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Page County studies sliding‑scale subdivision, 25‑acre rule and infrastructure limits to protect farmland
Summary
Supervisors and planning commissioners discussed alternatives to the 25‑acre division and non‑family divisions, including a sliding‑scale/clustering approach, and asked planning staff to produce GIS projections showing likely 10–20 year outcomes under current patterns.
During the latter portion of the Sept. 2 joint session, officials focused on subdivision rules and how current practices – the 25‑acre division, non‑family divisions and boundary adjustments – are contributing to the loss of farmland and the creation of smaller parcels.
Unidentified Speaker 4 emphasized protecting agricultural ecosystems and warned that cutting prime farmland into many small lots can hurt the broader farm economy. "Lawns are not farms," Unidentified Speaker 2 said when describing the consequence of subdivisions that remove arable land. Planning commissioners noted that current use and land‑use credits complicate the incentives around rezoning and subdivisions.
Several participants described a 'sliding scale' or clustering alternative: allow a fixed percentage (for example, 20% of a large parent parcel) to be developed in smaller lots while preserving a core of productive farmland. Speakers cautioned that sliding‑scale administration could be complex and that septic, well and road infrastructure constraints (and VDOT access standards) must be addressed before changing lot sizes.
Unidentified Speaker 4 and others asked planning staff to prepare GIS projections and scenario maps showing where the county could be in 10–20 years under current division rates. Those projections were requested to inform whether code changes (sliding scale, rural residential zones, clustering, or time‑delay mechanisms) should be pursued.
What’s next: Planning staff will research sliding‑scale models, produce scenario maps and return with analysis; the Board and Planning Commission will use public engagement results to guide any ordinance drafting.
