Floyd County adopts state-driven land-division changes, designates planner as plat reviewer and raises several review fees

Floyd County’s Board of Supervisors on June 24 adopted revisions to the county’s subdivision (land-division) ordinance to comply with changes in the Code of Virginia that take effect July 1, shifting final plat review authority away from local elected bodies to a designated administrative agent.

The change means the county’s planning staff — rather than the Planning Commission or the Board — will be the named agent to review and administratively approve plats. County planning staff described new statutory review timelines and proposed fee increases to offset added staff workload.

Planning staff explained the statutory shift to the joint meeting, saying, “Beginning July 1, there are changes coming, to the subdivision ordinance requirements across the state,” and that the county must “choose one designated agent to review plats.” The staff presentation said the county is not eligible to keep a Planning Commission as designated agent because the locality’s population exceeds the statutory threshold for that option. Planning Director Ladina was named in staff remarks as the official who would step in to review resubmissions after the fourth submittal when required by the new process.

Why it matters: The move centralizes plat review in county administration and shortens statutory review deadlines — the first official submittal will be subject to a 40-day review period, with…