Chap. 369.—An ACT to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a new chapter
numbered 211-A and nine new sections numbered from 5222-a to 5222-i, both
inclusive, all of which sections are embraced in such new chapter, the object
of which is to provide for the regulating by the governing bodies of counties,
cities, and towns, of the subdivision of lands within their territorial limits or
adjacent thereto, into lots, streets and alleys and other public areas; to pro-

- vide for the making and recording of plats of such subdivisions, and certain
certificates with respect thereto; to provide how such regulations and plats
shall be approved, and how such plats may be vacated; and to repeal sections
5217, 5218, 5219, 5220, 5221 and 5222 of the Code of Virginia, and Chapter
150 of the Acts of Assembly of 1922, approved March 10, 1922, and Chapter
468 of the Acts of Assembly of 1924, approved March 21, 1924, relating to the
same matters, and all acts amendatory thereof, or of any part or parts thereof.

[H B 358]
Approved March 28, 1946

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia be amended by adding a new chapter
numbered two hundred eleven-A and nine new sections numbered from
fifty-two hundred twenty-two-a to fifty-two hundred twenty-two-j, both
inclusive, which new chapter and new sections are as follows:

CHAPTER 211-A
Subdivisions of Land

Section 5222-a. The laws embraced in the following sections of
this chapter constitute, and may be cited and referred to as “The Vir-
inia Land Subdivision Law”, and shall be liberally construed to ef-

ectuate its purposes, including ‘the authorization of the governing bodies
of the municipalities and counties to adopt regulations to assure the
orderly subdivision of land, and its development ; and the term “govern-
ing body”, as used in any of the sections of this chapter, means the gov-
erning body of the municipality or county, as the case may be, unless the
context requires some other meaning.

Section 5222-b. (a) From and after the effective date of regula-
tions adopted under the provisions of this chapter, any owner or proprie-
tor of any tract ef land who subdivides the same as herein provided, shall
cause a plat of such subdivision, with references to known or permanent
monuments, to be made and recorded in the office of the clerk of the
court of the municipality or county wherein deeds are recorded, and in
which county or municipality the land so subdivided lies.

(b) Before the powers granted by this chapter may be exercised by
any municipality or county, the governing body thereof shall adopt regu-
lations governing subdivisions within its territorial limits, and authorities
of planning as provided in this chapter. Such regulations may provide for
the size, scale and other details of the plat to be recorded, for the har-
monious and economic development of the municipality or the county, for
the coordination of streets within the subdivision with other existing or
planned streets within the region in question, for adequate open spaces for
traffic, recreation, light and air and for a distribution of population and
traffic which will tend to create conditions favorable to health, safety,
convenience and prosperity. Such regulations may require monuments
of specific type to be erected, establishing street and property lines. Such
regulations may provide that unless any such plat shall be filed for
recordation within sixty. days after final approval thereof, such approval
shall be withdrawn and the plat marked void and returned to approving
official.

_ (c) The governing body shall not adopt or amend any regulation
under the provisions of this chapter unless and until notice of intention
so to do has been published once a week for two successive weeks in
some newspaper published, or having general circulation, in such county
or municipality. Such notice shall specify the time, not less than ten
days after final publication as aforesaid, and place, at which persons
affected may appear before the governing body and present their views.

Section 5222-c. (a) When such regulations have been adopted, a
certified copy thereof and all amendments thereto shall be filed in the of-
fice of the engineer or other official of the municipality or county, desig-
nated in such regulations, and in the office of the clerk of the circuit or
corporation court of the county or municipality where the land or any
part lies, and in which clerk’s office deeds are recorded. No such plat or
subdivision shall be recorded unless and until it shall have been sub-
mitted to and approved by the governing body of the county or munici-
pality, as the case may be, wherein the land so subdivided is located, or
such official or board including the local planning commission as such
governing body designates in such regulations.

(b) After the effective date of the regulations permitted and adopt-
ed under the provisions of the preceding section, no clerk of any court
shall file or record a plat of a subdivision required by this chapter to be
recorded until such plat has been approved as required by the preceding
paragraph of this section. Where no regulations have been adopted, such
plat or plats may be recorded without such approval.

(c) Beyond the corporate limits and within a distance of five miles
therefrom of cities having a population of one hundred thousand or more,
and beyond and within a distance of three miles from the corporate limits
of cities having a population of less than one hundred thousand, all ac-
cording to the last preceding United States census, and within a distance
of two miles from the corporate limits of incorporated towns (except that
where the corporate limits of two municipalities are closer together than
the sum of the distances from their respective corporate limits as above set
forth, in which event the dividing line of jurisdiction shall be halfway
between the limits of the overlapping boundaries), the governing body
of any such municipality may adopt subdivision regulations both within
its corporate limits and within the distance therefrom, as above defined;
provided that no such regulations shall be finally adopted by such munici-
pality until the governing body of the county in which such area is located
shall have been duly notified in writing by the governing body of the
municipality or its designated agent of such proposed regulations, and
requested to review and approve or disapprove the same, and if such
county fails to notify the governing body of such municipality of its dis-
approval of such plan within forty-five days after the giving of such no-
tice, such plan shall be considered approved. The governing body of any
county may adopt regulations for subdivisions in the unincorporated area
of the county, provided that whenever the governing body of a county
desires to adopt subdivision regulations in the county area of municipal
jurisdiction located within the county, then such county may proceed to
adopt subdivision regulations in such area, except that no such regula-
tions shall be finally adopted for such area by such county until the gov-
erning body of the municipality adjoining the same shall have been noti-
fied in writing of such proposed regulations, and requested to review and
approve or disapprove the same, and if such municipality fails to notify
the governing body of such county of its disapproval of such regulations
within forty-five days after the giving of such notice, the same shall be
considered approved. In either event where a disagreement arises be-
tween the county and municipality as to what regulations should be adopt-
ed for the area, and such difference can not be amicably settled, then aft-
er ten days prior written notice by either to the other, either or both par-
ties may petition the circuit court of the county wherein said area or a
major part thereof lies to decide what regulations are to be adopted, which
court shall hear the matter, and enter an appropriate order.

Section 5222-d. In any political subdivision for which regulations
requiring approval and recordation of plats have been adopted, when-
ever an owner or proprietor of any tract of land therein desires to sub-
divide the same, he shall submit a plat of the proposed subdivision to the
governing body of the municipality or its designated agent, when the
land involved lies wholly within the corporate limits, or to the governing
body of the county or its designated agent when the land involved lies
wholly within the unincorporated area of the county, beyond the area sub-
ject to control of the governing body of any municipality. When any
part of the land involved lies within an area subject to the joint control
of the governing bodies of a county and a municipality, the plat shall be
approved by both such governing bodies, or their designated agent ; and
if such bodies, or such agents, fail to approve the proposed plat within
thirty days after it has been submitted for approval, either party may, after
ten days’ written notice to the other party, pétition the circuit court of
the county in which the land involved, or the major part thereof is located,
to decide whether the plat should or should not be approved, and the
court shall hear the matter and make and enter such order with respect
thereto, as it deems proper ; provided that when the regulations affecting
any such area have been adopted by either the county or the municipality
without having been approved or disapproved by the other, as provided
in this section, then the plat shall be submitted to the other party for ap-
proval or disapproval, and if such other party fails to disappreve such plat
within forty-five days after the giving of such notice, the plat shall be
deemed to be approved. Every such plat shall be prepared by a surveyor
or civil engineer duly licensed by this State, who shall endorse upon each
such plat a certificate signed by him setting forth the source of title of the
owner of the land subdivided, and the place of record of the last instru-
ment in the chain of title. When the plat is of land acquired from more
than one source of title, the outlines of the several tracts shall be indi-
cated upon such plat.

Section 5222-e. Every such plat shall contain, in addition to the
surveyor’s or civil engineer’s certificate provided for, a statement to the
effect that the above and foregoing subdivision of (here insert a correct
description of the land subdivided) as appears in this plat is with the free
consent and in accordance with the desire of the undersigned owners,
proprietors, and trustees, if any, which shall be signed by the owners,
proprietors and trustees, if any, and shall be duly acknowledged before
some officer authorized to take acknowledgment of deeds, and when thus
executed and acknowledged said plat, subject to the provisions herein,
shall be filed and recorded in the office of the clerk of court where deeds
are admitted to record for the lands contained in the plat, and indexed
under the names of the owners of lands signing such statement, and
under the name of the said subdivision.

Section 5222-f. The recordation of such plat shall operate to trans-
fer, in fee simple, to the respective counties and cities in which the land
lies such portion of the premises platted as is on such plat set apart for
streets, alleys, easements, or other public use and to create a public right
of passage over the same; but nothing herein contained shall prevent
the persons who set apart such land for streets and alleys, their heirs
and assigns, where otherwise they have the right so to do, from erecting,
putting down and maintaining gas or water pipes or electric lines along
or under the portions so set apart. They shall not, however, obstruct or
hinder the passage over such streets or alleys further than is reasonably
necessary while laying down, erecting or repairing such work, pipes,
wires and fixtures.
642 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY [va., 1946

Any such plat or part thereof may be vacated with the consent of the
governing body or its designated agent of the county or municipality
where the land lies, by the proprietors thereof, at any time before the
sale of any lot therein, by a written instrument, declaring the same to
be vacated, duly executed, acknowledged or proved and recorded in the
same clerk’s office wherein the plat to be vacated is recorded, and the
execution and recordation of such writing shall operate to destroy the
force and effect of the recording of the plat so vacated and to divest all
public rights in, and to reinvest such proprietors with the title to the
streets, alleys, easements, and public grounds laid out or described in
such plat. In cases where lots have been sold, the plat or part thereof,
may be vacated upon the application of all the owners of lots in said plat
and with the approval of the governing bodies of any county or munici-
pality, or both, where the plat has been approved by both, and their ap-
proval shall be obtained as provided herein for the approval and recorda-
tion of the eriginal, and shall not be vacated otherwise.

Section 5222-g. The clerk in whose office any plat so vacated has
been recorded, shall write in plain legible letters across such plat, or
the part thereof so vacated, the word ‘‘vacated”, and also make a refer-
ence on the same to the volume and page in which said instrument of
vacation 1s recorded.

Section 5222-h. If any clause, sentence, paragraph or part of this
chapter shall for any reason be adjudged by a court of competent juris-
diction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate
the remainder of this law, but shall be confined in its operation to the
clause, sentence, paragraph or part thereof directly involved in the con-
troversy in which the judgment shall have been rendered.

Section 5222-i. This chapter shall become effective July one, nine-
teen hundred forty-six, provided that during a period, not to exceed
ninety days, from and after such effective date, local governing bodies
may adopt interim ordinances providing temporary regulations for the
laying out, development or approval of subdivisions coming under their
respective jurisdictions, as provided in this chapter, or for preventing
the laying out or development of subdivisions until the rules and regula-
tions provided for under this chapter become effective. :

2. Sections fifty-two hundred seventeen, fifty-two hundred eight-
een, fifty-two hundred nineteen, fifty-two hundred twenty, fifty-two hun-
dred twenty-one, and fifty-two hundred twenty-two of the Code of Vir-
ginia, and chapter one hundred fifty of the Acts of Assembly of nineteen
hundred twenty-two, approved March ten, nineteen hundred twenty-two,
and chapter four hundred sixty-eight of the Acts of Assembly of nine-
teen hundred twenty-four, approved March twenty-one, nineteen hun-
dred twenty-four, and all acts amendatory of said Code sections or any
of them, and all acts amendatory of said chapters or either of them, or
any part or parts thereof, are hereby repealed.