HomeMy WebLinkAboutLOD201100006 Letter of Determination 2014-02-26�'IRGINZP
COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE
Department of Community Development
401 McIntire Road, North Wing
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902-4596
Phone (434) 296-5832 Fax (434) 972-4126
November 22, 2011
Virginia Land Trust
c/o Greg Baldwin
195 Riverbend Drive
Charlottesville, VA 22911
RE: OFFICIAL DETERMINATION OF PARCEL OF RECORD-- Tax Map 79, Parcel 23
(portion) (Property of Virginia Land Trust) Scottsville Magisterial District
Dear Mr. Baldwin:
The County Attorney and I have reviewed the title information for the above -noted
property. It is the County Attorney's advisory opinion and my official determination that
your 1.353 acre tract is a portion of Tax Map 79, Parcel 23. This 1.353 acre tract is not
a separate parcel of record, but is part of the present Tax Map 79, Parcel 23 and thus, a
Certificate of Plat for the 1.353 acre portion was incorrectly filed in Deed Book 4018,
page 669 on April 5, 2011. The basis for this determination follows.
Our records indicate Tax Map 79, Parcel 23 contains 36.46 acres and no dwellings. The
property is not within an Agricultural and Forestal District. The most recent recorded
instrument affecting this 1.353 acre property is recorded in Deed Book 809, page 352.
A proper parcel determination in a case such as this is based on whether the portions
separated by the public right-of-way were legally separated from one another, based
upon plats or other legal descriptions of record, at 5:15 p.m. on December 10, 1980.
Mere physical separation is insufficient to establish either portion as a parcel of record.
In this case, the 1.353 acre portion of Tax Map 79 Parcel 23 was physically separated
from the rest of the parcel when Charles Wm. Hurt conveyed 1.71 acres to the
Commonwealth of Virginia for right-of-way to relocate State Route 729. The conveyance
was accomplished by a deed dated October 15, 1973 and recorded at Deed Book 539,
page 531. However, we have not found any document recorded prior to December 10,
1980 that legally separated the 1.353 acre portion from the rest of Tax Map 79 Parcel
23. Therefore, it is not a separate "parcel of record" under County Code g 18-10.3.
Legal separation could have been established by a recorded subdivision plat or, if the
Subdivision Ordinance did not require a subdivision plat at the time, by a legal
description delineating, describing and establishing each portion as separate parcels of
record.
Virginia Land Trust 2 November 22, 2011
The County's approach is supported by W & W Partnership v. Prince William County
Board of Zoning Appeals, 279 Va. 483, 689 S. E.2d 739 (2010), County of Chesterfield
v. Stigall, 262 Va. 697, 554 S. E.2d 49 (2001), and Scruby v. Board of Zoning Appeals of
Albemarle County, 65 Va. Cir. 89 (2004).
For the foregoing reasons, it is my official determination that the physical separation of
Tax Map 79, Parcel 23 by State Route 729 did not establish the 1.353 portion of the
parcel as a separate parcel of record on December 10, 1980 under County Code § 18-
10.3. For purposes of the Zoning Ordinance, Tax Map 79, Parcel 23 is a single
parcel of which the 1.353 acre portion is a part.
If you are aggrieved by this determination, you have a right to appeal it within thirty days
of the date notice of this determination is given, in accordance with Section 15.2-2311 of
the Code of Virginia. If you do not file a timely appeal, this determination shall be final
and unappealable. An appeal shall be taken only by filing with the Zoning Administrator
and the Board of Zoning Appeals a notice of appeal which specifies the grounds for the
appeal. An appeal application must be completed and filed along with the fee of $240.
The date notice of this determination was given is the same as the date of this letter-.
If you have any-queueions, please contact me.
Sin rely,
'O S
Ronald L. Higgins, AICP
Chief of Zoning/Deputy Zoning Administrator
Copy: Real Estate Supervisor
Ella Jordan, Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
Attachment: Map of Parcel 23, Tax Map 79