream, river or other body of water.
WETLANDS
Areas designated by the Corp of Engineers as marshes, swamps
or wetlands, including all areas greater than one acre, where standing
water is retained for a significant portion of the year and vegetation
unique to swamp or wetland areas has adapted to the area.
WOODLANDS
Areas, groves or stands of mature or largely mature trees
greater than six inches caliper covering an area greater than 1/4
acre or groves of mature trees greater than 12 inches caliper consisting
of more than 10 individual trees.
ZONING ORDINANCE
Chapter
165, Zoning, as adopted and amended by the Frederick County Board of Supervisors.