Suit

Suit

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Board of Supervisors is necessary for subdivisions of 50 units or more within a service district. In Rappahannock, a special exception from the Board of Supervisors is necessary for more than three lots divided from what was a parcel of record as of 1973.

But, said Mr. McCarthy, Rappahannock’s standards under which an exception must be considered are more specific than Fauquier’s. And, the ordinance specifies that if those standards are met, then the exception must be granted. “It’s just like the way the Board of Zoning Appeals handles a special use permit application,” he explained. “The supervisors can’t turn down something because they don’t think it’s an appropriate use or because they don’t think it complies with the comprehensive plan.”

In addition, he said, Fauquier’s incorporation of a sliding scale, which triggers the special exception requirement at 50 lots, lends more of a legislative aspect to Fauquier’s special exception.

Mr. McCarthy conceded, however, that if a court finds Fauquier County has made subdivision approval into a legislative act when state law says it’s a ministerial act, then Rappahannock’s special exception process is also at risk. “If theirs is overturned in principle, it will affect the way we make our land-use decisions.”

At the same time, he’s predicting that Fauquier’s board will win the case on the water issue. And in any event, watchers from both sides in the ever-hotter development wars are betting this one goes all the way to the Virginia Supreme Court. “And that could take years,” Mr. McCarthy noted.

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