The Planning Commission voted Oct. 8 to forward proposed amendments to the subdivision ordinance that would permit the subdivision administrator to grant certain family-subdivision variances for personal or family hardships without requiring the historical multi-board approval process.

Planning staff explained the draft ordinance would amend subsection 155-3(b) to allow the administrator to relax criteria in 155-18(b)(1), (2) and (5) when the applicant demonstrates a personal hardship that has arisen since the owner acquired the property and would result in substantial hardship rather than mere inconvenience. The change is intended to preserve a long-standing practice in which family subdivision variances for personal reasons were granted administratively or by the Board of Supervisors, and to align the ordinance text with administrative authority created earlier in the year when state code changes altered approval roles for plats and variances.

A public commenter, Roland Barr, described a personal hardship: he wants to build next to his 84-year-old mother to care for her and said the administrative change would provide predictability and fairness for similar family situations. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about differences in existing subsections (including ownership periods and limitations for trust-held parcels) and discussed appeal routes: denial of a subdivision plat could be appealed to circuit court; there is no intermediate appellate board for subdivision variance denials but the Board of Supervisors appoints the subdivision agent and can exercise appointment authority if concerns arise.

Commissioners found the proposed amendments appropriate for public necessity, convenience and general welfare and voted to forward the draft ordinance to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation of approval.