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(Continued from Page 1)| portion of a tract while preserving the balance of the. land? in open space. Accordingly, a developer with 100 acres zoned for density of one dwelling unit per five acres would be permitted one-acre lots on 25 acres of the property if the remaining 75 acres were retained in permanent open space.)
In Fairfax County, said Miller, developers agree to keep flood plain property—which already can’t be built on—in permanent open space in exchange for higher density clustered subdivisions on the balance of a tract.
Miller continued that “the saving thing in Rappahannock now” is that the county’s zoning and subdivision ordinances prohibit the resubdivision of 25-acre lots in developments. “But maybe the courts will change that too,” he added.
Asked if the county had a plan for agricultural land, Miller reported that the state had passed legislation allowing the formation of agricultural and forestal districts. However, he criticized the law as it is now written, contending that authorities disagree on key provisions of the act, specifically as to whether use value taxation on property in a district is constitutional if localities have not adopted a county-wide land use tax ordinance.
Phil Irwin, president of RLEP, interjected that there would be an attempt made in the General Assembly during the upcoming session to amend and clarify the Agricultural and Forestal Districts Act.
Mitzie Young announced that she'd attended public hearings held before subcommittees of the General Assembly in Fredericksburg recently to consider repeal of Virginia’s Dillon Rule which retains for the state any powers not SPECIFICALLY granted to local government. According to Mrs. Young, the consensus at the public hearing was that a good chance existed to repeal the Dillon Rule during the 1979 ^ Assembly session. If the effort is successful, she said, then localities would be free to pass growth limiting legislation along the lines of that enacted—and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court—in Petaluma, California.
Barbara Lane asked how an individual could have a voice in developing the county's comprehensive plan.
Miller answered that the Planners would bring proposals before a series of community public hearings after the comprehensive plan’s outline was completed.
“A comprehensive plan is basically the restrictive ness of the zoning and subdivision ordinance,” Miller continued. He noted that the Planners would encounter problems in a county as small as Rappahannock if they designated specific areas for development.
One of the difficulties with relying on a comprehensive plan is that “it tells you what you can do but isn’t very effective in telling you what you can't do,” interjected county engineer Fanning Baumgardner.
"It's a tool developers can use to hit you over the head with,” agreed Miller. Basically, he said, a comprehensive plan will consist of details on what the county currently has and what the citizens and local government want for the future. He reported that Commonwealth Attorney George Davis and local lawyer Douglas Baumgardner—"two independent minds”—had both suggested that the county's plan be kept “short and sweet.”
Enabling Legislation
“If they can limit growth
80.6%