§ 2. DEFINITIONS
For the purpose of this ordinance, certain words and terms used herein shall be interpreted or defined as follows: Words used in the present tense include the future, words in the singular number include the plural, and the singular, unless the natural construction of the word indicates otherwise; the word "lot" includes the words "parcel" and "tract"; the word "shall" is mandatory and not directory; the word "approve" shall be considered to be followed by the words "or disapproved"; any reference to this ordinance includes all ordinances amending or supplementing the same; all distances and areas in feet or square feet and refer to measurement in a horizontal plane. When a term is not defined within this ordinance the following references shall be used: A Glossary of Zoning, Development and Planning Terms, 50thedition, Planning Advisory Service Report #491/492; The New Illustrated Boon of Development Definitions, and the Commonwealth of Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code 2009 and all future subsequent revisions.
Agent, Subdivision: As designated by Town Manager, the Director of Planning and Community Development or his/her designee shall serve as the Subdivision Agent for the Town of Colonial Beach.
Alley: A permanent service way providing a secondary means of access to abutting properties.
Boundary line adjustment: Where adjacent property owners vacate a boundary line and no new building lots are created. Such property line adjustments must contain the original parcel and/or have a common border with the original parcel. In order for such realignment of property lines not to be considered an act of "subdivision," only one (1) boundary adjustment per parcel of record as of the effective date of this section shall be allowed in any one-calendar year period.
Bond: Certified check, cash escrow or performance bond in an amount and form approved by the Town Attorney and held by the governing body.
Building line: The distance which a building is from the lot line or boundary line.
Commission: The Planning Commission of the Town of Colonial Beach.
Construction plans: The site construction plans with illustrative details as to how the subdivision and all improvements shall be constructed including profiles. Construction plans must be approved before preliminary plat approval. Often this set of documents are included with the preliminary plat (see preliminary plat).
Cul-de-sac: A street with only one (1) outlet and having an appropriate turn-around for a safe and convenient reverse traffic movement.
Council/governing body: The Town Council of the Town of Colonial Beach.
Bond/sureties: Certified check, cash escrow, letter of credit or performance bond in an amount and form approved by the Town Attorney and held by the Town of Colonial Beach until required improvements have been constructed in accordance with approved plans and specs.
Developer: An owner of property being subdivided.
Easement: A grant by a property owner of the use of land for specific purpose(s).
Engineer: An engineer licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Governing body: The Town Council of Colonial Beach.
Health officer (or official): The Health Director or Sanitarian of the Town of Colonial Beach and/or County of Westmoreland Health Department.
Highway engineer: The resident engineer employed by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and/or the Director of Public Works for the Town of Colonial Beach.
HOA: See "POA."
Immediate family: Any person who is a natural or legally defined offspring, stepchild, spouse, sibling, grandchild, grandparent, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews or parent of the property owner.
Jurisdiction: The area of territory subject to the legislative control of the governing body.
Lot: A numbered and recorded portion of a subdivision intended for transfer of ownership and/or for building development for a single building and its accessory buildings.
Lot, corner: A lot abutting upon two (2) or more streets at their intersection. The portions of the lot facing the streets shall be deemed to be front(s) and the other boundary lines shall be deemed to be sides.
Lot, consolidation: See "Re-subdivision."
Lot, depth of: The mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.
Lot, double frontage: An interior lot having frontage on two (2) streets.
Lot, flag/pipe stem: A lot with access provided to the bulk of the lot by means of a narrow corridor having a minimum width of twenty (20) feet and a maximum length of two hundred fifty (250) feet from the public right-of-way.
Lot, interior: A lot other than a corner lot.
Lot of record: A lot which has been recorded in the office of the Circuit Court Clerk of Westmoreland County.
Lot, width of: The mean horizontal distance between the side lot lines.
Lot line vacation: When one (1) or more lots are legally combined by survey and deed creating one (1) larger lot.
Low impact development (LID): LID is a site design strategy with a goal of maintaining or replicating the predevelopment hydrologic regime through the use of design techniques to create a functionally equivalent hydrologic landscape. Hydrologic functions of storage, infiltration, and ground water recharge, as well as the volume and frequency of discharges are maintained through the use of integrated and distributed micro-scale stormwater retention and detention areas, reduction of impervious surfaces, and the lengthening of flow paths and runoff time.
Other strategies include the preservation/protection of environmentally sensitive site features such as riparian buffers, wetlands, steep slopes, valuable (mature) trees, flood plains, woodlands and highly permeable soils. LID lowers development costs by reducing use of concrete and utilizes natural processes to manage stormwater runoff.Monument, subdivision: The initial point, also known as the point of beginning, of a plat must be on the exterior boundary of the plat and must be marked with a monument that is either galvanized iron pipe or an iron or steel rod. If galvanized iron pipe is used, the pipe may not be less than three-quarter (¾) inch inside diameter and thirty (30) inches long. If an iron or steel rod is used, the rod may not be less than five-eighths ( 5/8 ) of an inch in least dimension and thirty (30) inches long. The location of the monument shall be with reference by survey to a section corner, one-quarter (¼) corner, or one-sixteenth ( 1/16 ) corner, to a pre-existing monument or known lot corner or boundary corner of a recorded subdivision plat.
Plat/plan: A map or plan of a tract of land which is to be, or which has been subdivided. When used as a verb "plat" is synonymous with "subdivide." Includes the terms map, plot, re-plat, or re-plot.
Plat, concept/sketch: A concept plat is a simple as a plan illustrating the location of a proposed parcel, showing how access shall be achieved to the parcel and showing the proposed layout of streets and lots. A concept plan is not engineered and not required as part of a subdivision approval. The submission of a concept plat is not required. However, is recommended that such a plan for discussion purposes be provided to the Planning Commission to review. The Planning Commission shall not approve a concept plan.
Plat, preliminary: At a minimum the preliminary plat consists of a map, drawn to a scale as specified in the subdivision ordinance. The map includes the information required by the subdivision ordinance, such as the location of roads, streets, utility lines, parks, storm drainage, sewer and water lines, and information about adjacent parcels. It may also include a site plan, grading plan, utilities plan, drainage plan, planting plan and a map indicating street profiles and grades.
Plat, record/final: The final plat ensures that all conditions of approval of the preliminary plat have been satisfied. It also ensures that private and public improvements have been completed and/or performance guarantees have been secured. The final plat shall be recorded prior to any construction activity on the individual lots or the selling or transfer of lots to other owners other than the subdivider.
POA/HOA: A non-profit organization of homeowners, residing within a particular development whose major purpose is to maintain and provide community facilities and services for the common enjoyment of the property owners. The organization may access and collect dues from all owners to pay for the maintenance of common areas/facilities and/or other activities of the association. The organization is normally established by the developer who sets up a governing board that is elected annually by the property owners within the development. For purposes of this ordinance a Property Owners Association (POA) and Homeowners Association (HOA) is synonymous.
Property: Any tract, lot, parcel or several of the same collected together for the purpose of subdividing.
Road: See "Street."
Recordation: The term "to record," verb transitive, or the term "record" when used as a verb shall mean the filing for recordation. The actual receipt by the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Westmoreland County, Virginia, or one (1) of the duly authorized deputies of the item or writing to be recorded; and, payment of all fees and/or taxes due or to be collected by the office of such Clerk for recordation, and, issuance by such clerk or duly authorized deputy of a receipt for the fees and/or taxes collected incident to the receipt of such item or writing for recordation.
Resource Management Area (RPA): The resource management area consists of all lands within the Town of Colonial Beach that are not classified as Resource Protection Area.
Resource Protection Area (RPA): That component of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area comprised of lands adjacent to water bodies with intermittent or perennial flow that have an intrinsic water quality value due to the ecological and biological processes they perform or are sensitive to impacts which may result in significant degradation to the quality of state waters.
Re-subdivision: To divide any legally recorded subdivision (whether approved and recorded as provided in this ordinance or recorded prior to applicability of such ordinance) including the relocation, alteration, and vacation of lot lines.
Street: The principal means of access to abutting properties.
Street or alley, public use of: The unrestricted use of a specified area or right-of-way for ingress and egress to two (2) or more abutting properties.
Street, major or primary: A heavily traveled thoroughfare or highway that carries a large volume of through traffic, or anticipated traffic (exceeding four hundred (400) vehicles per day).
Street, local/minor/collector: A street that is used primarily as a means of public access to the abutting properties with anticipated traffic of less than one hundred (100) vehicles per day.
Street, service drive: A public right-of-way generally parallel and contiguous to a major highway, primarily designed to promote safety by eliminating promiscuous ingress and egress to the right-of-way by providing service drive safe and orderly points of access to the highway.
Street width: The total width of the strip of land dedicated or reserved for public travel, including roadway, curbs, gutters, sidewalks and planting strips.
Subdivide: To divide any tract, parcel or lot of land into two (2) or more parts. The word "subdivide" and any derivative thereof shall have reference to the term "subdivider" as shown below.
Subdivider: An individual, corporation or registered partnership owning any tract, lot or parcel of land to be subdivided or a group of two (2) or more persons owning any tract, lot or parcel of land to be subdivided, who have given their power of attorney to one (1) of their group or to another individual to act on their behalf in planning, negotiating for, in representing or executing the legal requirements of the subdivision.
Subdivision: A division, subdivision, or re-subdivision of a lot, tract, or parcel of land situated wholly or partly within the boundaries of the Town into two (2) or more lots, tracts or parcels of land for the purpose, whether immediate or at some future time, of the transfer of ownership of any of these, or for the purpose of the erection of a building or other structure on any one (1) of them.
Subdivision developer or developer: An individual, corporation or partnership which acquires lots within a subdivision for the purpose of resale following construction thereon of improvements or any individual, corporation or partnership which acquires from a subdivider or his/her successor in interest the right to construct improvements within a subdivision for resale.
Subdivision, major: All subdivisions which are not classified as minor subdivision, including but not limited to subdivisions of three (3) or more lots, or any size subdivisions requiring a new street or extension of public water and/or sanitary sewer, or any other public improvements or any re-subdivision of a previously vacated lot line in a residential development of record. Review and approval of a major subdivision shall be in accordance with these regulations.
Subdivision, minor: Any subdivision containing not more than two (2) lots not involving any new street or road construction, or the extension of public facilities, or the creation of any public improvements, and not in conflict with any provision or portion of the Comprehensive Plan, Official Zoning Map, Zoning Ordinance, or these regulations. A minor subdivision shall also include boundary line adjustment(s) between adjacent property owners where no new building lots are created and family divisions. Review and approval of a minor subdivision shall be in accordance with these regulations.
Town: The Town of Colonial Beach and the Town Manager and/or staff of the Town.
VDOT: The Virginia Department of Transportation.