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The County
Administrator instructed the Department of Community
Development to propose options to facilitate subdivision of
commercial and industrially zoned properties. As proposed,
an abbreviated process would be developed to reduce the
number of reviews and limit the review to staff and the
referral agencies. Following is an outline of options for
the Board of Supervisors’ consideration.
Options to Facilitate Subdivision of Commercial or
Industrially Zoned Property:
1.
Unlimited Administrative Divisions
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Benefits:
i.
Permits the creation of lots with minimal review.
ii.
Lots created quickly – approximately 30 days.
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Limitations:
i.
No bonding permitted; therefore, no infrastructure
may be constructed without site plan approval.
ii.
Do not see overall picture of development, so might
miss opportunities to develop network of roads to provide
improved access, regional stormwater management, and
associated topics.
iii.
No review performed by Zoning, Engineering,
Comprehensive Planning, John Marshall, WSA, and limited
review by VDOT.
iv.
Transportation impacts not reviewed for overall
property, only on a site plan by site plan basis.
2.
Preliminary Plat / Sketch Plan Process
As envisioned, the Sketch Plan would be an administratively
approved option to waive the Preliminary Plat requirement
for commercial and industrial properties. An applicant
would then proceed to either the Construction Plan or Major
Site Plan stage. During the Sketch Plan process, the
applicant would work with staff to define needed elements of
the Construction Plan or Site Plan. This would involve
meeting with the review group (for example VDOT, County
staff, and WSA) and the applicant to refine requirements. A
Sketch Plan does not contain detailed engineering plans, but
does include design concepts. When the Sketch Plan
components are agreed upon and the plan approved, the
applicant proceeds to either: 1) site plan, if a specific
building is being proposed for construction, or 2)
construction plan to design the infrastructure needed to
develop finished or marketable lots, for example, with
streets and utilities. Please note that a major site plan
will be required prior to construction of any buildings and
more specific site development may be required at that
time. Once the site plan or construction plan is approved,
the applicant may file the final plat.
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Benefits:
i.
Preliminary Plat process is not required.
ii.
Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors do not
review application.
iii.
A minimum of 145 days are deleted from the
subdivision process. [Preliminary Plat Filing: 40 days
prior to Planning Commission meeting; Action/Planning
Commission: 90 days; to Board of Supervisors Consent Agenda:
±15 days]
iv.
Applicant may install or bond for construction
infrastructure, so finished lots may be created.
v.
County sees overall project and works with applicant
on road network, stormwater management plan.
vi.
Traffic impacts may be addressed for overall
project.
vii.
Applicant no longer has to submit a “fake” site plan
to allow the construction of site infrastructure, which will
save time and engineering expense.
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Limitations:
i.
Requires review by referral agencies, so a Sketch
Plan may take longer than an Administrative Division.
ii.
Some engineering/design information is required;
therefore, the applicant will likely need to have an
engineering/surveying company prepare the Sketch Plan
compared to Administrative divisions, which are typically
prepared by surveyors.
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