COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 342
(By Senators Snyder and Unger)
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[Originating in the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure; reported March 23, 2009.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §17-4-50 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the requirements for new
subdivisions in relation to highway access.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17-4-50 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. STATE ROAD SYSTEM.
§17-4-50. Same -- Commissioner's authority as to new subdivisions;
notice of proposal to subdivide; filing, approval or
disapproval of subdivision plans.
(A) (a) In addition to other authority granted the
commissioner to control access to state highways, the commissioner
shall have authority in regard to the subdividing of land
, any part
of which abuts upon a state highway, as provided in this section.
(B) (b) For purposes of this section, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(1) "Lot" means an identified area of land one acre or less in
size.
(2) "Subdividing" means the dividing, laying out or separating
of five or more lots from or within a parcel of land or a
successive dividing, laying out or separating of lots resulting in
the creation of five or more lots within a parcel of land within
five years.
(3) "Subdivision plan" means a graphic representation of a
parcel of land showing the lots therein and any other relevant
natural or man-made topographical feature.
(4) "Parcel" means an identified area of land owned by a
person or owned by a combination of persons jointly or in common;
or more than one identified area of land where such areas are
contiguous and the owners act in concert in relation to such land.
(C) (c) Subdividing occurs and a subdivision results within
the meaning of this section whenever:
(1) A person subdivides five or more lots from a parcel at one
time; or
(2) A successive division of lots out of a parcel results in
the separation of the fifth or subsequent lot within a five-year
period; or
(3) A person divides a parcel into tracts of land larger than
a lot knowing, or having reason to know, that such parcels will in
turn be divided or separated into a total of five or more lots.
(D) (d) The remedies provided by this section shall not apply
to lots which became such prior to the effective date of this section, but such lots may be considered in determining when an act
of subdividing occurs after the effective date of this section, and
in reviewing subdivision plans and applying remedies to lots which
became such after the effective date of this section.
(E) (e) The subdivision plans of the subdividing of any land
,
a part of which abuts on a state highway, shall be submitted to the
state road commissioner,
or his or her designee directly, and the
following rules shall apply:
(1) Notice of the proposal to subdivide shall be filed with
the commissioner
or his or her designee, along with a plan of the
proposed subdivision.
(2) The commissioner
or his or her designee, shall review the
plan to insure compliance with the policies stated in section
forty-seven of this article and with any regulations issued by the
commissioner under section forty-eight of this article.
(3) The commissioner
or his or her designee, shall reduce his
or her objections to the proposed
point of access to and from the
state highway
, whether directly or indirectly, from and to the real
property that is to be subdivided into lots, if any, to writing and
promptly furnish notice of such objections to the person proposing
such subdivision and of his right to demand a hearing thereon. A
subdivision plan not so objected to within six weeks from the time
it is filed with the commissioner shall be deemed to have been
approved by the commissioner.
(4) In any case where the commissioner so objects to the
proposed access to and from a new subdivision plan, the person submitting such plan shall have reasonable opportunity for a
hearing on such objections.
(F) (f) A subdivision is deemed disapproved if it was not
submitted to the commissioner
or his or her designee, for review
under the provisions of this section or if the commissioner
or his
or her designee, has made timely objection to such plan and such
objections have not been withdrawn. Disapproval shall have the
following effect:
(1) The commissioner may post signs upon the adjacent highway
right-of-way stating that the subdivision is disapproved, that
access to and from lots in such subdivision from and to the state
highway is not allowed, and any other relevant information deemed
by the commissioner necessary to warn the public of such
disapproval and its effect; and
(2) The commissioner,
or his or her designee, shall have
authority to limit access to and from such subdivision as a whole
from and to the state highway to such access as would have been
reasonable before the land was subdivided and to prevent and
prohibit any other access to and from the state highway from and to
such subdivision.
(g) In a county having an actively operating planning
commission, that planning commission or the county commission may
approve permits for the establishment or construction of a
subdivision only if the commissioner prior to issuance of the
permits reviews and approves of the traffic impacts which are
projected to result from establishment or construction of the subdivision.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to update the requirements
for a new subdivision to access a road in the State Highway System.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.