Preliminary review: Jetstone Builders seeks rezoning of 24 acres on Shelby Road for about nine home lots

Jetstone Builders asked Madison County’s Preliminary Development Review Committee to consider rezoning about 24 acres of a 67.7‑acre parcel on Shelby Road from A‑1 to R‑1 to support roughly nine potential home lots.

At the meeting staff said the front 24 acres would be rezoned while the rear 43 acres would remain A‑1. "The target amount of lots is 9," the applicant said, noting not all of the 24 acres are buildable and that early soil tests looked favorable.

County staff and committee members discussed access and subdivision constraints. Committee members noted a county provision that a private road serving access to a public road should serve no more than six lots, meaning the proposal would likely need two private‑road access points or a divided single entrance to accommodate nine lots. On technical access, VDOT’s representative said stopping and intersection sight‑distance rules apply and that "one entrance would be preferred" while two entrances with five lots apiece or 3–5 lots per entrance "would be acceptable to us." He added that entrance design and sight‑distance would need to be shown on site plans.

The county health department said it will review well and septic applications, perform soil evaluations and conduct site visits as part of permitting. "We will review, and then we'll also do site visits just to do some soil evaluations and look at landscape positions, in order to approve it," the health representative said, and cautioned that well drillers are currently drilling deeper in drier conditions.

The applicant also proposed a small line adjustment to place an overgrown family cemetery onto the adjacent larger parcel so no new lots would contain cemetery property; the applicant said access to the cemetery would be preserved as required by Virginia code.

Staff asked the applicant to submit a clear plat that delineates the area proposed for rezoning before filing a formal application. After questions and stakeholder input, a committee member moved to recommend forwarding the rezoning application to the planning commission; the committee approved the recommendation by voice vote.

Next steps: the applicant is expected to prepare a formal application and plat showing the proposed R‑1 area and to address entrance design, sight‑distance documentation and well/septic permitting as part of the planning commission review.