VA Supreme Court Holds Cluster Development Plans Required to be Reviewed by County Planning Commission

In an appeal from a circuit court’s decision that cluster development plans submitted by two developers were not subject to review by a county’s planning commission under Code § 15.2-2232 and Code § 15.2-2286.1, the judgment is reversed. In this instance, the two properties at issue are not located within an area designated for water and sewer service. By its plain terms, Code § 15.2-2286.1(B) does not apply, and therefore Code § 15.2-2232, which requires the developers to submit their plans to the planning commission for review, is applicable. Prior approval of different plans for these developments, several years earlier, did not change the master plan, and did not obviate the needed review. The case is remanded for a review of the revised plans under Code § 15.2-2232 by the county planning commission.

Stafford County v. D.R. Horton, Inc., 2021 WL 1220736 (VA 4/1/2021)