Advisory committee forwards Hancock applications to planning commission to add land to Appleton agricultural and forestal district

The Southampton County voluntary agricultural and forestal district advisory committee voted to forward two adjacent applications from members of the Hancock family to the planning commission and separately approved a recommendation on one parcel after clarifying mapping and acreage questions.

The committee reviewed two applications to add land to the Appleton agricultural and forestal district. Planning staff member Mr. Randolph told the committee the filings reference the Agricultural and Forestal Districts Act (adopted by the Virginia General Assembly in 1977) and the county’s process under the local code, and recommended authorizing a public hearing at the board of supervisors’ May meeting after the planning commission considers the items.

The matter drew detailed questions about parcel mapping and acreage. A committee member said county GIS showed Parcel 349 and Parcel 3412 as separate, but not matching the applicants’ affidavits. Randolph explained that a recent subdivision moved a portion of one parcel to the adjoining parcel and the county GIS has not yet been updated to reflect the recorded subdivision, a process he said can take as long as six months. Randolph said he had a subdivision plat on file and offered to attach or distribute it so acreage and boundaries are clear for the public hearing.

Applicant William Hancock told the committee his family has farmed the land for generations and that his reason for the application is preservation. “Mainly, I want to preserve the whole area as much as I possibly can for for agriculture from from here on out,” Hancock said.

The advisory committee voted to send a recommendation on the applications to the planning commission at the committee’s next meeting. The committee then took a separate vote on the William Hancock parcel; a motion to recommend approval of the William Hancock parcel passed unanimously.

Committee members also noted a labeling discrepancy in the county GIS where the Appleton district appears in the online menu as “Apple White.” Randolph and the committee agreed to flag that as a clerical error to be corrected when records are updated. Randolph also described the formal sequence the applications will follow: advisory committee recommendation, planning commission public hearing and recommendation, board of supervisors public hearing and final action, and an update to the county code provision that lists district parcels and cumulative acreage if the board adopts the change.

The applicants requested a 10‑year term for the district designation; Randolph confirmed both applications requested a 10‑year term.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to approve minutes of the March meeting — motion seconded; minutes approved. - Motion to forward the Hancock applications to the planning commission for a public hearing — committee voted in favor; outcome: recommendation to forward approved. - Motion to recommend approval of the William Hancock parcel — outcome: approved unanimously.

What happens next

Randolph said he will attach the recorded subdivision plat and coordinate accurate acreage for the public hearing notice so the planning commission and public will have matching maps and acreage figures. If the planning commission recommends approval after its public hearing, the board of supervisors will hold a final public hearing and decide whether to add the parcels to the Appleton district and update the county code accordingly.