Powhatan planners approve single-cut subdivision and zoning amendments, 3–1

The Powhatan County Planning Commission voted 3–1 to approve two related ordinance amendments addressing the county’s "single cut" exception and to correct a zoning-definition reference.

Principal planner Charity Gold told the commission the changes respond to a 2025 court ruling that restored single-cut provisions and the board’s May referral to staff. She said the amendments would continue to allow a one-time single-cut exception only for parcels "that have been in existence or unaltered since 04/18/1988" and only in the agricultural (A-10) district. The packet described a "minimum of 2 with a residue of 10 proposed" for lot-sizing and would permit the planning director to approve access easements commonly called private roads. "Staff this evening is recommending the planning commission recommend approval of the amendments as included in your packet," Gold said.

Commissioners debated the policy’s effects on longtime landowners and whether the changes would unfairly limit owners’ options. One commissioner said the prior effort to remove single cuts was opposed by some commissioners and that restoring them without narrower exceptions could "infringe on their property rights," while others pressed for technical fixes to the parent-tract and definition language. A separate, technical amendment corrected a cross-reference in the zoning ordinance definitions (change from section cited as 83-301 to 83-521) and adjusted formatting for the defined term "parent tract."

On separate roll calls the commission approved item 25-15-SA (subdivision ordinance amendment) and item 25-16-Z (zoning ordinance minimum-lot-size reference amendment), each by 3–1. The minutes and packet text record the staff recommendation and the criteria that include the 04/18/1988 date; the packet language quoted above should be read as staff-proposed text (the lot-size phrasing in the packet was recorded as "minimum of 2 with a residue of 10 proposed").

The planning commission’s action forwards the amended ordinance language (per local procedure) for further consideration by the county’s governing authorities as provided by county process. The commission also requested small wording and formatting clarifications to the definitions before finalization.

The commission scheduled standard postings and will include the related materials in its next packet for members to review.