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Property request · variance

Wanda V. Wachter: allow a structure (Tax Map Parcel #4-B(6)-29 & 30 at 493 &503 Judith Sound Road)

  1. Board of Zoning Appeals hearing (county’s record, Jul 1)Jul 1

  2. Board of Zoning Appeals decides (county’s record, Jul 1)Approved, unanimously · Jul 1

A step the records show opens the record itself.

About the Board of Zoning Appeals

In plain words

Wanda V. Wachter, owner, asked for a variance to the Northumberland County Zoning Ordinance, Article V, Section 148-49.1 The request would allow a structure less than the required 35 foot minimum setback on property zoned R-2, Residential Waterfront.1 The property is Tax Map Parcel #4-B(6)-29 & 30 at 493 &503 Judith Sound Road.1 Joel Pennix, agent for Wanda Wachter, described vacating lot lines to create one larger parcel, demolishing two old dwellings and building one new dwelling.2 Michael Baughan made a motion to approve the request, John Hendrickson seconded it, and the Board unanimously voted to approve.2

Summarized from the county’s records, September 29.

Where each sentence comes from
  1. “a request by Wanda V. Wachter, owner for a variance to the Northumberland County Zoning Ordinance, Article V, Section 148-49” … “to allow a structure less than the required 35 foot minimum setback on property zoned R-2, Residential Waterfront” … “The property is located on Tax Map Parcel #4-B(6)-29 & 30 at 493 &503 Judith Sound Road.”The matter as the records title it
  2. “Joel Pennix, agent for Wanda Wachter, described the project as vacating lot lines to create one larger parcel and demolishing two old dwellings and constructing one new dwelling” … “Michael Baughan made a motion to approve the request . John Hendrickson seconded the motion. The Board unanimously voted to approve.”Jul 1, 2025 · Board of Zoning Appeals · In the minutes

Written automatically from the county’s records. Each sentence has to quote the record it comes from, word for word, or it’s left out. The records have the final say.

The official wording

The Board then heard a request by Wanda V. Wachter, owner for a variance to the Northumberland County Zoning Ordinance, Article V, Section 148-49 to allow a structure less than the required 35 foot minimum setback on… Show all

The Board then heard a request by Wanda V. Wachter, owner for a variance to the Northumberland County Zoning Ordinance, Article V, Section 148-49 to allow a structure less than the required 35 foot minimum setback on property zoned R-2, Residential Waterfront. The property is located on Tax Map Parcel #4-B(6)-29 & 30 at 493 &503 Judith Sound Road.

Zoning districts here

  • R-2 · Residential WaterfrontWhat the ordinance says it’s for
    “The purpose of this district is to protect the water and shorelines of the County by providing for safe and orderly shoreline development. In this district, residential, recreational and conservancy uses are permitted as are a limited number of commercial uses that would be compatible with the residential character of the local (or immediate) area.”
    Zoning Ordinance § 148-46

Words the law defines

  • Variance
    “‘Variance’ means, in the application of a zoning ordinance, a reasonable deviation from those provisions regulating the shape, size, or area of a lot or parcel of land or the size, height, area, bulk, or location of a building or structure when the strict application of the ordinance would unreasonably restrict the utilization of the property, and such need for a variance would not be shared generally by other properties, and provided such variance is not contrary to the purpose of the ordinance.”

    Code of Virginia § 15.2-2201, Chapter 22. Planning, Subdivision of Land and Zoning

What’s happened

  1. Tue1Jul

    Board of Zoning Appeals · a vote

    ApprovedWanda V. Wachter: allow a structure (Tax Map Parcel #4-B(6)-29 & 30 at 493 &503 Judith Sound Road)

    After reviewing the request and site plan for the new dwelling and there having been no objections regarding the size and placement of the dwelling, Michael Baughan made a motion to approve… Show all

    Moved by Baughan, seconded by Hendrickson

    Minutes, Jul 1Open it in the meeting →

Meeting by meeting, newest first, in the records’ own words. Each vote names the minutes it’s written in.

The records

Gathered from Northumberland County’s agendas, minutes and notices. Checked October 26.

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How a variance is decided

A variance lets an owner depart from a specific zoning rule, such as a setback or frontage requirement, on one property.

The Board of Zoning Appeals decides variances after an advertised public hearing. State law sets the standard it must apply.

The law: Va. Code § 15.2-2309 (Powers and duties of boards of zoning appeals); Va. Code § 15.2-2204 (Advertising public hearings). This describes the general process, not this decision.