Subdividers shall file four copies of every subdivision plat which is intended for recording, which plat shall be prepared by a certified professional engineer or licensed land surveyor, who shall endorse upon each such plat a certificate signed by him setting forth the source of the title of the owner of the land subdivided and the place of record of the last instrument in the chain of title; when the plat is of land acquired from more than one source of title, the outlines of the several tracts shall be indicated upon such plat; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be deemed to prohibit the preparation of preliminary studies, plans or plats of a proposed subdivision by the owner of the land, urban planners, land planners, architects, landscape architects or others having training or experience in subdivision planning and design. No final plat of any subdivision requiring a special exception shall be recorded unless and until it shall have been approved by the governing body in the form of granting such special exception as provided for in Chapter 170, Zoning, of the Code of Rappahannock County.
[Amended 10-6-2025]
The subdivision plats submitted for final approval by the agent and subsequent recording shall be clearly and legibly drawn in ink upon tracing cloth at a scale of 100 feet to the inch on sheets having a size of 9 x 15 inches. All final plat requirements are subject to any requirements contained in the Chapter 170, Zoning, of the Code of Rappahannock County as may apply. In addition to the requirements of the preliminary plat and those outlined elsewhere in this chapter, the final plat shall include, as a minimum:
A. 
The name of the subdivision, magisterial district, County, state, owner(s), true North point, scale of drawing and number of sheets. If shown on more than one sheet, match lines shall clearly indicate where the several sheets join. A blank oblong space at least 3 x 5 inches shall be reserved for the use of the approving authority.
B. 
The boundary lines of the area being subdivided, to be determined by an accurate field survey, with bearings shown in degrees, minutes and seconds to the nearest 10 seconds and dimensions to be shown in feet to the nearest hundredth of a foot to the accuracy of one in 10,000 relative to the true meridian. Total acres in each proposed use, including floodplain, shall be delineated.
C. 
The accurate location and dimensions by bearings and distances, with all curve data on all lots and street lines and center lines of streets; the boundaries of all proposed or existing easements, parks, school sites or other public areas; the number and area of all building sites; all existing public and private streets, their names, numbers and widths; existing utilities and those to be provided, such as sanitary sewers, storm drains, water mains, manholes and underground conduits, including their size and type; watercourses and their names; and the names of the owners and their property lines, both within the boundary of the subdivision and adjoining said boundaries. All plats containing streets to be dedicated to public use shall be accompanied by a certification from the VDOT Resident Engineer that all highway specifications have been met.
D. 
Certificates signed by the surveyor or engineer, setting forth the source of the title of the owners of the land subdivided and the place of record of the last instrument(s) in the chain of title.
E. 
When the subdivision consists of land acquired from more than one source of title and the outlines of the various tracts shall be indicated by dashlines, identification of the respective tracts shall be placed on the plat.
F. 
The location and material of all permanent reference monuments.
G. 
The data of all curves along the street frontage, to be shown in detail at the curve or in a curve data table containing the following: delta, radius, arc, tangent, chord and chord bearings.
H. 
The date and North point.
I. 
Private restrictions and their period of existence. Should these restrictions be of such length as to make their enumeration on the plat impractical and do not necessitate the preparation of a separate instrument, reference shall be made thereto on the plat.
[Amended 10-6-2025]
A. 
(1) 
Except as otherwise provided in Subsection A(2) and (3), the agent shall act on any proposed plat within 60 days after it has been officially submitted for approval by either approving or disapproving the plat in writing, and giving with the latter specific reasons therefor. The agent shall thoroughly review the plat and shall make a good faith effort to identify all deficiencies, if any, with the initial submission. However, if approval of a feature or features of the plat by a state agency or public authority authorized by state law is necessary, the agent shall forward the plat to the appropriate state agency or authority for review within five business days of receipt of such plat. The state agency shall respond in accord with the requirements set forth in Code of Virginia, § 15.2-2222.1, which shall extend the time for action by the agent, as set forth in Subsection B. Specific reasons for disapproval shall be provided to the applicant either in a separate document or on the plat itself and shall (i) identify all deficiencies in the plat that caused the disapproval by referencing specific duly adopted ordinances, regulations, or policies and (ii) identify all modifications or corrections as will permit approval of the plat. The agent shall act on any proposed plat that it has previously disapproved within 45 days after the plat has been resubmitted for approval.
(2) 
The approval of plats, site plans, and plans of development solely involving parcels of commercial or residential real estate by the agent shall be governed by Subsection A(3) and Subsections B, C, and D. For the purposes of this section, the term "commercial" means all real property used for commercial or industrial uses, and the term "residential" means all real property used for single-family or multifamily use.
(3) 
The agent shall act on any proposed plat, site plan or plan of development within 40 days after it has been officially submitted for approval by either approving or disapproving the plat in writing, and giving with the latter specific reasons therefor. The agent shall not delay the official submission of any proposed plat, site plan, or plan of development by requiring presubmission conferences, meetings, or reviews. The agent shall thoroughly review the plat or plan and shall in good faith identify, to the greatest extent practicable, all deficiencies, if any, with the initial submission. However, if approval of a feature or features of the plat or plan by a state agency or public authority authorized by state law is necessary, the agent shall forward the plat or plan to the appropriate state agency or agencies for review within five business days of receipt of such plat or plan. The state agency shall respond in accord with the requirements set forth in Code of Virginia, § 15.2-2222.1, which shall extend the time for action by the agent, as set forth in subsection B. Specific reasons for disapproval shall be provided to the applicant either in a separate document or on the plat or plan itself and shall (i) identify all deficiencies in the plat or plan that caused the disapproval by referencing specific duly adopted ordinances, regulations, or policies and (ii) identify, to the greatest extent practicable, modifications or corrections that will permit approval of the plat or plan.
(a) 
In the review of a resubmitted proposed plat that has been previously disapproved, the agent shall consider only deficiencies identified in its review of the initial submission of the plat or plan that have not been corrected in such resubmission and any deficiencies that arise as a result of the corrections made to address deficiencies identified in the initial submission. In the review of the resubmission of a plat or plan, the agent shall (i) identify all deficiencies with the proposed plat or plan that caused the disapproval by referencing specific duly adopted ordinances, regulations or policies and (ii) identify all modifications or corrections that will permit approval of the plat or plan. Upon the second resubmission of such disapproved plat or plan, the agent's review shall be limited solely to the previously identified deficiencies that caused its disapproval.
(b) 
All deficiencies identified during a third or subsequent resubmission of any plat, site plan, or plan of development shall be provided concurrently to the applicant and the director of planning or the equivalent official having supervisory authority over the agent. Within 14 days of receipt, such director or equivalent official shall either:
[1] 
Approve the plat, site plan, or plan of development as submitted;
[2] 
Permit the applicant to address any deficiencies deemed minor by the director or equivalent official, and resubmit the plat, site plan, or plan of development for administrative approval. The director or equivalent official shall complete the administrative approval within seven days of receipt of the resubmission; or
[3] 
Disapprove the resubmission, and identify all deficiencies that caused the disapproval by referencing specific duly adopted ordinances, regulations, or policies and identify all modifications or corrections that will permit approval of the plat, site plan, or plan of development.
(c) 
The agent shall act on any proposed plat, site plan or plan of development that it has previously disapproved within 30 days after the plat or plan has been modified, corrected and resubmitted for approval. The failure of the agent to approve or disapprove a resubmitted plat or plan within the time periods required by this section shall cause the plat or plan to be deemed approved. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the locality's designated agent, with the concurrence of all applicable local reviewing agencies, may administratively approve any resubmitted site plan or subdivision plat that the designated agent deems to be in compliance with local ordinances and state law.
(d) 
Notwithstanding the approval or deemed approval of any proposed plat, any deficiency in any proposed plat or plan, that if left uncorrected, would violate local, state or federal law, regulations, mandatory Department of Transportation engineering and safety requirements, and other mandatory engineering and safety requirements, shall not be considered, treated or deemed as having been approved by the agent. Should any resubmission include a material revision of infrastructure or physical improvements from the earlier submission or if a material revision in the resubmission creates a new required review by the Virginia Department of Transportation or by a state agency or public authority authorized by state law, then the agent's review shall not be limited to only the previously identified deficiencies identified in the prior submittals and may consider deficiencies initially appearing in the resubmission because of such material revision.
B. 
Any state agency or public authority authorized by state law making a review of a plat forwarded to it under this article, including, without limitation, the Virginia Department of Transportation and authorities authorized by Chapter 51 (Code of Virginia, § 15.2-5100 et seq.), shall complete its review within 30 days of receipt of the plat upon first submission and within 30 days for any proposed plat that has previously been disapproved, provided, however, that the time periods set forth in Code of Virginia, § 15.2-2222.1, shall apply to plats triggering the applicability of said section. The Virginia Department of Transportation and authorities authorized by Chapter 51 (Code of Virginia, § 15.2-5100 et seq.) shall allow use of public rights-of-way dedicated for public street purposes for placement of utilities by permit when practical and shall not unreasonably deny plat approval. If a state agency or public authority authorized by state law does not approve the plat, it shall comply with the requirements, and be subject to the restrictions, set forth in Subsection A, with the exception of the time period therein specified. Upon receipt of the approvals from all state agencies and other agencies, the agent shall act upon a plat within 20 days.
C. 
If the agent fails to approve or disapprove the plat within the time frames prescribed in this section the subdivider, after 10 days' written notice to the commission, or designated agent, may petition the circuit court for the locality in which the land involved, or the major part thereof, is located, to decide whether the plat should or should not be approved. The court shall give the petition priority on the civil docket, hear the matter expeditiously in accordance with the procedures prescribed in Article 2 (Code of Virginia, § 8.01-644 et seq.) of Chapter 25 of Title 8.01 of the Code of Virginia and make and enter an order with respect thereto as it deems proper, which may include directing approval of the plat.
D. 
If the agent disapproves a plat and the subdivider applicant contends that the disapproval was not properly based on the ordinance applicable thereto, or was arbitrary or capricious, he may appeal to the circuit court having jurisdiction of such land and the court shall hear and determine the case as soon as may be, provided that his appeal is filed with the circuit court within 60 days of the written disapproval by the agent.
[Amended 10-6-2025]
A. 
The governing body delegates the right and authority to vacate, after notice and adoption of an ordinance, any plat whereon no physical improvements have been constructed within five years of the date on which the plat was originally recorded. (Ref. Code of Virginia, §§ 15.2-2271 and 15.2-2272)
B. 
An appeal from the adoption of the ordinance must be filed in the Circuit Court of Rappahannock County within 30 days of said adoption.
A. 
Every such plat or the deed of dedication to which the plat is attached shall contain, in addition to the surveyor's or engineer's certificate, a statement to the effect that:
"The above and foregoing subdivision of (here insert description of the land subdivided) as appears in this plat is within the free consent and in accordance with the desires of the undersigned owners, proprietors, and trustees, if any."
B. 
Such statement shall be duly acknowledged before some officer authorized to take acknowledgments of deeds and, when thus executed and approved as herein specified, shall be filed and recorded in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Rappahannock County and indexed under the names of the landowners signing such statement and under the name of the subdivision.
[Amended 1-3-2007]
A. 
Any and all streets that are not constructed to meet the standards necessary for inclusion in the system of state highways will be privately maintained and will not be eligible for acceptance into the system of state highways unless improved to current Department of Transportation standards with funds other than those appropriated by the General Assembly and allocated to the Commonwealth Transportation Board.
B. 
In the case of any subdivision containing a private street not constructed to Department of Transportation standards, each private street shall be clearly marked as such on the final plat of any subdivision and the subdivider shall have boldly printed upon the final plat and included in each deed for property in the subdivision the following statement:
"The streets in this subdivision do not meet the standards necessary for inclusion in the system of state highways and will not be maintained by the Department of Transportation or the County of Rappahannock and are not eligible for rural addition funds or any other funds by the General Assembly and allocated by the Commonwealth Transportation Board."
C. 
In the case of any subdivision containing a private street constructed to Department of Transportation standards, but not intended for inclusion in the system of state highways, each private street shall be clearly marked as such on the final plat of any subdivision and the subdivider shall have boldly printed upon the final plat and included in each deed for property in the subdivision the following statement:
"The streets in this subdivision are not intended for inclusion in the system of state highways and will not be maintained by the Department of Transportation or the County of Rappahannock and are not eligible for rural addition funds or any other funds by the General Assembly and allocated by the Commonwealth Transportation Board."
[Amended 10-6-2025]
A. 
The plat shall not be approved until the subdivider has complied with the general requirements and minimum standards of design in accordance with this chapter and has made satisfactory arrangements for performance bonds, cash or surety bonds to cover the cost of one year's maintenance in lieu of construction, to the satisfaction of the agent. Approval of the final plat shall be shown by attaching a certificate showing review and recommendation of the Zoning Administrator, the governing body (where special exception is required), the Health Official, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the approval of the agent.
B. 
The subdivider shall record the plat in the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Rappahannock County within six months of final approval; otherwise, the agent shall mark the plat "Void" and return the same to the subdivider. In no case will the plat be recorded until approved by the agent.