Planning staff seeks fee-schedule rewrite; commission forwards changes to supervisors

Warren County planning staff presented a comprehensive update to the planning and zoning department fee schedule July 9, saying recent changes to the Virginia subdivision code and the county subdivision ordinance made parts of the current fee schedule obsolete.

Staff advised that the county removed the former “class” subdivision system and replaced it with an exempt/nonexempt approach. The proposed fee schedule adds a nonexempt subdivision fee and a separate fee for cluster-housing-development subdivisions. Staff also proposed adding fees for conservation-easement review, bond establishment/reduction/replacement, and certain Ag-Forestal District actions outside the standard 10-year review window.

Staff proposed fee increases for several items: the exempt subdivision fee would rise from $500 (plus per-lot charges) to $1,000 to match the previous Class A fee; board of zoning appeals variance and appeal fees would increase from $750 to $1,000; zoning text-amendment fees would increase from $500 to $1,000 to reflect staff and county-attorney time; and right-of-way vacation fees would increase from $250 to $750 to help cover ordinance-drafting costs.

Organizational changes combine like items (for example, commercial and industrial site plans under one line item). Staff also noted the county currently charges for GIS shapefiles and asked the commission whether that fee should remain; the commission directed staff to review GIS file availability and possible removal of some shapefile fees in a future schedule update.

The commission held a public hearing and voted to forward the proposed fee schedule to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation of approval.