AGENDA DATE: 4/20/2022
TITLE:
Title
Public Hearing to Consider a Stillhouse Ridge Rural Preservation Boundary Line Adjustment
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Public hearing to consider approving a boundary line adjustment to correct the location of a 2005 open space land use easement across Tax Parcel ID 85-29A9, known as the Stillhouse Ridge Rural Preservation Tract
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Walker, DeLoria, Clark
PRESENTER (S): Richard DeLoria
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: The County approved the Stillhouse Ridge Rural Preservation Development in 2005. The approval required the dedication of a tract of at least 40 acres to perpetual open space use. The owner granted the County and the ACEA (formerly the Albemarle County Public Recreation Facilities Authority) a conservation easement over a 40.134-acre tract (the Preservation Tract) by deed dated November 10, 2005 (Attachment A).
The Stillhouse Ridge Subdivision Plat prepared in 2004 identified an encroachment by the neighboring property (Crisler Property) involving the corner of a house and a private driveway to Plank Road (Attachment B, Sheet 3 of 3). Regarding the encroachment, the owner of the Preservation Tract sent a “letter to the owner of the house at the time but did not receive a reply. [He] was not concerned with that small piece as traditionally the creek had been understood as the boundary,” according to the owner’s email of January 20, 2021.
The Rural Preservation Development was reviewed and approved without mention of the encroachment in the public record. It should have been corrected then, prior to final approval, upon the exercise of due diligence. The ACEA agreed on December 9, 2021, that this is subject to correction, and authorized its Chair to execute necessary documents (Attachment C).
STRATEGIC PLAN: Rural Area Character - preserve the character of rural life with protected scenic areas and historic sites
DISCUSSION: The new owner of the Preservation Tract, the Daniel Living Trust, plans to exercise its right to construct a dwelling on the property. The trustees discovered the encroachment and wish to correct it to remove any potential defect in the title, which will allow them to secure financing. They agreed with their neighbor to adjust the boundary line to eliminate the encroachment while maintaining the Preservation Tract’s qualifying acreage. Thus, the boundary line adjustment will shift 6,656 square feet of land from the Preservation Tract to the Crisler property and will shift an equal area of land from the Crisler property to the Preservation Tract, shown in Attachment D. The adjustment to the Preservation Tract is open, unimproved land that will increase the conservation values. Virginia Code § 55.1-609(G) and Virginia common law permit parties to correct error in deeds that “vary from the actual understanding of the parties at the time it was entered.” 1977-1978 Va. Op. Atty. Gen. 124. Here, the prior Preservation Tract owner notified the neighbor of the encroachment with the intent to correct it. All other parties to the development were on notice of the encroachment by virtue of the survey plat, but none raised it or addressed it. The oversight should have been corrected in the exercise of due diligence. A public hearing is necessary pursuant to Virginia Code § 15.2-1800(B), as this correction involves the disposal, albeit a corrective exchange, of the County’s interest in real property.
BUDGET IMPACT: No impact on the budget is expected.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Board adopt the attached Resolution (Attachment E) to approve the Stillhouse Ridge Rural Preservation Boundary Line Adjustment.
ATTACHMENTS:
A - 2006 Deed of Easement to the County and PRFA
B - Stillhouse Ridge RPD Subdivision Plat
C - ACEA Motion Approving Correction dated December 9, 2021
D - Deed of Boundary Adjustment and Corrected Deed of Easement
E - Resolution