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that the rezoning itself must give rise to the need for the conditions and that the conditions must have a reasonable relation to the rezoning. Conditions may not include a cash contribution to the county or municipality, the mandatory dedication of property for public facilities other than rights-ofway for streets, drainage or sewer and water lines, off site improvements or anything not directly related to physical development of the property. In addition, all conditions must be in conformity with the locality’s comprehensive plan.
The requirement for the comprehensive plan was the stumbling block to Rappahannock’s adopting conditional zoning in the past. That block no longer stands in our way.
The benefits of conditional zoning can be seat in what happened in Remington last week. The council began its meeting with adoption of a conditional zoning ordinance*just a few words stating that where a rezoning application contains conditions in accord with the Code of Virginia, development or use of the land involved must be in strict accord with the conditions profferred. With this simply worded tool, the Remington town council was next able to approve a' rezoning and still ensure that the property fit in with the neighborhood.
The council members okayed a change from business to light industrial - to allow Kin-low Paving Inc. to operate a contractor’s storage yard in addition to a service station the company already had. The unregulated light industrial classification would allow other more intensive uses. Conditions agreed to by the council and Kin-low, however, limited use id a service station and contractor’s yard, required screening with a six-foot fence and set hours of operation.
And most importantly, if Kin-low sells its property, the new owners will have to meet the same conditions or seek rezoning themselves.
According to Gray Parker, Remington councilman and assistant planner for Fauquier, a zoning ordinance needs nothing else but the amendment Remington adopted before conditional zoning is added to a locality’s box of land use tools. The only other prerequisite is a comprehensive plan.
If Rappahannock had that tool, the Mills’ rezoning could be handled in a way to give the landowner what he seeks and still protect the integrity of the neighborhood. It’s time for the county to consider conditional zoning.
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