HomeMy WebLinkAboutLOD200400030 Other 2017-07-12ER
LECLAIR RYAN
A Professional Corporation
123 East Main Street
81h Floor
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
434.245.3444
NOV 0 12004
October 28, 2004
Mr. John Shepherd
Manager of Zoning Administration
Department of Building Code and Zoning Services
County of Albemarle
401 McIntire Road
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
TARA ROWAN BoYD
tboyd@leclairryan.com
Direct Dial: 434.245.3429
Direct Fax: 434.245.3459
Re: Division rights determination for Tax Map 29 Parcel 33, belonging to the Jane
Scatena Revocable Trust -
Dear Mr. Shepherd:
This is to request a Division Rights Determination for the referenced parcel (the "Property"),
which is zoned Rural Areas. Enclosed please find the completed request form, together with a check
for the $40.00 processing fee and copies of the tax map and referenced documents. Following is my
calculation of the Property's development rights, which I would like you to verify.
The Property supports a single residence and associated dependencies. Prior to December 10,
1980, the property was a single parcel owned by Nella B. Via. Ms. Via acquired the Property by will
of her husband, Guy A. Via, who passed away March 18, 1973, and whose will is recorded in
Albemarle County Will Book 47, page 537. No plat of record depicts the Property at or prior to
December 10, 1980, and the acreage of the property at that time is estimated at 150.47 acres based on
the following instruments: (1) deed to Guy A. Via dated March 5, 1926 and recorded in Deed Book
193, page 52, which describes the Property as a 160.13-acre parcel less two off -conveyances of 2
acres and 1 acre, respectively, (2) deed from Guy and Nella Via to their adoptive son, Roy L. Bailey,
of a 6.66-acre portion of the Property dated April 18, 1964 and recorded in Deed Book 397, page 90
(160.13 - 1 - 2 - 6.66 = 150.47).
Nella B. Via passed away on March 19, 1985 and devised the Property to Roy L. Bailey by
instrument recorded in Will Book 62, page 640. By a 1985 deed to Rivanna Water and Sewer
Authority recorded in Deed Book 864, page 32, two sections of the Property were taken for the
special purpose of constructing a reservoir on Buck Mountain Creek. The first taken section was
depicted on Exhibit C to the 1985 deed as Parcel "A" and contained 27.724 acres. The second taken
section was a portion of the parcel depicted on Exhibit C to the 1985 deed as Parcel `B.- Parcel "B"
contained 28.074 acres, of which approximately 4.5 acres came from former TMP 29-33A1 (see plat
recorded in Deed Book 239, page 287), so this taken section removed only 23.574 acres from the
Property. The takings in the 1985 deed left the Property with a total of approximately 99.172 acres.
Alexandria - Blacksburg - Charlottesville � Glen Allen - Norfolk - Richmond - Roanoke Washington DC
WWW.leclairryan.com
Mr. John. Shepherd
Department of Building Code and Zoning Services
October 28, 2004
Page 2 of 2
By prior holding of your office it was determined that the 1985 takings by Rivanna Water and Sewer
Authority for construction of the Buck Mountain Reservoir did not transfer development rights from
the affected properties. Therefore, the five development rights that belonged to the Property on
December 10, 1980 remained with the Property after the 1985 takings.
By deed dated March 17, 1998 and recorded in Deed Book 1694, page 381, Roy L. Bailey
conveyed the Property to Bailey Realty, LLC (note that the deed book reference for the prior
conveyance recited in this deed is incorrect). By deed dated July 6, 1999 and recorded in Deed Book
1837, page 742, Bailey Realty, LLC conveyed the Property to Rex and Jane Scatena. The Scatenas
recorded a plat of the Property dated August 20, 1999 in Deed Book 1862, page 64, correcting the
total acreage to 137.982 acres based on a current survey. Although this is a significant difference
from the acreage obtained by subtracting off -conveyances from the original 1926 description (which
reproduces a description from an 1877 deed to the Property), the chain of title did not reveal a
transfer that would explain the discrepancy. It is therefore our opinion that the difference between
the acreages contained in the 1999 survey and in the chain of title results from inaccuracies in the
deed descriptions of the property and not from any unaccounted-for transfer of a portion of the
Property. By deed dated January 21, 2002 and recorded in Deed Book 2158, page 482, the Scatenas
conveyed the Property to the present owner, Jane A Scatena, as Trustee of the Jane Scatena
Revocable Trust Agreement Dated June 30, 2000.
Based on the above analysis, it appears that the Property retains all of its original five
development rights. These development rights are retained in addition to parcels that may be divided
as a matter of right within the RA zoning classification into parcels of 21 acres or more from the
residue.
I respectfully request your determination. Please contact me if you have further questions
regarding the subject property.
V rs
Tara Rowan Boyd,
Enclosures
C.c. (w/o enc.): Mr. and Mrs. Rex Scatena