Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Planning Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board debate highlights limits of APO placement and need to revisit comprehensive-plan rules
Summary
Board members questioned how the Agricultural Preservation Overlay (APO) applies to mortgage-lot splits and suggested revisiting comprehensive-plan and overlay rules to close perceived gaps that allow development while leaving non-contiguous APO coverage.
During discussion of PL 24-23 and related lot-split scenarios, board members raised the APO’s function and whether the overlay should be applied differently when mortgage-lot splits create noncontiguous buildable lots. One member said the APO was originally placed thinking of larger continuous parcels and suggested that overlay placement rules may need revision as the board revises the county’s comprehensive plan.
Staff (Lisonbee) explained the APO is an overlay and applies only to the acreage designated; the remaining parcel can still meet AG-40 lot-size standards post-split if the split is performed correctly. Board members proposed that the comprehensive-plan rewrite should consider whether mortgage-lot and homestead splits should carry the APO across the remainder of the parcel or be handled differently to better reflect the board’s intent on density control.
