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Commission recommends zoning change to include floodplain acreage in minimum lot-size calculations
Summary
Powhatan's planning commission voted 4-1 to recommend an amendment that would stop excluding floodplain acreage from minimum lot-area calculations for newly created lots; staff said buildability and floodplain permitting standards remain in place.
The planning commission on July 7 recommended approval (4-1) of a zoning-ordinance amendment to remove language that excluded floodplain acreage from minimum lot-area calculations for newly created lots. Staff explained that the change restores a "gross acreage" approach historically applied for large-lot rural subdivision administration while retaining subdivision and floodplain protections (riparian buffers, wetland protections, buildability review).
Staff emphasized that the amendment applies only to newly created lots and does not change floodplain permitting requirements or existing lots. Webb said "the proposed amendment restores the broader gross acreage approach consistent with historic large-lot rural subdivision administration" while noting that subdivision standards continue to require adequate buildable area outside the floodplain.
A public hearing elicited no speakers. The commission voted to recommend approval and asked staff to continue coordinating subdivision-level buildability checks during the development review process.
