Prince George planning staff reviews waiver request to split 104‑acre parcel without public utilities

Prince George County planning staff on April 24 reviewed a subdivision waiver request (SW2501) to split a roughly 104‑acre parcel at 9512 East Quaker Road and create a 6‑acre lot intended as a family gift and future single‑family home site. The waiver seeks permission to avoid immediate connection to the county public water and wastewater systems despite the parcel lying inside the Prince George Planning Area, which normally requires such connections.

Planning staff said the remaining tract after division would be about 98 acres and that the parcel is co‑owned by members of the Glaser family. Staff described the request as similar to family‑division waivers previously considered by the commission but noted the property does not meet the ordinance’s strict definition of a family subdivision because several co‑owners are the applicant’s uncles.

The request invokes the county subdivision ordinance’s waiver process (staff cited section 70‑208 and Article 7 design/public‑improvement requirements) and the utilities ordinance provisions (staff recited sections 82‑32 and 82‑351) that allow the planning commission to consider a waiver where strict compliance would cause substantial injustice or hardship and where approval would not prejudice public health or safety. Staff noted the planning commission has approved three similar waivers since 2007.

Planning staff reported that connecting the parcel to public water would require extending about 9,300 linear feet of water line along Prince George Drive and East Quaker Road. The public gravity sewer currently terminates at the intersection of Laurel Spring Road and Prince George Drive and, staff said, cannot be extended to the proposed parcel using gravity because of topography. The utility department comment named Rachel Lumpkin as the contact who provided those details.

Staff told commissioners that the preliminary plat generally meets applicable subdivision and zoning standards aside from the utility connection requirement, and that any approval of a waiver would be followed by the usual final plat review and by any necessary Virginia Department of Health approvals for private water or septic systems. Staff included recommended minimum conditions: allow private water and septic on the new parcel with VDH approval, and require hook‑up and payment of connection fees if public utilities are later extended in front of the parcel.

Commissioners noted the practical hardship of a 9,300‑foot water main extension and questioned whether the grade on the property would preclude a gravity septic solution. No formal decision was made at the work session; staff indicated the waiver will appear on the business meeting agenda for action and that, if denied, the subdivision could not proceed without showing connection to public water and wastewater.

Votes and formal action on SW2501 were not taken during the work session.