West Virginia Code 8A-5-12 – Vested property right
(a) A vested property right is a right to undertake and complete the land development. The right is established when the land development plan and plat is approved by the planning commission and is only applicable under the terms and conditions of the approved land development plan and plat.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 8A-5-12
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Land development: means the development of one or more lots, tracts or parcels of land by any means and for any purpose, but does not include easements, rights-of-way or construction of private roads for extraction, harvesting or transporting of natural resources. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
- Plan: means a written description for the development of land. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
- Planning commission: means a municipal planning commission, a county planning commission, a multicounty planning commission, a regional planning commission or a joint planning commission. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
- Plat: means a map of the land development that becomes its official recorded representation in the office of the clerk of the county commission where a majority of the land to be developed lies. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
- Zoning: means the division of a municipality or county into districts or zones which specify permitted and conditional uses and development standards for real property within the districts or zones. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
(b) Failure to abide by the terms and conditions of the approved land development plan and plat will result in forfeiture of the right.
(c) Subject to section ten-a, article thirteen-e, chapter sixteen of this code, the vesting period for an approved land development plan and plat which creates the vested property right is five years from the approval of the land development plan and plat by the planning commission.
(d) Without limiting the time when rights might otherwise vest, a landowner's rights vest in a land use or development plan and cannot be affected by a subsequent amendment to a zoning ordinance or action by the planning commission when the landowner:
(1) Obtains or is the beneficiary of a significant affirmative governmental act which remains in effect allowing development of a specific project;
(2) Relies in good faith on the significant affirmative governmental act; and
(3) Incurs extensive obligations or substantial expenses in diligent pursuit of the specific project in reliance on the significant affirmative governmental act.
(e) A vested right is a property right, which cannot be taken without compensation. A court may award damages against the local government in favor of the landowner for monetary losses incurred by the landowner and court costs and attorneys' fees resulting from the local government's bad faith refusal to recognize that the landowner has obtained vested rights.
(f) Any subdivision or land development plan or plat, whether recorded or not yet recorded, valid under West Virginia law and outstanding as of January 1, 2010, shall remain valid until July 1, 2012, or such later date provided for by the terms of the planning commission or county commission's local ordinance or for a longer period as agreed to by the planning commission or county commission. Any other plan or permit associated with the subdivision or land development plan or plat shall also be extended for the same time period: Provided, That the land development plan or plat has received at least preliminary approval by the planning commission or county commission by March 1, 2010.