Virginia Code 15.2-2244: Provisions for subdivision of a lot for conveyance to a family member
A. In any county a subdivision ordinance shall provide for reasonable provisions permitting a single division of a lot or parcel for the purpose of sale or gift to a member of the immediate family of the property owner, including the family member’s spouse, subject only to any express requirement contained in the Code of Virginia and to any requirement imposed by the local governing body that all lots of less than five acres have reasonable right-of-way of not less than 10 feet or more than 20 feet providing ingress and egress to a dedicated recorded public street or thoroughfare. Only one such division shall be allowed per family member, and shall not be for the purpose of circumventing this section. For the purpose of this subsection, a member of the immediate family is defined as any person who is a natural or legally defined offspring, stepchild, spouse, sibling, grandchild, grandparent, or parent of the owner. In addition, any such locality may include aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews in its definition of immediate family.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 15.2-2244
- City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
- County: means any existing county or such unit hereafter created. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Governing body: means the board of supervisors of a county, council of a city, or council of a town, as the context may require. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
- Locality: means a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 1-221
- Street: means highway, street, avenue, boulevard, road, lane, alley, or any public way. See Virginia Code 15.2-2201
- Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July one, nineteen hundred seventy-one, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
B. Notwithstanding subsection A, in a county having the urban county executive form of government, a subdivision ordinance shall provide for reasonable provisions permitting a single division of a lot or parcel for the purpose of sale or gift to a member of the immediate family of the property owner, subject only to any express requirement contained in the Code of Virginia and to any requirement imposed by the local governing body that all lots of less than five acres have frontage of not less than 10 feet or more than 20 feet on a dedicated recorded public street or thoroughfare. Only one such division shall be allowed per family member, and the division shall not be for the purpose of circumventing a local subdivision ordinance. For the purpose of this subsection, a member of the immediate family is defined as any person who is a natural or legally defined offspring or parent of the owner.
C. Notwithstanding subsections A and B, a subdivision ordinance may include reasonable provisions permitting divisions of lots or parcels for the purpose of sale or gift to a member of the immediate family of the property owner in (i) any county or city which has had population growth of 10 percent or more from the next-to-latest to latest decennial census year, based on population reported by the United States Bureau of the Census; (ii) any city or county adjoining such city or county; (iii) any towns located within such county; and (iv) any county contiguous with at least three such counties, and any town located in that county. Such divisions shall be subject to all requirements of the Code of Virginia and to any requirements imposed by the local governing body.
Code 1950, §§ 15-781, 15-967.1; 1950, p. 183; 1962, c. 407, § 15.1-466; 1970, c. 436; 1973, cc. 169, 480; 1975, c. 641; 1976, c. 270; 1978, cc. 429, 439, 440; 1979, cc. 183, 188, 395; 1980, cc. 379, 381; 1981, c. 348; 1983, cc. 167, 609; 1984, c. 111; 1985, cc. 422, 455; 1986, c. 54; 1987, c. 717; 1988, cc. 279, 735; 1989, cc. 332, 393, 403, 495; 1990, cc. 170, 176, 287, 708, 973; 1991, cc. 30, 47, 288, 538; 1992, c. 380; 1993, cc. 836, 846, 864; 1994, c. 421; 1995, cc. 386, 388, 389, 452, 457, 474; 1996, cc. 77, 325, 452, 456; 1997, cc. 587, 718; 1998, c. 457; 2008, cc. 340, 717; 2009, cc. 283, 465; 2010, c. 216.