ORDINANCE

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 9-6 AND 9-7 OF THE FAUQUIER COUNTY SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE TO REQUIRE DENIED PRELIMINARY PLATS TO BE CORRECTED AND SUBMITTED TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR REVIEW AND APPROVAL PRIOR TO REFERRAL TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 

WHEREAS, Sections 9-6 and 9-7 of the Fauquier County Subdivision Ordinance provide for the review and decision on preliminary plat applications by the Planning Commission and referral of preliminary plats to the Board of Supervisors; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors is concerned that subdivisions denied by the Planning Commission are not reviewed by either the Planning Commission or the Board of Supervisors to determine if the reasons for denial have been appropriately addressed; and

WHEREAS, the Fauquier County Planning Commission held a public hearing on this proposed Subdivision Ordinance text amendment on March 28, 2002 and voted to recommend that the Subdivision Ordinance be amended; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on this proposed Subdivision Ordinance text amendment on May 20, 2002 and received citizen comments on the proposed amendment; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors wishes to consider amendments to these sections; now, therefore, be it

ORDAINED by the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors this 20^th day of May 2002, That Sections 9-6 and 9-7 of the Fauquier County Subdivision Ordinance be, and are hereby, amended to read as follows:

Section 9-5     Planning Commission Decision

A decision on the preliminary plat shall be rendered by the Commission within sixty (60) days after the official filing unless an extension is agreed to by the applicant.  If the approval of any State agency, including but not limited to the Virginia Department of Transportation, is required for a feature or features of the preliminary plat, the Commission shall have an additional 45 days from the receipt of all such approvals to act on the plat.  When rendering an adverse decision on a preliminary plat, the Commission shall include the specific paragraph(s) of this Ordinance and/or other applicable ordinances with which the subdivider has not complied. After an adverse decision on a preliminary plat by the Planning Commission, a corrected preliminary plat application shall be filed in the Office of Community Development, which addresses the deficiencies noted in the denial.  The application and filing process shall be as specified in Sections 9-3 and 9-4 of this Ordinance.  The Planning Commission's review of this amended preliminary plat shall only address those items noted as deficiencies in the denial and any changes to the plat that result from addressing the specified deficiencies.  Nothing in this Ordinance shall be construed to prevent an applicant who has received an adverse decision on the preliminary plat from proceeding with preparation and submission of the final plat.

Section 9-7     Referral to Board

All preliminary plats approved acted on by the Planning Commission shall be referred to the Board of Supervisors at its next regularly scheduled meeting. The Board of Supervisors, by a majority vote, may consider a preliminary plat at the second regularly scheduled meeting.  If the Board takes no action on preliminary plat referral, the preliminary plat shall be deemed approved or denied in accordance with the actions of the Planning Commission.

The Board shall act on the preliminary plat referral not later than its second regularly scheduled meeting unless an extension is agreed to by the applicant.  The Board may approve, approve with modification, or deny the preliminary plat.  Any action by the Board of Supervisors shall be deemed final.