No Lot Size Ordinance Any More in Stafford, VA

"For months, Stafford County officials have wrestled with a zoning ordinance that would require a minimum buildable lot area for agriculturally zoned parcels. It finally died yesterday when the Board of Supervisors opposed the ordinance with a 4-3 vote. Supervisors Joe Brito, Paul Milde, Mark Dudenhefer and Cord Sterling voted to deny.

The ordinance would have required a 10,000-square--foot area--excluding drain fields, resource protection areas and 25 percent slopes--to build a house. Depending on the point of view, the ordinance was either designed to protect the soils and environment of Stafford County, or unfairly reduce lot yield in subdivisions.

"What problem is this solving?" Milde asked. "I don't think the government should be micromanaging like this."

One of the problems it would solve, according to Supervisor Harry Crisp, was soil erosion."