§ 54-6. Subdivision by inheritance, court order, deeds of trust or public road right-of-way.

A)

Subdivision by inheritance or court order.

1)

The division of land by the circuit court of the county in a decree of divorce or an order in a partition suit in which each of the parties is an owner by inheritance, or a partitioning of land by parties each of whom is an owner by inheritance, shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter, provided that each of the resulting parcels front on a public road or has demonstrated adequate access to a public road over a recorded right-of-way. A copy of such order, the probated will conveying such property, or a copy of a duly filed list of heirs, as applicable shall be submitted to the agent.

2)

Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (A)(1) above, requiring each owner to be an owner by inheritance, if one or more of the parties to the partition suit, or one or more of the parties to the partition deed, acquired his interest by conveyance, such ownership shall not impair the exemption provided under said subparagraph, provided such conveyance does not increase the number of owners seeking a partition beyond the number of owners created by inheritance.

3)

If the right-of-way will serve more than two parcels and is planned to be developed without acceptance into a public road system, the right-of-way shall be no smaller than 20 feet in width. Any private road entrance onto a public road, if serving three or more lots shall be constructed in accordance with VDOT's commercial entrance standards for entrances onto public roads. In the event there are no future plans to take the rights-of way into the state secondary highway for maintenance, language shall be included in the deeds of all affected parcels indicating that no request will be made of the county or VDOT to take the right-of-way into the state secondary highway system until all requirements of VDOT's Secondary Street Acceptance Requirements (SSAR) are met at no cost to VDOT or the county.

B)

Subdivisions for deeds of trust.

1)

The subdivision agent may permit a division of land conveying a parcel in trust for the sole purpose of securing indebtedness to a regulated commercial lender. Only one such division of any parcel identified by a separate tax map number shall be permitted at any time. In the event of default, the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust shall have authority to enforce the lien of such deed of trust in any manner permitted by the laws of the Commonwealth.

2)

Prior to recordation, the plat shall be submitted for approval to the subdivision agent, and such approval shall indicate that the execution and delivery of the deed of trust does not violate any requirements of the zoning ordinance. In its title, the plat shall state that the conveyance is for deed of trust purposes.

3)

The landowner shall obtain a separate tax map designation and tax billing from the commissioner of the revenue and notify the commissioner of the revenue and the subdivision agent upon the satisfaction and release of any such deed of trust. The tax map designation for a division under this paragraph (B) shall be the tax map designation of the parent tract with the suffix "dt" added to it.

4)

A division of land approved under this paragraph (B) shall not constitute a subdivision of land until there is a conveyance by or to the holder of the note or its trustees and only upon default.

5)

Any such conveyance by or to the holder of the note or its trustee shall be reported, before recordation, to the subdivision agent.

C)

Involuntary subdivision by public road right-of-way.

1)

In situations in which the creation or realignment of a public road divides a parcel of land into two or more parts, an applicant may submit a plat for approval that shows the separate portions of the parcel as separate and individual parcels provided that the following is met:

a)

Each individual part can meet the minimum lot area and building setback requirement as found in the zoning ordinance. Such parts shall be exempt from the frontage and lot width standards as found in the zoning ordinance. Parts that do not meet the minimal lot area standards and/or building setback requirements may only be platted as separate parcels upon approval of the Board of Zoning Appeals.

(Res. No. 10-01, § c, 6-14-2011, eff. 8-1-2011)

(Res. No. 10-01, § c, 6-14-2011, eff. 8-1-2011)