Matthews v. Bd. of Zon. App. of Greene Cty.

237 S.E.2d 128, 218 Va. 270, 1977 Va. LEXIS 189
CourtSupreme Court of Virginia
DecidedSeptember 1, 1977
DocketRecord 750854; Record 761116
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 237 S.E.2d 128 (Matthews v. Bd. of Zon. App. of Greene Cty.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Matthews v. Bd. of Zon. App. of Greene Cty., 237 S.E.2d 128, 218 Va. 270, 1977 Va. LEXIS 189 (Va. 1977).

Opinion

Cochran, J.,

delivered the opinion of the Court.

*272 These appeals, separately briefed but consolidated for oral argument, present questions concerning the Interim Zoning Ordinance of Greene County. In the first proceeding (Record No. 750854), Bennett T. Matthews has appealed from the final order of the trial court entered on April 4,1975, affirming on certiorari the denial by the Greene County Board of Zoning Appeals of his application for a special use permit under the Ordinance. In the second proceeding (Record No. 761116), in which Matthews sought a declaratory judgment ruling that the Ordinance was invalid either facially or as applied to his land, he has appealed from the final order entered in April 26, 1976, upholding the validity of the Ordinance.

I. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

Greene County, a small rural county on and east of the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains, lies between Albemarle County on the south and Madison County on the north. The county seat is Stanardsville, an incorporated town with a population of less than 300. In 1970 the population of the entire county was 5,248. Of the total area of 153 square miles, 97% was in agricultural, forest or nonproductive uses in 1974. There was only one industrial use, a cabinet shop with two employees; there were 96 commercial establishments, of which 22 were vacant and 20 were structurally substandard; there were 2,624 dwellings, predominately single-family. Although there are no railroads in the county, two primary highways, U. S. Route 29, extending north and south, and U. S. Route 33, running east and west, intersect at the village of Ruckersville.

In the late nineteen sixties the decline in population which had long continued was reversed by the influx of permanent residents from Albemarle County, the City of Charlottesville, and metropolitan centers to the northeast. The number of part-time residents also increased as more vacation homes were established in the mountainous areas. During the decade ending in 1969 the county had lost 54.5% of its farms and 41.9% of its farmland. For the first time a subdivision ordinance was adopted in 1969 to provide a measure of control over land development. Between 1968 and 1973, 31 subdivision *273 developments were recorded, and two others were proposed. It was estimated that the 3,095 vacant lots in these subdivisions were more than enough to cause the population of the county to triple.

County officials requested assistance in 1970 from the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, which recommended that a comprehensive plan be prepared, and this was undertaken. In 1973, consideration was given to the enactment of an interim zoning ordinance, and a rough draft, on which George B. Evans, Jr., a senior planner for the Commission, collaborated with another Commission planner, was submitted in July to the Board of Supervisors for review. Evans subsequently collaborated with the same planner in preparing a draft of the permanent zoning ordinance for the county.

Matthews acquired a tract of 111 acres near Ruckersville in November, 1973, in the dissolution of a corporation in which he owned stock. He proceeded with plans to develop this property as a subdivision to be known as Greentown Village, containing 180 lots for 348 housing units, including apartments. He incurred expenses of approximately $6,700, including $3,500 for a topographic survey, $1,500 for a preliminary plat, and $1,265.30 for a soil analysis. There was evidence, however, from which it could be inferred that only the cost of the preliminary plat was not recoverable.

On February 4, 1974, Matthews submitted his preliminary plat for approval under the county Subdivision Ordinance, but the plat was rejected because it showed townhouses which did not comply with the applicable setback requirements. On February 7,1974, the Interim Zoning Ordinance was advertised. On February 26, 1974, Matthews’s preliminary plat, revised to eliminate townhouses, was approved by Julius Morris, County Administrator, subdivision agent, building official, and zoning administrator for the county. On March 2, 1974, the Interim Zoning Ordinance was approved by the Board of Supervisors. No comprehensive plan for the county had been approved at that time.

The Interim Zoning Ordinance contained the following preamble:

WHEREAS, The County Planning Commission of the County of Greene is engaged in the preparation of a *274 long-range general plan to guide and facilitate orderly and beneficial growth in this county, and is engaged in the preparation of a comprehensive zoning ordinance to serve as a primary means for achieving such orderly and beneficial community; and,
WHEREAS, an interim ordinance is necessary in order to protect this county during the preparation of said general county plan and comprehensive zoning ordinance from any building construction and new uses of land that may do irreparable harm to the character of existing neighborhoods and which may defeat the purposes of the long-range general plan and comprehensive ordinance.

By its terms the Ordinance was “to remain in force and effect until the adoption of a comprehensive zoning ordinance, but not for longer than one (1) year.” The entire unincorporated area of the county was zoned as one district designated as “Rural-Residential District” in which one dwelling unit per two acres was permitted. Accessory uses and structures, agriculture, churches, conservation and preservation areas, forestry, public facilities, public utilities, and single-family dwellings were permitted of right, and all other uses were authorized only by special use permit. A Board of Zoning Appeals was created with specified powers and duties, including that of hearing applications for special use permits.

Section 5.2-1 of the Ordinance required the Board of Zoning Appeals, in deciding whether to approve applications for special use permits, to consider certain factors. The use must not change the character and pattern of development of the area, and must be in harmony with uses permitted of right in the zoning district, and the location and height of buildings must not hinder or discourage the appropriate development and use of adjacent land and buildings.

Provision was also made for special permits in hardship cases. Under Section 5.3-l(d) a subdivider who, in good faith and prior to enactment of the Ordinance, had obtained preliminary approval of a subdivision under the provisions of the Subdivision Ordinance and was in compliance with applicable time limits required thereunder, was entitled, if. the passage of the Ordinance “worked a financial hardship on him,” to a rebuttable presumption in favor of the granting of a special use permit for his subdivision.

*275 There was evidence that Morris informed Matthews, at the time the preliminary plat was approved, that the proposed Interim Zoning Ordinance could affect Matthew’s subdivision, that Morris reminded Matthews that the final subdivision plat must be submitted within six months after approval of the preliminary plat, and that prior approval of the final plat by various State agencies must be obtained.

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Bluebook (online)
237 S.E.2d 128, 218 Va. 270, 1977 Va. LEXIS 189, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/matthews-v-bd-of-zon-app-of-greene-cty-va-1977.