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the way land is laid out, according to Plavnick. He reported that several counties had tried to deny subdivisions on the grounds that the development proposals did not meet environmental criteria and ‘‘the courts clobbered them.”
Comprehensive Plan Help* However, he held out hope that the county could at least channel growth following adoption of a comprehensive plan. Part of the problem, he said, is that enabling legislation and Virginia courts have held that the "highest and best use of land is something other than agriculture.” In accordance with this concept, the courts have said that "every piece of agricultural land has to have a density,” Judges have accepted five-acre lot size and some ten acres, but, Plavnick added, "you can’t preserve agriculture with tenacre density.”
“It’s very difficult to say ‘no nothing,’ ” he continued. However, Plavnick said, “it is possible to say that if anything is going to happen, you want it to happen in certain places.” If county ' government documents “where the people want to go, if those objectives are fairly clearly defined,” then Rappahannock would have ‘‘more chance of winning when the chips are down.”
He stressed that adoption of a comprehensive plan wouldn't ensure decisions of local government could withstand court tests. “If you’ve taken time to define where you want to go and how you want to get there, you have a BETTER chance of accomplishing your goals...than if you don't put anything in writing and then try to say ‘Well, this is what we wanted all the time.' ’’
On previous occasions, the
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