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Home My WebLink AboutSUB201600100 Correspondence 2016-06-30 of fir+' e vil' Illi, .40 �Cu COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE Department of Community Development 401 McIntire Road,Room 227 Charlottesville,Virginia 22902-4596 Phone(434)296-5832 Fax(434)972-4126 Date: June 30, 2016 Greg Kamptner County Attorney's Office 401 McIntire Road Charlottesville, VA 22902 Regarding: Project Name: SUB201600100—Merrill—Rural Subdivision Date Submitted: 4-26-16 Dear Mr. Kamptner: This is a follow up transmittal to the one that was sent yesterday 6/29/16. Attached please find an email from Bill (William)&Karen Merrill's lawyer and a copy of the letter that they sent to you by mail today. At your earliest convenience,please review the previous and attached documents to see if Karen Merrill is correct and that Mary Lee Merrill does not have rights as the General Partner to approve these divisions on her own. Should you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me. Sincerely, ' Pat Satern , Senior Planner County of Albemarle Department of Community Development 401 McIntire Road Charlottesville, VA 22902 psaternye@albemarle.org (434)296-5832,phone ex.3250 f Patricia Saternye From: jalalexander@comcast.net Sent: Thursday,June 30, 2016 10:07 AM To: Patricia Saternye Cc: Merrill, Bill; Merrill, Karen Subject: Re: SUB201600100 Merrill - Rural Subdivision and Boundary Line Adjustment Attachments: County Counsel 2016 06 30.pdf Re: SUB201600100 Merrill Rural Subdivision and Boundary Line Adjustment Dear Ms. Saternye, Thank you for your assistance with this matter; Karen Merrill spoke highly of the courtesy and consideration you have shown. Please find attached herewith for your file a copy of a letter I have sent to Mr. Kamptner, introducing myself as counsel for Bill and Karen Merrill and addressing the elemental issue of lack of authority to proceed with this subdivision. I do not have Mr. Kamptner's email so this is being sent by snail mail to him, although you may have a more direct means of reaching him. A copy of this message and the attached letter is also sent to Bill and Karen Merrill. Bill and Karen thought to have me involved because they are leaving on a long planned trip, but with the pending subdivision application they wanted to have 404 someone here to address questions or issues as they arise in their absence. I am available to Mr. Kamptner and yourself should you need any details or information. Bill and Karen are not litigious folks, and I can tell you that they are separately reaching out to Mary Lee to have her understand why this unilateral subdivision effort must end to allow other steps to be taken outside of the County planning process to resolve the issues. I would appreciate being added to any update list or notifications of steps being taken on this matter. In any event, if I may be of service please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Jim Alexander James A. Alexander 1130 George James Loop Radiant, VA 22732-3223 Jalalexander@comcast.net 540-308-7413 Mobile: 925-788-6056 2 NOTICE: The information contained in this email transmission is intended by James A. Alexander, Attorney at Law for the use of the named individual or entity to which it is directed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise confidential. It is not intended for transmission to, or receipt by, anyone other than the named addressee (or a person authorized to deliver it to the named addressee). If you have received this email transmission in error, please delete it from your system without copying or forwarding it, and notify the sender of the error by fax, email or by calling James A. Alexander, Attorney at Law at (540) 308- 7413, so that our address record can be corrected. 3 r a JAMES A. ALEXANDER ATTORNEY AT LAW MEMBER VA.PA.and CA 1130 George James Loop Radiant,VA 22732-3223 (540) 308-7413 Cell: (925)788-6056 Jalalexander@comcast.net June 30, 2016 G. Gregory Kamptner, Esq. Albemarle County Attorney 401 McIntire Road Charlottesville, VA 22902 Re: Project Name: SUB201600100- Merrill- Rural Subdivision Dear Mr. Kamptner, Paty Saternye, Senior Planner with the Dept. of Community Development has referred to you this question: whether Mary Lee Merrill, the individual applicant for this proposed subdivision, whether she has the unilateral authority to act on behalf of all six owners of the property. Mary Lee Merrill has no such authority; we seek the cooperation of the County in rejecting this application on that basis. We represent William G. K. [Bill] Merrill and his wife Karen Merrill. Bill and his five other siblings are partners in Alveley Farm Limited Partnership. This partnership was started by Bill's parents, Robert and Jennie Merrill, about 50 years ago; both parents are now deceased. The parents' plan was simple; purchase about 500 acres for a working farm, with the parents and the six siblings all having an equal undivided interest in the entirety of the property. The partnership owns the property which is the subject of the proposed subdivision. Each of the partners has an undivided interest in the entirety of the property. The property is intended to stay intact as long as the partnership exists; no partitioning of the land is permissible. tio0 ‘1101) G. Gregory Kam tner, E g rY P s1 June 30,2016 Page 2 of 3 The partnership agreement specifies in paragraph 19.10: "Each of the parties waives during the term of the Partnership any right that he may have to maintain any action for partition with respect to the Partnership's property or assets." In 2009, Mary Lee built a home on the partnership property; this was not a separate lot partitioned in her name, but rather part of the undivided interest in the property as a whole. Following the death of the last surviving parent, Bill's sister Mary Lee became the General Partner. Now Mary Lee, individually and under her sole control, presumes to file with the County an application to partition the property into separate lots. Mary Lee has no authority to act to partition this property. So long as the partnership exists the property cannot be partitioned. Under any analysis, Mary Lee does not have the authority to subdivide the property or to unilaterally dictate the land interests of the other five owners of this partnership. In a curious twist, Mary Lee has filed a plat of the almost 500 acres, of which Mary Lee claims a prime portion of 29.22 acres surrounding the home she built. Of the remaining acreage Mary Lee provides no lot lines, or anything to indicate the equal shares of the other siblings. In the ordinary course of things this 'subdivision' application must be viewed as very unusual. As it stands, this appears to be an effort to protect only Mary Lee's interests in the parcel outline she has identified, without addressing the interests of the other owners. Of course, it is elemental for the County to consider only applications from those who own or control property, and have the authority to act in seeking to have the County change property lines, change titles, impose restrictions, impose taxes, and, in general, put in motion the power of the County to alter significant property and financial interests. We appreciate that the County takes very seriously its role in exercising its authority by limiting consideration to applications submitted only by those with the authority to proceed. It is elemental that enormous mischief and subsequent litigation would follow changes made by a person acting without authority. It is in the spirit of avoiding those problems that we raise the issue with the County at this juncture. We request that the application be denied. Soo' osval0 G. Gregory Kamptner, Esq June 30, 2016 Page 3 of 3 The ultimate resolution to the questions raised by Mary Lee's attempt to subdivide the property is straightforward; the partnership can be dissolved, and the property can be held by the owners as tenants in common. As such, they can then work out a plan for subdividing the property, with each having an equal voice consistent with their equal ownership interest. At that point they can then jointly present a plan of subdivision to the County. We will separately work toward the dissolution of the partnership, but, in the interim, we request that the County deny the application for subdivision submitted only by Mary Lee Merrill. Thank you for your consideration. Yours very truly, • MES A. ALEXANDER V Patricia Saternye From: Karen Merrill <karen77merrill@gmail.com> Sent: Wednesday,June 29, 2016 12:32 AM To: Francis MacCall; Patricia Saternye Cc: Bill Merrill Subject: Merrill family partnership -Alveley Farm LLC On behalf of two of the six partners in the Alveley Farm LLC partnership, I will stop by your office in the morning on Wednesday, June 29 to pick up a copy of the written application for SUB 2016-100, as well as the plat map, and any other supporting documents that have been provided to you regarding division of this land. Some of the partners are not fully aware of, or informed about, the details for the proposed division. I will provide you with a copy of the Partnership Agreement and ask that you have your attorney review it, especially regarding the role and limited authority of the General Partner. We respectfully ask that the County will cease moving forward with approvals or decisions regarding divisions on this farm property until further review by all of the partners and legal counsel, when needed. Sincerely, Karen Merrill