Zoning Laws Are Looser for Some Family Ties

"I deal with a lot of farmers, good ol' boys. Why should they be punished . . . so someone in a million-dollar home can look out at a farm?" asked septic system designer Tom Basham of Nokesville, who consults for landowners who want to make family subdivisions.

Many of those subdivisions are clustered around Nokesville, where real estate agent Patrick Cowne grew up on property that his parents inherited through a family land transfer. "I don't know what my parents would have done," he said, noting that he has cousins benefiting from the loophole. "Do you know what it costs to get a decent home here?"

Cowne subscribes to the notion that the 10-acre rule has made farmland less valuable and unmanageable. "Ten acres is too much for a yard and too little for a farm," he said.

Jerry and Shari Jacobs, who raised their children on a small horse farm near Nokesville, said they decided years ago that family land transfers were the best way to help their children become homeowners. Plus, eight acres was too much for the couple to handle. "It took forever to mow it," Shari Jacobs said.

The new houses and their lots were all occupied by Thanksgiving. But the moves were 11 years in the making as the family tussled with the county over sewer and other issues, said Jerry Jacobs, a developer and financial consultant.

Jessica, 17, has a vacant lot awaiting her once she graduates from college and once the family can win another victory to get sewer to that lot, as they did for the others.

"You should be able to do what you want with your own property," said Shari Jacobs, 55.

Family subdivisions are a way of life that can take some getting used to, people who live in them said. It's easy to borrow a cup of sugar and trick-or-treating is a breeze, but privacy is an issue.

"If there are three cars in the driveway, there are questions, questions, questions," said Nick Jacobs, 29, a son of Shari and Jerry. "Sometimes, you don't always want them to know you're home."

But the financial advantage, the footing that Nick and brother Scott have received, balances the drawbacks of living so close to relatives, they said.

"When the idea came up, I didn't realize the financial benefit it would be to me," said Scott Jacobs, 27.

Jerry Jacobs said he told his sons not to go too crazy with personal touches. Although they have created a family subdivision, they also have to think about the future, he said.

"Everybody was smart enough to think about resale," Jacobs said. "What's the next person going to want when they buy?"