Caroline County planning commission initiates public hearings to revise family‑division rules, create minor site‑plan process and implement state law changes

The Caroline County Planning Commission on June 26, 2025 voted to initiate public hearings to amend the county zoning and subdivision ordinances to (1) revisit family‑division provisions, (2) create a minor site‑plan pathway and a separate process for minor building additions, and (3) update local rules to align with recent Code of Virginia changes that take effect July 1, 2025.

Leon Hughes, director of planning and economic development, told the commission the changes respond to state law and local concerns. Hughes said staff provided commissioners with “section 15.22244 provisions for subdivisions of a lot for conveyance to the to a family member, and this is from the state code of Virginia.” He described the existing family division rules: they allow smaller lots to be passed to defined immediate family members, require the created lot to be held for five years before transfer, and allow family division lots as small as two acres where the remaining parent parcel is at least four acres. Hughes said such provisions “are probably one of the most abused provisions in subdivision ordinances,” noting examples in Caroline where parcels created under family‑division rules were later sold and lacked VDOT‑standard roads.

Hughes also described proposed procedural and technical changes. He said the county currently lacks a formal minor site‑plan process and a separate minor building‑addition process; both would let smaller projects follow a reduced review path so that a 5,000‑square‑foot project or a 3,000‑square‑foot addition would not go through the same review required for a million‑square‑foot warehouse. He said these revisions would create clearer criteria so that certain additions would not trigger additional parking or utility relocations and could be handled administratively by building plan reviewers and inspectors.

Hughes explained state legislative changes that must be reflected in county rules. He said the General Assembly has reduced certain review timeframes (from 60 to 45 days, and for some reviews from 45 to 30 days), removed pre‑application meeting requirements for rezoning and other public‑hearing cases, and eliminated planning commission review of some preliminary and final plats when those plats meet ordinance and code requirements. Hughes said, “the general assembly has effectively removed the planning commission from that process.” He also said the county must now send plans to state reviewing agencies within five days of receipt.

Chair Bob Schwartz moved to initiate amendments to the zoning ordinance on family subdivisions, site‑plan procedures and the 2025 Acts of Assembly (chapters referenced in the staff packet); the motion was seconded by JD Young and carried. Separately, Dr. Carol Horton moved to initiate corresponding changes to the subdivision ordinance; the motion was seconded by Richard Williams and also carried. Commissioners voted to begin the public‑hearing process; no dates for hearings were set during the meeting.

Hughes said staff will develop specific amendment language and criteria, share draft proposals with the commission for vetting, and then forward recommended changes to the Board of Supervisors. He told commissioners, “Once we get some ideas and some proposals together, we will share those with the commission for vetting and and some ideal ID ID ideas exchange, and then we will, eventually move on to the board and see how they wish to dispose of it.”