Floyd County to advertise draft land-division ordinance after board directs tighter limits on new private roads

The Floyd County Board of Supervisors agreed Jan. 14 to advertise a public hearing on a revised land-division ordinance (the county’s working name for its subdivision ordinance) after directing staff to add several restrictive provisions intended to limit the scale of new private roads and clarify utilities requirements.

The board, which has been working on the rewrite for more than a year, instructed staff to incorporate a suggested 10-lot limit for new private/shared roads (the board asked that new roads built to county or private standards be treated the same) and to include a 320-foot frontage reference in the draft before it is sent to legal advertising. After that change, the supervisors authorized staff to advertise the ordinance and set a public hearing date, most likely Feb. 25, subject to the legal advertising timeline.

Why it matters The land-division rewrite affects how large parcels may be divided and what infrastructure—private or public roads, centralized water or wastewater systems—developers must provide. The board’s direction to include a private-road lot limit and explicit frontage language was proposed to limit the size of some private subdivisions and to provide clearer standards for review.

Public comment and staff response During the meeting, resident Steven Wade of the Courthouse District described real-world problems he encountered while trying to complete a lot-line revision for a neighbor whose out-of-state owner refused to sign, saying, “I believe when you put a subdivision ordinance on a piece of property, you're really just transferring the property rights to somebody else.” Wade urged the board to revise rules that he said had allowed administrative holdups and additional cost to property owners.

Planning and legal context County staff and the county attorney reviewed several technical questions during the meeting and advised the board on state legal limits. The county attorney noted potential state-law constraints on absolute limits but recommended language that would be defensible because the most likely scenario would apply to private roads created by a single owner in a subdivision. The board accepted that advice while deciding to press forward with a cautious, more-restrictive draft.

Specific items the board asked staff to add or clarify before advertising - A suggested limit of 10 lots served by a new private/shared road (the board asked staff to include this and to place it prominently in the draft). - A frontage/reference figure of 320 feet as an informational reference point (board agreed the number could be reduced if needed). - Clarification that the draft applies to centralized/private water and wastewater systems and that health-department standards will continue to control technical permitting. - Confirmation that townhouse-style/attached-unit developments can remain an allowed option where centralized systems make them feasible; they would still need to meet health and county standards.

Next steps and timing The board authorized staff to advertise the draft for public hearing and to make the draft available in the clerk’s office and on the county website. Staff said advertising requires two notices (a first notice no more than 28 days before the hearing and a second notice no less than seven days before), so the Feb. 25 meeting date was identified as the likeliest hearing date pending legal review and final edits.

Supervisor and staff actions going forward Planning & Zoning and the county attorney were directed to incorporate board changes, confirm advertising dates, and return to the board with final documents. The board also signaled it may take action following the public hearing rather than sending the draft back to the planning commission, depending on the attorney’s review of the final language.