Some highlights this week:

• Nelson County Supervisors will consider a new location for a new building to house the Department of Social Services and will have a public hearing on a special use permit to allow a new private school to use a temporary saw mill to build their new structure. 
• Greene County will consider restrictions on activities at farm wineries and breweries and will accept $750,000 in federal funds for improvements to a community park. 
• The Charlottesville Planning Commission will hold a public hearing for the first time in a while on a developer’s request to amend the location of some required affordable units. 
• Fluvanna County’s Planning Commission will have a public hearing on the creation of a new zoning district where utility-scale solar projects can go as well as the regulations for their placement. 
• Albemarle County’s Planning Commission will have a public hearing on a special use permit for a mixed-use building that is exactly what the Places29 Master plan called for when it was adopted in February 2011. 
• The University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors will meet this week, though details from agendas aren’t available at publication time. 
• There are no meetings in Louisa County.

Thanks as always to the Piedmont Environmental Council for their ongoing support of this Sunday edition of the newsletter. 

Monday, September 9, 2024

It’s a slow day!

• The Fluvanna County Economic Development Authority will meet at 5 p.m. in the Morris Room of the county administration building at 132 Main Street. (meeting packet)
• The Albemarle Places29-Hydraulic Community Advisory Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the media center at Greer Elementary School. On the agenda is a presentation on Housing Albemarle and affordable housing in the county. There is also a report on how Albemarle is progressing on the implementation of the strategic plan. (agenda)
• At 6 p.m. the Economic Development and Tourism Advisory Council will have their monthly gathering but at Pleasant Grove Park and not at the administration building. There will be updates on efforts to build gateway signs as well as planning efforts to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. (meeting packet)
• The Albemarle County Fire and Emergency Medical Services Executive Committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the Fire Rescue Conference Room 2 at 460 Stagecoach Road, Suite F. One item on the agenda is a discussion of a new policy on medication. (agenda)

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Nelson Supervisors to consider new location for social services building, temporary sawmill

The five members of the Nelson County Board of Supervisors will meet in both an afternoon and an evening session. They gather in the General District Courtroom in the Courthouse in Lovingston. (meeting info) (agenda packet)

The afternoon session begins at 2 p.m. 

In addition to approval of the recent minutes, the consent agenda contains a resolution for a budget amendment which includes information about a refund Nelson has to make to the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice. Details on the budget amendment begin on page 35 of the agenda.  

That refund pertains to a $10,364 payment from the state for services in FY2024 related to the incarceration of youth offenders. According to a certification form reported to the state, Nelson County only used $7,171 of the funding and now has to pay the state back $3,395 back. 

“Additional funds for FY2025 may not be released to your locality until the FY2024 unexpended funds are returned,” reads an August 16, 2024 letter from the Department of Juvenile Justice to Nelson County. 

The consent agenda also includes a real property tax refund of $3,319.97 to a resident of Faber. 

There will also be a proclamation for Patriot Day. Take a look at the details on page 69. 

Under presentations, the Virginia Department of Transportation will give their monthly report. That’s not in the packet. 

That will be followed by a departmental report from Parks and Recreation which is in the packet.

“We received great feedback from the Pickleball community on the newly painted lines at Rockfish Valley Community Center,” reads that report. “It was well received and our Sunday group was very thankful to not have to repair and replace tape.”

Over 6,000 people visited the Blue Ridge Tunnel in August. 

Then, David Blount of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission will update the elected officials on what happened in the 2024 General Assembly. 

Then there are two proposed work orders for Supervisors to consider. One is for a company to to work on amendments to the zoning and subdivision ordinance. That company is the Berkley Group, the same firm that worked on the update of the Comprehensive Plan. The Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors had a kick-off meeting on the zoning ordinance in late August. The scope of work has a cost estimate of $143,556 according to a handwritten note on a May 13, 2024 letter from the Berkley Group to Nelson County Planning Director Dylan Bishop. 

The other work order is an amendment to the contract for the design of the new building to house the Department of Social Services. On August 13, Supervisors authorized the purchase of 37 Tanbark Place in Lovingston for $775,000, an adjustment to a previous plan to locate the structure on Callohill Drive. Further investigation of that option revealed the need to remove a lot of rock to prepare the site for development. 

The existing building at 37 Tanbark Place was originally constructed in the 1970’s as a grocery store. 

“This location for DSS keeps them within Lovingston proper and adjacent to the local Community Services Board, which provides a higher level of convenience to citizens utilizing these services,” reads the staff report. 

There are other financial adjustments to the agreement related to connecting to a water main for a sprinkler system. For anyone interested in a well-written narrative of what it takes to repurpose a building, take a look at what PMA Architecture produced.

Supervisors will then go into closed session to discuss litigation regarding the Region 2000 Services Authority. 

The evening session begins at 7 p.m. and features two public hearings.

The first is for a special use permit for the creation of a new sawmill to assist in the construction of St. Dunstan’s Academy, a new Anglican boarding school planned for Roseland. The school itself is a by-right use, but construction of equipment to harvest timber for the project requires a special use permit. 

“The mill is a portable band saw mill that can be moved around our property,” reads a handwritten application from headmaster Thomas Fickley. “Harvesting and utilizing our own timber fits within our County’s agricultural nature, and fits well especially given how large and secluded our property is.” 

A letter Fickley wrote to an adjacent property owner is also in the meeting packet. 

“If we don’t use our own sawmill, we would have to bring in logging trucks to remove our logs and then have our trucks deliver the sawn timbers back to the property as well,” Fickley wrote. “Timber-framing and forestry are important parts of our program and we are following a timber-management plan designed by a professional forester to allow us to protect, cultivate, and sustainably use our forests.”

The second is for consideration of a new agricultural and forestal district in the Montebello / North Fork area that would include 58 properties totaling 2,418 acres. 

“An agricultural/forestal district provides stronger protection from development pressures for farmers and other open space landholders than does agricultural zoning,” reads the Nelson County website. “Unlike agricultural zoning, which for all practical purposes encourages low-density residential sprawl, districts discourage land uses not in keeping with agricultural, forestral or open space land uses.” 

Greene Supervisors to seek restrictions on farm wineries, farm breweries

The five members of the Greene County Board of Supervisors will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the county meeting room in the administration building in Stanardsville. They will meet in closed session first and the public session begins at 6:30 p.m. (meeting agenda)

After the usual starting items of the meeting, there will be a public hearing on revisions to the noise ordinance related to animal sounds. (staff report)

There are two presentations. The first is from David Blount of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission on the legislative program for the next General Assembly session. (report)

The second is on an operations plan for the county administration building. This information is not in the meeting packet. 

One item on the consent agenda is an appropriation of $750,000 in grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Greene County Community Park. 

“The funds are to be used by the Greene County Parks and Recreation Department for capital improvements to Greene County Community Park, including paving the parking lot, adding lighting to the parking lot, bringing the water line to the park, creating an overflow lot, winterizing the concession stand, and putting in an electronic entrance gate,” reads the resolution. 

Supervisors will also vote to authorize county staff to pursue grant state funding for the county’s Emergency Medical Services department. 

“Greene County Emergency Medical Services (GCEMS) began operation in October 2020 after the University of Virginia terminated their contractual service for 911 response,” reads the staff report. “Shortly thereafter, the volunteer rescue squad closed their operation as well.”

The county is seeking $196,612 from Virginia’s Rescue Squad Assistance Fund for six Lifepak monitor defibrillators, two infusion pumps, three LUCAS chest compression devices, and three ventilators. If funded, a fifty-percent match is needed from the county. 

There are three discussion items.

The first is related to proposed revisions of county code to provide additional tax relief to the elderly and disabled. (view the current code)

The second is over a potential revision to the county’s zoning ordinance related to farm wineries and farm breweries. Supervisors asked for this on August 27, 2024 after denying a request from a winery to have an event venue that exceeds 4,000 square feet. (staff report)

At least one Supervisor wants to take away perceived discretion that the zoning administrator has to permit “customary uses” for such places. This will likely set up a future legal challenge between the county zoning and a state law that makes farm wineries and farm breweries permitted uses by-right. 

The third is a resolution of intent to give the Board of Supervisors approval of subdivisions where over 20 lots would be created as well as approval of site plans for projects approved by special use permit. Fans of land use law may want to keep this one in the back of their minds as well. 

Fluvanna PC to hold public hearing on new solar zoning district 

The Fluvanna County Planning Commission will meet at 6 p.m. for a work session followed by a regular meeting at 7 p.m. (meeting packet)

The work session will include discussions of amendments to the zoning code related to the uses of pet crematoriums, inoperable vehicles, animal training facilities, and regulations for subdivisions. There’s no staff report, but there is a page that has five pictures.

The regular session will include two subdivisions being applied for under the rural cluster provisions. One is for the creation of 21 lots on 76 acres in the Fork Union District to the southeast of Lake Monticello. The other is for the creation of 67 lots on 205 acres in the Cunningham District. Water for the first subdivision would be provided by Aqua Virginia with a proposed 45,000 gallon storage tank. 

Under unfinished business there will be consideration of a site development plan for the South Boston Convenience Store. The item was deferred at the August 13, 2024 meeting. 

“This would be for a gas station, convenience store, car wash, and commercial space located between the Tractor Supply Company store and Town and Country Self Storage on South Boston Road,” reads the staff report. 

The plan anticipates development on half of the 21 acre parcel and the report mentions the possibility of part of the land being used for a future rescue squad building. 

There will also be a public hearing on the creation of a solar zoning district that would allow for construction of utility-scale solar generation facilities as well as supplemental regulations they would have to follow. 

Under this provision, the maximum size for any facility would be 500 acres and the total acreage allowed to be under panel in the county would be 5,400 acres, or three percent of the total land mass. 

Charlottesville PC to have old-fashioned public hearing on 240 Stribling amendment

The Charlottesville Planning Commission will meet at 5 p.m. for a pre-meeting in the Neighborhood Development Services conference room followed by a regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. that will be held in CitySpace. (meeting info) (agenda) (agenda packet)

In this space I have a request of the city. The city uses CivicPlus to deliver agendas and meeting information to people who want them. There exists a function to separate items in the “meeting overview” section which allows people to get to the item they want. Items at City Council are available in segments, whereas the Planning Commission packet is one .PDF file. 

When I’m at home, this works fine. But when I’m in a hotel and the packet is 247 megabytes in size, it is quite difficult to view. I would encourage city staff to use the existing functions on CivicPlus to make the information more accessible. 

Anyway. The meeting will begin with the election of officers. The consent agenda includes the site plan for the Verve, a 12-story building at the intersection of Emmet Street and Jefferson Park Avenue. 

The main item on the agenda is the Commission’s first public hearing in some time. Southern Development is seeking an amendment to the previous proffer related to the rezoning for 240 Stribling. That project will see 170 units built on about 12 acres of land that’s currently undeveloped. The terms of the zoning required 26 units to be designated as affordable, and Southern Development wants to build eight of those at another project called Flint Hill. I wrote about this for C-Ville Weekly back in June. 

The new Development Code adopted by the City Council in December 2023 reduces the role the Planning Commission plays in site development plans as more residential density is allowed by-right across the city. This public hearing is being conducted under the old rules. 

There is also a special exception request for 113 West Main Street as well as a briefing on a new electronic meeting participation policy. The special exception is to allow a fence on a primary street, which West Market Street qualifies as. 

“The owner of West Main Apartments intends to take a little-used Market Street loading area to create a common outdoor amenity area for their residents,” reads the narrative written by the Gaines Group. 

Albemarle PC to hold public hearing on mixed-use building on Woodbrook Drive

The Albemarle Planning Commission will meet at 6 p.m. in Lane Auditorium for a meeting. (meeting info) (agenda)

An item to bring a manufactured home park in Crozet into compliance and add 53 new units is seeking deferral to December 10, 2024. I was going to write this up for C-Ville Weekly this week and this is where I candidly say I have no idea what I’m going to write but I’ll come up with something on that long train journey. 

There will be a public hearing for a special use permit for a mixed-use building at 615 Woodbrook Drive. The applicant is a dentist’s office that wants to redevelop the site with a new building with commercial space for the practice on the ground floor with 15 residential units on the three stories above. This was the subject of my C-Ville Weekly article from May 15, 2024. (read the article) (staff report)

There is also a public hearing for a special use permit to expand the assisted living facility run by Our Lady of Peace. Perhaps this may be this week’s C-Ville Weekly piece? Stay tuned. (staff report)

In other meetings:

• The Albemarle Police Advisory Committee will meet at 9 a.m. in the county’s office building at 1600 5th Street in Room B. (meeting info)
• The Charlottesville Electoral Board will meet at 6 p.m. at 120 Seventh Street NE Room 142. (meeting info)
• The Fluvanna County Parks and Recreation Advisory Board will meet at 4:30 p.m. Where? And what about? Neither is listed on the meeting calendar. (meeting info)
• The Charlottesville Sister Cities Commission will hold its annual retreat at the University of Virginia Equity Center at 201 West Main Street at 5 p.m. There is no published agenda. (meeting info)

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

There are no high-profile meetings on this day. They were all on Tuesday this week. Here’s what is going on: 

• The James River Water Authority will meet at 9 a.m. at the Fluvanna County Administration Building at 132 West Main Street. There’s no packet listed. (meeting info)
• The Crozet Community Advisory Committee will meet at 7 p.m. in the Crozet Library. One item on the agenda is a presentation on capital projects being planned by Albemarle County Public Schools.  (meeting info) (agenda) 
• The University of Virginia Board of Visitors begin their quarterly meeting with the full board gathering at 5 p.m. in the Rotunda to discuss athletics. The packets for committee meetings are not yet available. (meeting info)

Thursday, September 12, 2024

Another day this week where I offer bulleted points rather than a full list. This is because as of this writing, the packets are not available for the University of Virginia Board of Visitors meeting. This is the first full meeting for five new members. Take a look at who they are in this article I wrote on July 3. 

In the meetings:

• The Places29-North Community Advisory Committee will meet virtually at 6 p.m. giving anyone a chance to observe what happens. (meeting info) (agenda)
• The Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority will have a work session at 6 p.m. at 605 East Main Street in City Council Chambers. The agenda is not posted in the CivicPlus calendar. (meeting info)
• The University of Virginia Board of Visitors meeting continues all day with the Health System Board in the morning at the Boar’s Head Resort followed by other committees in the Rotunda in the afternoon. (meeting info)

Friday, September 13, 2024

Charlottesville Historic Resources Committee to meet

The Charlottesville Historic Resources Committee will gather in the Neighborhood Development Services Conference Room in City Hall at 11 a.m. for their monthly meeting. (agenda)

One of the updates they will get at the end of the meeting is on the VA250 project to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. All over Virginia, localities are preparing to mark the occasion but this is perhaps one of the first times this group has this on their agenda. 

The online news site Cardinal News is providing content for the statewide commemoration if you’d like to take a look and see what others are doing. 

There will also be discussions of the walking tour maps that have recently been released, as well as further discussions of descendant community related to commemoration of the slave trade in Court Square. Last week, committee member and Memory Project director Jalane Schmidt presented to City Council. 

There will also be discussion of historic markets for Johnson Elementary School, the Carver Inn, and Court Square. 

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This post was contributed by Sean Tubbs. Sean is a journalist working to build a new information and news outlet centered around Charlottesville and Virginia. In 2020, he launched a daily newscast and newsletter and also created a semi-regular podcast on the pandemic.

Support for Sean’s “Week Ahead” update comes from The Piedmont Environmental Council.