Commissioners deny small‑lot rezoning application for Augustine Properties over plan inconsistency

At the April 20 meeting the board considered Augustine Properties’ request (RZ‑2026‑00002) to rezone a roughly half‑acre parcel on Richardson Road from RA40 to R15 to permit a subdivision of an undersized lot. John Wear, senior planner, and county staff described the property’s history and said the lot had been created by deed around 2004 (not through the planning department’s subdivision process) and that a prior mobile home had been removed years earlier, ending its nonconforming status.

County staff recommended denial, saying the requested rezoning conflicted with the comprehensive plan and noting the lot did not meet RA40 minimum lot-size requirements. The planning board had recommended approval at its February meeting on a 6–1 vote. During discussion staff noted aerial imagery showing a mobile home on the parcel through the mid‑2000s but that the structure was gone by 2016, and cautioned that the current half‑acre would not meet RA40 standards.

A commissioner moved to deny the rezoning petition and to adopt the consistency and reasonableness statement for denial; the motion passed on a roll call (“I”) and the petition was denied at the meeting.

County staff explained that a successful rezoning would have allowed the applicant to pursue a minor subdivision to legalize the lot, but because the parcel had not been created through the required planning process and no mobile home has occupied the site for nearly a decade, the earlier nonconforming status could not be reestablished.