Planning Department

• Department Overview
• New Subdivision Ordinance Adopted
• Placement of Directional Real Estate Signs
• Temporary Expediting Option for Preliminary Site Plan Review Is Being Extended
• Community Meeting Guidelines
• Hanover's Customer Service Initiative
• Comprehensive Plan Update 2012

Department Overview

The Planning Department provides staff support to the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, including reviewing and providing recommendations on all land use matters presented to the Commission and Board. The Department also provides staff support to the County's Architectural Review Board, Board of Zoning Appeals, and Historical Commission. The Department reviews plans of development for compliance with various County ordinances and is responsible for enforcement of the County's Subdivision and Zoning Ordinances.
 
David Maloney is the Acting Director of Planning. John Bender is the Deputy Director of Planning. Planning Department personnel can be reached by calling (804) 365-6171.

New Subdivision Ordinance Adopted

As part of its FY2011 Initiatives, the Board of Supervisors directed Planning Staff to undertake a comprehensive review of the Subdivision Ordinance. As outlined by the Board, this review was to be a technical update of the Ordinance, focusing on clarifying procedures and making necessary revisions to bring the Ordinance into compliance with provisions of State Code. Possible changes that would modify current policies were not part of the review process, but these items were identified for consideration at a future date.

Major revisions to the Ordinance include a comprehensive reorganization to make the process more transparent and regulations easier to find, updates to the bonding process to be more responsive to current financial practices and the lending environment, and clarifications to the preliminary plat, construction plan, and final plat processes. As part of the update, changes to the RS, Single Family Residential, RM, Multi-Family Residential, and MX, Mixed Use Districts were adopted in order to move certain landscaping and bonding provisions into the Zoning Ordinance.

The Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance 11-09 on September 14, 2011 and it replaced the previous Subdivision Ordinance as of that date. A copy of the newly adopted Ordinance can be found at New Subdivision Ordinance. The Municipal Code web site, which maintains on-line ordinances for the County, will be updated in the future.

Placement of Directional Real Estate Signs

The County has adopted requirements for the placement of directional real estate signs that are used to promote the sale of homes. These new requirements allow for temporary non-illuminated signs, not more than six square feet in area, located on a property at an intersection, directing the public to houses for sale, provided that:

• Such signs may only be placed with the written permission of the owner of the property, if the owner of the sign is not also the owner of the property on which the sign is being placed, and such writing shall be presented to the County immediately upon request;
• Such signs may not be placed in the right-of-way or within the sight distance triangle at each road intersection;
• Only one such sign is permitted for each street frontage; and
• Such signs may be placed no earlier than 3:30pm on Friday afternoon and removed no later than 7:00pm on the immediately following Sunday evening.

Please be advised that placement within the VDOT right-of-way is prohibited and will result in a fine of no less than $100 per sign. In addition, no signage can be attached to utility poles, trees, street signs, or any other unapproved structure. If you have any questions please contact Tim Wilson, Code Compliance Officer for the Hanover County Planning Department at (804) 365-6171.

Temporary Expediting Option for Preliminary Site Plan Review Is Being Extended

In an effort to help support our partners in the business community during the current economic downturn, Hanover County is offering developers and businesses a temporary expedited review process for site plans. The program which began in April, 2010, is being extended through December 21, 2012.

The expedited review process will be offered while the reduced review workload makes it practical for the County to adjust its resources. The expedited process would shorten the County staff review/comment period by one week on the first submittal, and the staff/developer meeting would be moved up approximately two weeks.

When you submit your site plan, staff will ask if you wish to take advantage of the expedited review schedule. If you are delivering your plans by courier or some other second party and wish to have the review expedited, you may do so with a transmittal slip or letter. The transmittal slip or letter should contain your name and contact information so that staff can verify your request.

The expedited process may not be the best choice for every project. If you have questions as to whether the expedited process may be best for your project, you are invited to call Mary Pennock, the Project Manager in the Planning Department, as well as Mike Nannery and/or Randy Hardman, the Engineering Managers in Public Utilities and Public Works, respectively. The pre-application meeting, which the majority of applicants utilize, is also an excellent time to discuss this option and whether to choose this program at the time of formal submittal.

This extension is tentatively scheduled to run through the December 21, 2012 site plan application deadline. That timeline could be subject to change depending on workload. The 2012 review schedules are available here.

Community Meeting Guidelines

It is often recommended that applicants who file a zoning application for rezonings, Conditional Use Permits, or Special Exception Permits arrange a community meeting with surrounding property owners. These meetings are particularly necessary for complex rezoning applications or cases with significant community interest. Hence, the Board of Supervisors has adopted Community Meeting Guidelines intended to assist applicants in organizing and hosting community meetings.

Hanover's Customer Service Initiative

Hanover County’s Development Review team is implementing its new customer service initiative. Our team will help you get through the process, deal with the regulations, find solutions to your problems and meet your timelines. You will have case managers who will help you from beginning to end and we have added a new Project Manager who will seek to resolve all of your problems. Tell us where you need to be, and we will help you get there.

Our team will place more focus on customer service by clearly communicating the process and greater use of the County's web page. Check out the Plan of Development Review web page for site plan, subdivision, and erosion & sediment control review proess flowcharts, revised Plan of Development Review Schedules, and site/construction plan acceptance criteria. We are also expanding our use of internal automated permit information systems for departments that are involved in development review process.

All projects will be reviewed within 30-45 days. If needed, a meeting will be set up about two weeks after the initial comments have been given. This will allow you and your engineer to review the comments with individual departments and begin resolving issues immediately. You can waive this meeting if you think that it is not needed.

For projects that require a re-submittal, our team will review and respond within 7-10 working days if the project is smaller or "routine" (see sample schedule) and within 15-20 working days if the project is larger or more "complex" (see sample schedule). We will respond to any subsequent re-submittals within 7-10 days. Some minor revisions to plans will be reviewed within two business days.

Gretchen Biernot at the Planning Office (365-6171) can help you schedule a pre-application meeting when you are ready. Mary Pennock is Hanover County’s Project Manager. If you have questions or problems, please call her at 365-6171.