[Amended 6-24-2025]
A. 
The quality of design of a community is dependent on the quality of design of the individual subdivisions that are included within it. There is a mutual responsibility between the subdivider and the county to divide the land so as to ensure the best general use pattern of the land being subdivided and to avoid adverse impact on adjoining properties. The standards and requirements contained in this article are intended as the minimum for the promotion of the public health, safety and general welfare and shall be applied as such by the Administrator in reviewing all subdivision plats.
B. 
Land subject to hazards of life, health or property, such as may arise from floods, unsuitable topography, poor drainage facilities, unstable or unsuitable soil conditions or other causes, shall not be subdivided for building purposes unless such hazards have been eliminated or unless the subdivision plat shall show adequate safeguards against them. Such safeguards shall be approved by the appropriate regulatory agencies.
C. 
The size of lots and blocks and other areas for residential, commercial, industrial and public uses should be designed to provide adequate light, air, open space, landscaping and off-street parking and loading facilities.
D. 
The arrangement of lots and blocks and the street system shall be designed to make the most advantageous use of topography and natural features. Tree masses and large individual trees shall, whenever possible, be preserved. The system of roadways and lot layout should be designed to take advantage of the visual qualities of the area.
[Amended 6-24-2025]
A. 
Street construction, except for Class III roads, shall be in accordance with the minimum design standards and specifications established by the Virginia Department of Transportation for subdivision streets to qualify for acceptance into the state secondary system of highways. Class III roads shall comply with the provisions of § 155-40.
B. 
The arrangement of streets in new subdivisions shall make provision for the continuation of existing streets.
C. 
The street arrangement must be such as to cause no unnecessary hardship to owners of adjoining property when they subdivide their own land and seek to provide for convenient access to it. The Administrator may require, where desirable to development of an adjoining property, that proposed streets be extended by dedication to the property line of such adjoining property.
D. 
Half streets along the boundary of land proposed for subdivision shall not be permitted.
E. 
When a subdivision abuts one side of any public street which is in the state highway system, the subdivider shall be required to dedicate 1/2 of the total right-of-way necessary to make said street conform to Virginia Department of Transportation or county criteria; in addition, the subdivider may be required to dedicate the full right-of-way necessary to make horizontal and vertical adjustments to said street.
F. 
Local residential streets shall be designed so as not to offer direct routes to through traffic.
G. 
Proposed streets which are obviously in alignment with other already existing and named streets shall bear the names of the existing streets. In no case shall the names of proposed streets duplicate existing street names in the county or Front Royal, irrespective of the use of the suffix street, boulevard, avenue, road, court, drive, way, place, lane, etc. Names of new streets shall be approved by the Administrator, and names of existing streets shall not be changed except by approval of the Board of Supervisors upon recommendation of the Planning Commission.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 142, Art. I, Road Names.
H. 
Streets shall be so designed as to provide adequate drainage and drainage facilities and to have geometric design in compliance with the requirements of the Virginia Department of Transportation.
I. 
Reserve strips controlling access to streets shall be prohibited except in cases of limited access roads.
J. 
Where a subdivision contains or adjoins a major thoroughfare such as a road classified as a primary road in the state highway system, the Administrator may require, where practical, that access to such lots be limited to a street within the subdivision.
K. 
A cul-de-sac shall not exceed 1,000 feet in length, measured from the entrance to the center of the turnaround, except where topographical or other site conditions necessitate a longer length. The cul-de-sac shall be provided with a turnaround having a radius of not less than 50 feet at the property line and not less than 40 feet at the curbline. The entrance of a cul-de-sac shall be interpreted as the point of most recent street intersection before the cul-de-sac. Drainage of cul-de-sac streets shall preferably be towards the open end. If drainage is toward the closed end, adequate provisions and easements shall be provided for discharging the drainage.
L. 
Street jogs with center-line offsets of less than 225 feet shall be avoided.
M. 
Street right-of-way widths and street sections shall be in accordance with the recommendation of the resident engineer. Additional right-of-way and pavement widths may be required by the Administrator for the purpose of promoting public safety and convenience or to provide parking in commercial and industrial areas or in areas of high-density residential development.
N. 
The right-of-way of any major highway or street projected across any railroad, limited access highway or expressway shall be of adequate width to provide for the cuts or fills required for any future separation of grades.
O. 
Streets shall be laid out in such a manner as to intersect as nearly as possible at right angles, and no street shall intersect any other street at less that 80°.
[Added 8-6-1990]
A. 
Curb and gutter systems must be provided for and shall be designed in accordance with the Virginia Department of Transportation's revised subdivision street requirements, Tables I and I-A, and any other applicable state regulations. The appropriate standard for curb and gutter is prescribed in Table IV of the same document and shall be utilized.
B. 
Curb-cut ramps shall be provided in accordance with Chapter 20 (§ 15.2-2021) of Title 15.2 of the Code of Virginia and constructed in accordance with the Virginia Department of Transportation's Standard CG-12.
[Amended 10-21-2008]
C. 
Underground utilities must be installed to serve all lots as shown on the subdivision plat. Such utilities shall include, but not be limited to, electric, telephone and cable television service. The location of all lines and facilities shall be subject to the approval of Warren County and any related utilities provider. Except where street crossings are required or where otherwise approved by Warren County, underground utilities shall not be located beneath structures, street pavement or other dedicated improvements and shall be located 10 feet from the curbline of the platted road.
[Amended 12-18-1989; 6-24-2025]
A. 
Purpose. The purpose of a Class III road is to provide a vehicular access which is designed to the State Transportation Department's geometric standards (width, grade, curvature, etc.) but is not required to comply with State Transportation Department's standards for subbase, base and surface. The design requirements contained in this section will facilitate the conversion of a Class III road to a state standard road should the property owners' association desire to make the necessary improvements to bring the road up to state standards. The surface requirements contained in this section are intended to provide only a minimum, temporary surface which may be maintained and/or improved by the developer or property owners' association as either deems appropriate.
B. 
General provisions.
(1) 
No subdivision shall be approved which includes a Class III road unless all lots to be served by any such Class III road are 10 acres or larger in size.
(2) 
The subdivider shall be responsible for reimbursing the county for those costs which the county incurs in ensuring that the construction and design standards of this section are complied with.
C. 
Construction and design standards. Class III roads shall comply with the requirements contained in § 155-39B through 0 and shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the minimum design standards and specifications of the Virginia Department of Transportation for subdivision streets to qualify for acceptance into the state secondary system of highways, except for the following:
(1) 
Class III roads shall have a minimum fifty-foot right-of-way.
(2) 
Class III roads are not required to meet Virginia Department of Transportation standards concerning subbase, base and surface.
(3) 
Class III roads shall be constructed to meet the minimum standard of a finished, stabilized road surface of four inches of stone, compacted as necessary, applied in such a manner as to provide adequate vehicular travel. Stone shall cover a width equal to the distance required for pavement width in Virginia Department of Transportation standards. The Administrator may approve alternative surface specifications judged by the Administrator to be equivalent to this requirement. Any request to allow for an alternative surface shall be accompanied by technical data and/or information to substantiate its equivalency.
D. 
Maintenance.
(1) 
In all subdivisions involving Class III roads, the applicant must submit assurances, such as a covenant agreement, satisfactory to the Administrator and the County Attorney that a property owners' community association or similar organization has been legally established under which the lots within the area of the final plat will be assessed for the cost of maintaining private streets and that such assessments shall constitute a pro-rata lien upon the individual lots shown on the final plat.
(2) 
Every final plat deed of declaration and deed of a division of land involving a Class III road shall contain a statement by the subdivider which clearly states that all Class III roads within that division of land are not publicly maintained and shall be collectively maintained by the owners of all lots which are served by the Class III roads. This notation shall also state that all Class III roads will not be taken into the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) highway system unless, prior to such a request, they are brought into compliance with the applicable subdivision street requirements of VDOT in effect at that time without the use of funds administered by VDOT or the County of Warren.
(3) 
Each deed of conveyance for a lot included in a subdivision served by a Class III road shall include the following restrictions:
(a) 
The Class III road is not publicly maintained and shall be maintained by all the owners of lots which are provided access by way of said Class III road.
(b) 
No request will be made to have the lot herein conveyed served by a public street unless and until the private street serving said lot has been dedicated and constructed at the then current Virginia Department of Transportation standards for streets and at no cost to the county or the Virginia Department of Transportation.
(c) 
The grantee is required to belong to a property owners' association that is responsible for the maintenance of the private streets within the subdivision and is liable for payment of an annual assessment for the upkeep and maintenance of said private streets.
[Amended 6-24-2025]
Alleys should be avoided wherever possible. Wherever permitted, they shall not be less than 20 feet in width nor more than 28 feet in width. Dead-end alleys shall be provided with adequate turnaround facilities as determined by the Administrator.
Each lot shall abut on and have direct access to a street meeting the requirements of this chapter dedicated by the subdivision plat; or on an existing street in the state road system; or on an existing street eligible for inclusion in the state road system; or on an existing Class III road meeting the requirements of this chapter, except that any parcel of record as of February 25, 1981, may be divided into no more than two lots which are to be served solely by a private access easement, provided that at least one parcel of the subdivision contains five acres or more.
[Added 8-6-1990]
Accesses for developments must meet the following ratio of proposed dwelling units to number of accesses. Such an access shall be defined as the ingress/egress of a proposed subdivision development road from a road which has been previously accepted into the Virginia highway system and which complies with the recommendations and requirements of the District Virginia Department of Transportation office to accommodate adequate traffic flow. The number of dwelling units considered for this ratio shall be defined as those units which are to be served solely by the proposed subdivision development road and which do not have direct access onto a road previously accepted into the Virginia Highway System.
Number of Dwelling Units
Number of Required Accesses
1 to 49
1
50 to 199
2
200 to 499
3
500 and over
4
A. 
The lot arrangement, design and shape shall be such that lots will provide satisfactory and desirable sites for buildings and be properly related to topography and conform to requirements of this chapter. In the case of lots for commercial, industrial or nonresidential use, the lot area, width, shape, depth and location shall be adequate to provide for the on-site service facilities required by the type of use and development contemplated.
B. 
Lots shall not contain peculiarly shaped elongations or other odd configurations which do not conform to a standard square, rectangular or trapezoidal design in order to provide required square footage of area, minimum lot width at the building line or required highway access.
[Amended 9-19-1988]
C. 
Side lot lines shall be approximately at right angles or radial to the street line wherever possible.
D. 
Corner lots shall have sufficient width measured from both streets to permit reasonable use of the lot without creating a safety hazard.
E. 
Double frontage lots shall be avoided except where essential to provide separation of residential development from major traffic arteries or to overcome specific disadvantages of topography and orientation.
F. 
All remnants of lots below minimum lot size left over after subdividing a tract must be added to adjacent lots or otherwise disposed of rather than allowed to remain as unusable parcels. All lots which are found unsuitable for drainfield installations by the Health Department shall be combined with lots which have been approved for drainfields by the Health Department unless public or private sewer lines are proposed to serve the development in the near future.
G. 
Lots shall be configured in such a way that the average length, measured from the front to the rear property lines, shall not exceed four times the average lot width.
[Added 9-19-1988]
A. 
Lots served by both public water and public sewer systems shall be 80 feet or more in width at the building setback line and 1/4 acre or more in area.
B. 
Lots served by public sewer but not public water shall be 100 feet or more in width at the building setback line and 1/2 acre or more in area.
C. 
Lots served by public water but not public sewer or lots served by neither public water nor sewer shall be 150 feet in width at the building setback line and one acre or more in area.
D. 
The lot width may be reduced to no less than 75% of the otherwise required lot width at the building setback line wherever a lot is located on a cul-de-sac or on a curved street with a radius not exceeding 90 feet or where unusual circumstances exist.
E. 
The density of residential developments shall comply with the Warren County Zoning Ordinance.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 180, Zoning.
[Amended 9-19-1995; v]
A. 
The Administrator shall not approve a subdivision where sanitary sewers are not provided unless approval is granted by the Health Department on lot-by-lot basis stating that the proposed subdivision lots have satisfactory sites for the individual sewage disposal systems. A complete sewage disposal system will be required to be contained within the boundary of each lot in the following zoning districts: Residential 1 (R-1), Residential 2 (R-2), Suburban Residential (SR), Village Residential (VR), Commercial (C) and Industrial (I). This section shall not apply to alternative sewage disposal systems approved by the Health Department which are located in accordance with Health Department requirements.
B. 
When Health Department approval cannot be obtained for a septic system to be located completely within the boundary of a lot in the Agricultural Zoning District, a drainfield will be allowed on adjacent property. In order to obtain a drainfield located on an adjacent property, the drainfield must meet the following criteria:
(1) 
Health Department approval shall be obtained for the drainfield on the adjacent property.
(2) 
The drainfield must be located on adjacent/contiguous property no more than 300 feet from the property line.
(3) 
No part of such systems shall transverse any state or county right-of-way.
(4) 
A properly recorded easement in perpetuity showing such system must be obtained and included in the deeds of all properties involved.
C. 
In any instance where individual sewage disposal systems are proposed, greater lot areas shall be required in accordance with Health Department recommendations if the Health Department determines that there are factors of drainage, soil conditions or other factors to cause potential health problems.
D. 
Notwithstanding Subsection A above, the Administrator may permit the subdivision of land which is not intended to be used for building or occupancy without the Health Department granting an approval for an individual sewage disposal system. Such approval shall only be given where unusual conditions exist requiring such a division of land and where it is shown that such division shall not be detrimental to the general welfare of surrounding property owners and other residents of the county. Any plat with lots approved under this section shall contain restrictions as to the uses allowed on the lots suitable to the Administrator. Such restrictions shall also be placed by the subdivider in any deed of transfer for a lot approved under this section. Such restrictions shall run with the land until a valid Health Department approval is received for an individual sewage disposal system or a sanitary sewer is extended to serve the property.
A. 
The maximum length of blocks shall be 1,200 feet except where topographical or other site conditions necessitate a longer length.
B. 
Blocks shall be wide enough to allow two tiers of lots of minimum depth, except where fronting on major streets as provided for in § 155-39J, unless prevented by topographical conditions or the size of the property.
C. 
Blocks intended for business or industrial use shall be designed specifically for such purpose with adequate space set aside for off-street parking and delivery facilities.
[Amended 6-24-2025]
A. 
All streets shall be so designed as to provide for the adequate discharge of surface water from their rights-of-way.
B. 
Storm sewers and related installations, such as culverts, curbs, catch basins and gutters, shall be required only when the runoff of water cannot be satisfactorily handled within the street pavement and right-of-way.
C. 
If storm sewers are required and existing storm sewers are reasonably accessible, the proposed subdivision shall be required to connect with said storm sewers.
D. 
In the design of required storm drainage facilities, problems shall be avoided which may arise from the concentration of stormwater runoff onto adjacent developed or undeveloped properties or the collection of water at low points in the subdivision and along streets.
E. 
Where required, storm drainage facilities should be designed not only to handle the anticipated peak discharge from the property being subdivided but also the anticipated increase in runoff that will occur when all the property at a higher elevation in the watershed is fully developed.
F. 
Existing watercourses shall enter and exit the subdivision as nearly as possible to the manner that existed prior to construction within the subdivision. Runoff water originating in the subdivision shall be drained to an adequate outlet.
G. 
Where a subdivision is traversed by a stream or other natural drainageway, the Administrator may require the subdivider to dedicate a suitable drainage easement conforming substantially with the line of such watercourse. Such easement shall be of adequate width to preserve the natural flow and to allow for future widening or other improvements to such drainageway.
[Amended 6-24-2025]
A. 
Easements for water lines, sewer lines, power lines, drainage, pedestrian rights-of-way and other utilities shall be provided and delineated on the record plat in the location and to the width designated by the Administrator and in no case shall be less than 10 feet in width.
B. 
Wherever practical, utility easements shall be centered on or be adjacent to rear or side lot lines.
C. 
All utility easements shall be in accordance with the requirements and specifications of the appropriate utility company.
[Amended 6-24-2025]
A. 
Where a proposed park, playground, school, public safety facility or other public facility or public use shown on the Warren County Comprehensive Plan is located in whole or part in a subdivision, the Administrator may require the reservation of such areas within the subdivision. Where the Administrator has required the reservation of land for public use, the county shall have two years from the date of final approval of the plat in which to purchase or reject the land so reserved.
B. 
Where large-scale residential development occurs necessitating additional community facilities not shown in the Warren County Comprehensive Plan, the Administrator may require the reservation of sites meeting the requirements for schools, parks and other public facilities as it feels may be appropriate based on the particular development proposed. Such reservation shall not be more than 5% of the total land area of the development. Any site so reserved shall be purchased or rejected by the county within two years of the date of final approval of the plat.
C. 
The amount of the reimbursement from the county for such reserved land shall equal the cost of the virgin land before development and the cost of improvements to said land, plus interest. The amount of reimbursement to be made shall be determined at the time of the final plat approval.
D. 
If reserved land is not purchased within a period of time of the reservation, it may be sold as lots for the same purposes for which the subdivision was platted. To facilitate such possible eventual sale of reserved land as separate lots, the subdivider shall show on his final plat, by dotted lines, the sizes and dimensions of lots to be created within the boundaries of any such reserved land and may sell such lots after the expiration date of the reservation, by lot number, without filing an amended plat.