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Commission denies subdivision plat after recorded deed restrictions cited
Summary
The Commission voted to deny a seven‑lot subdivision for a 5.3‑acre tract in Greybrook Meadows/Williamsburg Green after an affidavit and deed excerpts showed recorded restrictions limiting the tract to one residential unit.
The Danville/Boil County Planning and Zoning Commission denied a proposed subdivision plat filed by JMX LLC that would have split a 5.294‑acre tract (tract A in Williamsburg Green / Greybrook Meadows section six) into seven buildable lots.
Attorney Melanie Thornberry, representing Greybrook Meadows LLC and several lot owners, read a sworn affidavit and read deed language recorded in 2014 that — she said — imposes two controlling restrictions on tract A: a covenant that "not more than one residential unit shall be erected on parcel two" (tract A) and a separate provision that certain building and plot plans require partnership approval. Thornberry argued those private restrictions run with the land and, under the subdivision rules and Kentucky law, a recorded covenant that is more restrictive than an ordinance governs.
Colt McGloone of Vantage Engineering (representing JMX) responded that the deed language referencing “building plans” or “plot plans” most commonly refers to building designs rather than a subdivision plat, and urged the commission to interpret the terms narrowly.
After extended legal and factual discussion — including staff input that the commission must avoid approving an action that directly conflicts with recorded covenants — commissioners concluded a colorable conflict existed between the proposed plat and the deed restriction limiting tract A to a single residential unit. The commission denied the plat.
What happens next: denial leaves open the ability of the landowner to revise the proposal, seek the covenants’ formal amendment with the partnership that recorded them, or pursue other legal remedies. The commission noted applicants may reapply after any necessary title or covenant changes.
Why it matters: recorded private covenants can constrain subdivision and land‑use options even when municipal zoning or subdivision regulations otherwise permit development; the commission relied on the recorded deed language and an owner affidavit to find a conflict that made approval inappropriate.
