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2018 SESSION
18105794DBe it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 28.2-600 and 28.2-601 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 28.2-600. Riparian planting ground assignments; eligibility; fee.
A. Any owner of land bordering on a body of water in
the oyster-growing area of this the Commonwealth whose shore
front measures at least 205 feet 105 feet or more at the
low-water mark, and who has not had as much as one-half
one-quarter acre of ground already assigned him on the front, or whose
lease has terminated and is not to be renewed, within his riparian
waters may apply for up to one-quarter acre of planting grounds to
the Commissioner. Any such owner whose shore front measures 205 feet or more
at the low-water mark and who has not had as much as one-half acre of ground
already assigned him within his riparian waters may apply for up to one-half
acre of planting grounds to the Commissioner.
B. The Commissioner shall assign to him the
owner of land, pursuant to subsection A, such ground wherever the owner may
designate within his riparian waters, provided the ground does not encroach
into an existing oyster-planting ground lease assigned under Article 2 (§
28.2-603 et seq.) of this chapter. In the Lynnhaven River and its
tributaries, the Commissioner shall assign such ground or any portion of such
ground only when the assignment is in the public interest. The fee for such
assignment shall be $1.50. Such ground shall not exceed one-half acre,
and the recording fee for such assignment shall be $12. No assignment of as
much as one-quarter acre shall be less than 52 feet wide along the shore,
beginning at low-water mark, and no assignment of more than one-quarter acre
shall not be less than 105 feet wide along the shore, beginning at
low-water mark, extending out. Such assignments shall extend not
more than 210 feet from the low-water mark, or to the middle
edge of the channel or the middle of the body of water, whichever is
the shorter distance.
C. The grounds shall be surveyed, plotted, marked,
assigned, and recorded as provided for assignments to persons in Article 2 (§
28.2-603 et seq.) of this chapter. Any riparian assignment that was duly
recorded in the clerk's office of the county or city where the grounds are
located, or at the Commission office prior to July 1, 1986, shall continue in
effect.
§ 28.2-601. Riparian assignments; entitlements; obligations.
The riparian leaseholder shall have the exclusive right to the use of such ground for planting or gathering oysters and clams.
The assignment made pursuant to § 28.2-600 shall pass with the
transfer of the adjacent highland to the subsequent owner of highland and cannot
be held separated from the highland. A transfer of highland ownership shall
require a transfer of the riparian assignment within eighteen 18
months after the transfer of the highland ownership under the following
conditions:
1. The application for transfer shall be in the form prescribed by the Commission and shall be filed with the Commissioner.
2. The Commissioner shall require a new survey if there is not a survey of the exact parcel or parcels of grounds to be transferred.
3. For grounds in the Lynnhaven River and its tributaries, the Commissioner shall approve an application for transfer only if the transfer is in the public interest.
4. The cost of any new surveys required under this section shall be borne by the person making the transfer, and the cost and fees shall be the same as for surveys of general oyster-planting ground.
4. 5. The application shall be accompanied by a
transfer fee of five dollars.
5. 6. The Commissioner shall return the approved
application for transfer and plat with any correction to the applicant. A copy
of the transfer and plat shall be recorded at the Commissioner's office.
6. 7. If no application for transfer is received
by the Commissioner within eighteen 18 months after the transfer
of the highland ownership, the riparian assignment shall become vacant and open
to assignment.