Site plan review is intended to insure proper design in types of development which can have deleterious effects on their surroundings. These effects are subject to modification or reduction through the physical design of such development. Review of the design, therefore, is aimed at the greatest possible benefit to the community as a result of building and site design.

(Ord. of 7-21-09(2))

When the zoning administrator determines that an application involves development requiring site plan review, the zoning administrator shall notify the applicant that such review is required and shall require the documentation listed in this article. The site plan will be one (1) of three (3) categories; a plot plan, minor site plan or major site plan, as described in this article. If a site plan can be categorized under more than one (1) type of plan, it shall be reviewed under the most stringent requirements. The major and minor site plan review process shall involve review by the development review committee. Site plans that are submitted as a permitted use can be reviewed and considered for approval by staff. Site plans that are non-permitted uses will be considered for approval by the Planning Commission.

(Ord. of 7-21-09(2); Ord. No. 2021-0005, § I, 4-20-21)

1103.01. A plot plan shall be submitted, prior to the approval of a zoning permit, for any new or expanded development not requiring a minor or major site plan and subject to the plan provisions under Section 1104 of this article.

1103.02. The following types of development shall be subject to the site plan review provisions under Section 1104 for a minor site plan of this article:

1.

Additions to an existing commercial or industrial structure and to an existing institutional facility such as schools, hospitals, churches and clubs where the addition is less than twenty (20) percent of the square footage of the existing structure;

2.

A proposed revision to a site plan where an existing major site plan is on file;

3.

Non-commercial wind turbines as specified in Section 918; and

4.

All development requiring a commercial entrance permit from the Virginia Department of Transportation.

1103.03. The following types of development shall be subject to the site plan provisions under Section 1104 for a major site plan of this article:

1.

All new commercial and industrial facilities, including off-street parking;

2.

Additions to existing commercial or industrial facilities and all new institutional facilities such as schools, hospitals, churches and clubs where the addition is greater than twenty (20) percent of the existing structure;

3.

Mobile home parks;

4.

Residential projects with more than four (4) units in one (1) building or on one (1) lot;

5.

Planned unit developments;

6.

A change of use that requires the addition of ten (10) or more parking spaces;

7.

Any development requiring public water and/or sewer connections for more than four (4) units;

8.

Wireless communication facilities; and

9.

Townhouse development projects.

(Ord. of 7-21-09(2); Ord. No. 2015-0011, § 2, 11-17-15)

The following requirements shall govern documents submitted for site plan review:

1104.01. Plot plans shall be legibly drawn and shall clearly indicate the area, shape and dimensions of the property proposed for development. All existing easements, natural water courses, and existing and proposed improvements shall also be shown on the plan. The plan shall clearly indicate the minimum distances between existing and proposed uses and all property lines. Proposed access to the property shall also be shown.

1104.02. The following requirements shall govern documents submitted for minor site plan review:

1.

The scale shall be no less than one (1) inch equals to one hundred (100) feet. The zoning administrator or planning director may accept a scale which is sufficient to clearly show all required details on the plat.

2.

Drawings may be submitted on paper size as small as eleven (11) inch by seventeen (17) inch (11" × 17") if all notes are clearly legible.

3.

The names and addresses of owner, developer, a scale and north arrow shall be included on all maps.

4.

The following information shall be included on the map of existing conditions:

a.

Names and addresses of owners of record of all adjacent properties and tax map numbers;

b.

Current zoning boundaries, including surrounding to a distance of three hundred (300) feet;

c.

Easements, rights-of-way, or other reservations affecting the property;

d.

Topography and flood plain elevation, if applicable;

e.

Location of watercourses, marshes, rock out-cropping and wooded areas;

f.

Location of buildings existing on the tract to be developed indicating whether existing buildings on the tract are to be retained, modified or removed;

g.

Location of existing water mains, culverts, drains, pipe sizes, grades and direction of flow; and

h.

The location of mapped dam break inundation zones and their impact on the development.

5.

The following information shall be included on the map of proposed development:

a.

Signature blocks for the zoning administrator, or his/her designee, Virginia Department of Transportation, Health Department and Amherst County Service Authority, when applicable;

b.

Location and size of proposed buildings and uses thereof;

c.

Proposed streets and other ingress and egress facilities (indicating curb lines, sidewalk lines and public right-of-way lines); meeting the Minimum Standards of Entrances to the State Highways;

d.

Layout of off-street parking;

e.

Location of proposed utility lines, indicating where they already exist and whether they will be underground;

f.

Proposed planting, including all landscaping and screening per Section 1602, and indicating existing trees to be retained and areas to be left undisturbed;

g.

Facilities for disposal of trash and other solid waste;

h.

Elevations of buildings to be built or altered on-site; and

i.

All private waste disposal systems including their reserve areas shall be located on the same property as the building site that the private waste disposal system benefits. If mass drain fields are present they shall meet provisions of Section 1104.03(3)(m);

6.

Any site plan proposed in the V-1, Village District shall provide architectural elevations of each side, of all new or structurally altered building;

7.

The planning commission may require additional information for a special exception or rezoning to determine its eligibility under this ordinance.

1104.03. The following requirements shall govern documents submitted for major site plan review according to the scope of the request:

1.

All the information required of minor site plan in Section 1104.

2.

Drawings shall be prepared by a professional engineer, land surveyor or architect registered by the State of Virginia, submitted on twenty-four by thirty-six inch (24" × 36") paper. One (1) or more pages may be used, each to be numbered as "page (number) of (total number of pages)", if two (2) or more pages are used, each sheet shall show the name of the project, and match lines shall be provided to indicate where the several sheets join.

3.

The following information shall be included on the plan of the proposed development:

a.

In the case of the project being served by public utilities or within a Watershed District a signature block for the Amherst County Service Authority;

b.

Erosion control measures as regulated by the county's Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Ordinance;

c.

Proposed topography;

d.

Vicinity map at a scale no smaller than six hundred (600) feet to one (1) inch, showing all streets and property within one thousand (1,000) feet of the property for which the application is made. All properties owned or controlled by the applicant in this area shall be identified;

e.

Location, size and design of proposed signs;

f.

All special site plan requirements of Section 710 must be shown for those portions of the property located within any primary or secondary watershed district. This information shall include tributary buffer strips, drain field and reserve drain field spaces, reservoir setbacks and buffer strip restriction statements, minimum septic tank maintenance standards and storm water management facilities;

g.

Floodplain elevations if applicable;

h.

Delineation of easements per Section 1301.06;

i.

Proposed storm and sanitary drainage systems, both surface and subsurface, showing pipe sizes, grades flow and design loads;

j.

Proposed location, direction of, power, time and use of outdoor lighting;

k.

Elevations of buildings to be proposed or altered on site;

l.

Profiles and cross-sections of streets;

m.

Sidewalks per Section 606;

n.

When a mass drain field is included as part of a site plan, the following statements are required:

(I)

For purposes of this ordinance, sewage disposal systems which serve more than one (1) property or meet the following definition, are considered mass drain fields:

A sewage disposal system which will discharge effluent to a single absorption area or multiple areas with or without combined flows such that:

(A)

The loading rate exceeds one thousand two hundred (1,200) gallons per day for any acre, or

(B)

The disposal system contains more than two thousand (2,000) linear feet of percolation piping.

(II)

Any site plan for a mass drain field serving a land development that is considered by the Development Review Committee (DRC) shall be submitted to and subject to the approval of the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). The director of planning or zoning administrator shall not approve the development of the property in question until the department of health has approved the mass drain field site and dedicated reserve drain field area(s), and all subsequent provisions of this ordinance are complied with.

(III)

No site plan shall be approved for a mass drain field unless the permit includes an approved primary drain field and an approved reserve drain field or such additional area or appurtenant easement capable of providing one hundred (100) percent of the capacity of such primary drain field. Each septic tank shall have manhole access to the downstream access portal. The manhole access shall terminate at the ground surface, and shall not be less than thirty (30) inches in diameter. The access manhole cover shall be a standard sanitary sewer manhole frame and lid, or a secured shoebox type cover. Additionally, each septic tank shall have a factory manufactured septic tank effluent filter installed on the outlet tee.

(IV)

No site plan shall be approved for a mass drain field unless the development is subject to a Covenant of Record in the land records of the Amherst County Circuit Court Clerk's Office, requiring owners of property in the development to connect to a public sewer system should it become available on the property or an immediately adjacent easement or right-of-way at a later date.

(V)

Any site plan including a mass drain field system shall be limited to the size and capacity required to serve the principal use explicitly described in the permit application and to which the mass drain field is appurtenant.

(VI)

Any replacement system shall be limited to the size and capacity required to serve the existing principal use, and shall not be further expanded unless and until a revised permit has been approved by the VDH.

(VII)

Further, the zoning administrator, or their designee shall not approve the development of the subject property unless the following statements are included on the site plan:

1.

No shrubbery or trees are permitted within the primary and reserve mass drain field area, or within twenty (20) feet of the mass drain field easement.

2.

No vehicular traffic, parking, or paving are allowed over the mass drain field or reserve drain field, except for traffic of the mowers or tractors necessary for ground cover maintenance.

3.

A ground cover of grass over the mass drain field and reserve drain field area should be mowed a minimum of twice per year, to prevent the establishment of tree seedlings.

4.

The VDH advises that all septic tanks should be pumped a minimum of once every five (5) years, to prevent the passage of solids into the mass drain field and potential damage to the system.

5.

No structures including temporary ones may be placed within the mass drain field primary or reserve system sites.

6.

The VDH requires prompt repairing or replacement of any of the mass drain field system components which fail, or otherwise cease to function.

(Ord. of 7-21-09(2); Ord. No. 2013-0016, § 1, 1-27-14; Ord. No. 2015-0011, § 2, 11-17-15; Ord. No. 2022-0009, § 1, 8-16-22)

For those permitted uses not requiring special site plan review under Section 1103 of this ordinance, two (2) copies of an acceptable site plan with such reasonable information shown thereon shall be submitted to the zoning administrator along with the zoning permit application. Such site plan shall include, as a minimum, the following: lot dimensions with property line monuments located thereon, location and size of existing and proposed structures; yard dimensions and the use of structures; easements (private and public); watercourses; fences; street names and street right-of-way lines; and such other information regarding abutting property as directly affects the application.

(Ord. of 7-21-09(2))