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Board approves special exception to allow third dwelling on Hitt Family Farm
Summary
The Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors approved a special exception permitting a third dwelling on a 246‑acre parcel of the Hitt Family Farm; the property is under a Virginia Outdoors Foundation easement that allows up to five dwellings and caps enclosed living area at 13,000 sq ft, a limit the proposed dwelling would nearly exhaust.
The Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors voted to approve Special Exception 26‑01‑02, authorizing a third dwelling on a 246‑acre parcel owned by the Hitt family and held under a Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF) conservation easement.
Planning staff told the board the parcel is part of larger family holdings that total roughly 529 acres and noted that VOF reviewed the proposal and approved the new dwelling in a letter dated April 9. VDOT raised no objections and the county health department said the owners must obtain required permits before construction. The planning commission recommended approval by a 7–0 vote.
The applicants’ attorney explained the VOF easement permits up to five dwellings in total and allows a cumulative 13,000 square feet of enclosed living area; the board was told the proposed house would bring the property to about 12,500 of that 13,000‑square‑foot limit. Board members asked whether the two existing dwellings predated the easement and whether the current single‑parcel assessment resulted from combining multiple former tax parcels under the easement; staff and counsel said at least one structure predates zoning and that the parcels were combined under the conservation easement.
After brief discussion about precedent and the potential for incremental parcel subdivision, a member moved to approve the special exception and another member seconded. The chair called the question and the members present voiced their support; the motion carried and the special exception was approved.
Because the property remains under the VOF easement, the easement holder retains enforcement authority over easement terms; the county’s approval addresses only zoning authorization. The county health department’s permitting requirements and VDOT’s lack of objection remain conditions for moving ahead. No additional board hearings were scheduled as part of the vote.
