"The last large parcel in town capable of being developed." That is how Councilman Willy Steinmetz described the Friant property during Berryville Town Council's October meeting, as The Winchester Star reported. The land covers roughly 100 acres off Battletown Drive and Bel Voi Drive in northeast Berryville and wraps around the historic Bel Voi Manor and Farm.
If you're comparing Berryville with Frederick County or Loudoun, that sentence tells you something the listing photos don't. New homes are scarce in and around Berryville because of a rule Clarke County adopted in 1980. That rule sends nearly all new residential building into the town, and the town is close to running out of large tracts. The fight over the proposed Battletown Run subdivision is what that shortage looks like at a public hearing.
A rural home count that was set in 1980
In 1980, Clarke County adopted sliding-scale zoning. Every lot in the Agricultural-Open Space-Conservation and Forestal-Open Space-Conservation districts received a fixed number of dwelling unit rights, or DURs, and larger tracts received fewer rights per acre. Those two districts cover more than 90% of the county's land. According to the county's 2026 Rural Lands Plan, adopted August 18, 2026, the allocation chart has not changed since it was adopted.
Size of tract in 1980 | Dwelling unit rights assigned |
|---|---|
0 to 14.99 acres | 1 |
40 to 79.99 acres | 3 |
80 to 129.99 acres | 4 |
230 to 279.99 acres | 7 |
400 to 499.99 acres | 10 |
1,030 acres or more | 15 |
Under that chart, a 1,030-acre farm received 15 rights, or about one home site for every 69 acres. A 100-acre farm received four. The plan also says the total can't go up unless land is rezoned, which the county strongly discourages. The total goes down whenever an owner builds a house or puts land under permanent open-space easement and retires its rights.
That second way of shrinking the pool is significant here. As of October 2025, the plan reports nearly 30,000 acres of Clarke County in permanent conservation easement, placed there by the county's Conservation Easement Authority, other public agencies and charitable organizations. Rural lots that do get built are kept small on purpose, from 2 to 4 acres with an average of 3. The goal is to keep the rest of the farm in one large piece.
The rule that sends growth into town
The fixed count only holds because the county won't rezone around it. Rezoning rural land to a residential district is prohibited unless the property is in an area designated for annexation into an incorporated town. In the plan's words, "developers must direct projects to areas within the towns and town annexation areas." The plan names Berryville and Boyce as the growth areas, where public infrastructure can be provided efficiently.
The county's own population table shows the shift.
Period | Share of county growth in the towns | Share in rural areas |
|---|---|---|
1950 to 1980 | 13% | 87% |
1980 to 2020 | 65% | 35% |
In raw numbers, the county's town population went from 2,153 in 1980 to 5,323 in 2020, while the rural population went from 7,752 to 9,460.
The towns have limits of their own. The plan says maximum residential development in the towns is based on available water and sewer capacity. Berryville's water and sewer service generally reaches only town properties and parts of the jointly planned Annexation Area B west of town. In practice, new home construction in Clarke County mostly means what Berryville can serve with pipes and approve at a council meeting.
Three ways the Friant property could be built
The Friant property sits in Annexation Area B. It covers sub-areas 13, 14 and 15 of the Berryville Area Plan. Today it carries several zoning districts. A 34-acre Open Space Residential corner runs along Buckmarsh Run, a 7-acre Business Park strip lies next to the railroad tracks, and about 60 acres are zoned DR-1 and DR-2 detached residential.
The Christopher Companies of Fairfax County filed its rezoning request on September 25, 2025. It asked to rezone about 42 acres to DR-4, which allows four homes per acre. The Town's September 8, 2026 staff report compares that request with what the land could hold without it.
Scenario | Homes | Other uses |
|---|---|---|
Battletown Run as proposed | 134, with 110 on the rezoned western section and 24 by right on the eastern DR-1 section | None |
Only the Business Park strip rezoned to DR-4 | 94 | None |
By-right concept calculated by Dewberry Engineers in 2024 | 66 | 120,000 square feet of warehouse space on the Business Park portion |
The by-right scenario carries the most weight in this decision. A denial would leave the current zoning in place, and the Dewberry concept shows that zoning supports 66 homes plus warehouse space beside existing neighborhoods. At the October meeting, Steinmetz and Councilman Ryan Tibbens both raised concerns about the current zoning possibly allowing industry on the property someday. Tibbens called that "the worst possible outcome" because tractor-trailers would be driving through residential neighborhoods, according to The Winchester Star.
The plan's own home count was also revised during the process. The Berryville Area Plan assumed that a third of sub-area 15 was too steep to build on and listed 112 units there. The applicant's survey found only about 2.38 acres of slopes over 15 percent, which put the yield at 138. The Town's consulting engineers confirmed that analysis.
What the developer offered in exchange
Under Virginia law, a rezoning can come with proffers. These are conditions the owner offers voluntarily and the governing body may accept along with an approval. The proffer statement dated June 10, 2026 includes:
- A cap of 134 single-family detached homes, with no more than 110 in the rezoned area
- About 54.8 acres of open space, or 54.8%, compared with the roughly 35% required
- A tot lot, workout stations and a public trail system, all due by the time the 55th home is occupied
- A homeowners association responsible for common areas, trails and stormwater facilities
- $62,000 for schools, worked out with Clarke County Public Schools, and $9,254.19 for Town parks
- A sidewalk on the west side of Battletown Drive where right-of-way already exists, plus $50,000 held in escrow for five years toward the remaining sections
The developer would also build the water and sewer facilities and dedicate them to the Town. Steinmetz noted that the town could gain tap fees and regular utility customers. Even so, in prepared remarks he said he would vote to deny the rezoning as proposed, mainly because Battletown Drive would become the main exit for 110 homes.
Why the decision has been so hard
The Berryville Planning Commission recommended denial. Most commissioners said the subdivision would be too large for a town of about 5,000 people and for its infrastructure. At the September hearing, The Winchester Star reported that residents raised traffic from a nearby subdivision built recently and the local water table. One speaker said the water table was "as low as it's been for a long time." Some speakers also supported the plan. At the October hearing, one said the planned homes' quality "far exceeds" that of homes in other local subdivisions, and another called it "the best plan (put forward) so far for that area of land."
Berryville's zoning ordinance requires the council to act within a year of an application unless the applicant agrees to more time. On October 13, the council voted 4 to 2 to defer the decision again, with Steinmetz and Councilman Paul Perez voting no. The Town's hearing schedule set the matter for the November 10 meeting, with an action deadline of November 16, 2026.
What this means if you're comparing Berryville
All of this makes Berryville's housing supply more predictable than most. The rural count was fixed in 1980 and gets smaller each time a house is built or an easement is recorded. Town growth depends on utility reach and on council votes for a short list of parcels in Annexation Area B. When a parcel that size comes up, the council is choosing what kind of building goes there and how much of it.
For a buyer, that leads to a few practical points:
- New construction in Berryville comes from a small number of parcels. If you want a new home here, the timing of a few rezoning decisions shapes what's available.
- Existing homes make up most of the market. In a county that has capped rural home sites and conserved nearly 30,000 acres, most Berryville purchases will be resales.
- A rural lot's zoning history matters. Rural tracts carry a set number of dwelling unit rights under the 1980 system. If you're thinking about splitting a large property, ask the Clarke County planning office or a qualified attorney to confirm how many rights that parcel has left.
- Zoning on nearby land can change what goes up next door. The Friant property shows that the land beside a neighborhood can be zoned for business park uses as well as homes.
This post is general information about published county and town rules, not legal, tax or financial advice. Please confirm how any zoning or easement rule applies to a specific property with the county, the town or a qualified attorney.
FAQ
Can a rural Clarke County property get more dwelling unit rights? According to the 2026 Rural Lands Plan, no more DURs can be created through rezoning or other methods. Rezoning rural land to residential is prohibited outside town annexation areas.
Does county zoning apply inside Berryville? No. Under the county's zoning and subdivision ordinances, county zoning does not apply inside Berryville or Boyce. The county subdivision ordinance also excludes town limits and land designated for future Berryville annexation.
Where is Annexation Area B? The county plan places it west of town for water and sewer purposes. The Friant property in northeast Berryville is also inside it, as sub-areas 13 through 15.
If you're considering a home in Berryville, or wondering how the limited supply of new construction affects what your current home is worth, TGG Homes & Investments can go through the zoning, utility and supply details that apply to a specific property. Get your instant home valuation or schedule a consultation, and we'll walk you through how the Battletown Run decision and the 1980 rules affect your plans.
