The following email alert was sent out on August 29, 2016 regarding proposed design standards for development in Barboursville:
Orange County
PEC’s Orange County office supports our land use and land conservation activities in the County. PEC is dedicated to promoting healthy communities and the preservation of Orange’s rural character, environment and historic resources.
Down the River and Through the Woods
A partnership between PEC and The Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia has created new opportunities for Orange County youth to experience the natural environment and history of the surrounding region.
Orange Update — Dec 2014
Text from our Dec 2014 Member Newsletter:
Grymes School is partnering with Chesapeake Natural Heritage, Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and PEC to design and secure public and private funding for a native meadow planting, approximately 13 acres in size, located on the edge of the Town of Orange.
It’s Time (Once Again) to Speak Up for Orange County!
Back in October, facing a packed public meeting room, the Board of Supervisors decided to postpone their vote on a new vision that calls for more sprawling residential and commercial development in Orange. The Board said they'd take the issue up at their December 17th meeting, and that date is fast approaching! If passed, the proposed Comprehensive Plan would threaten the County's agricultural character, lead to more traffic along Rt. 20, Rt. 15, and Rt. 3 — and ultimately, result in higher taxes. This text was taken from an email sent out on December 13, 2013.
A County in Denial
By designating thousands of agriculturally zoned acres for mixed use and economic development, county officials claim they are attempting to balance the tax base. But this denies experience—no county has ever grown it’s way to lower taxes. Just look at some of Virginia’s most developed counties. They all have higher tax rates than in Orange.
Orange County Considers Major Changes to its Comprehensive Plan
The draft being considered is a severe departure from Orange’s current Comprehensive Plan, creating brand new classifications such as Town Suburban Residential and recommending expanded commercial activities both south of Orange on Route 15 and along most of the Route 3 corridor (including lands within the Wilderness Battlefield National Park along Route 20).
Orange County Planning Commission Hearing Summary, May 2nd
Last night, the Orange County Planning Commission voted unanimously to table the Comprehensive Plan in order to address some of the comments they had received from the public. Over thirty people spoke with the vast majority calling for a plan that recognized the agricultural nature and beauty of the County. Concerns raised included, the lack of public input, methodology used to create the future land use map, designation of Route 20 and 15 as Potential Economic Development, an agricultural designation (A-2) geared for residential development, and a vision statement that allows for development to trump agriculture.
Hearing this Thursday: Orange Unveils Sprawling Vision
As I mentioned last month, the Planning Commission has released a draft plan for the future of Orange County that takes a startling turn from the plan previously approved by residents of Orange. It includes a map that lays out what the county would look like in 2035 — including major development along Route 20 and increased residential and commercial development on agriculturally zoned land, among other things.
Making matters worse, they scheduled the public information session (where people are supposed to learn about the proposal) on the same night as the public hearing (where people are supposed to weigh in on the proposal). This text was taken from an email alert we sent out on April 30th, 2013.
Orange County Unveils Sprawling Vision
Just last week, the County Planning Commission put out a pretty shocking map. The maps and accompanying lays out what Orange would look like in 2025 — including major development along Route 20 and increased residential and commercial development in agriculturally zoned land, among other things. This text is from an email alert sent out on March 29th, 2013.
Signature Station Rezoning
Taxpayers asked to subsidize developer profits for speculative rezoning – 230 townhomes and 220,000ft2 of commercial retail.