ZONING WORK SESSION Wednesday, July 09, 2003 Commissioners Present: Ms. Proulx, Dr. Walker, Mr. Brush, Ms. Hunt, Mr. Bruguiere (Absent: Ms. Russell, Mr. Hoffman, Mr. Giles) Supervisor Present: Ms. Brennan Staff Present: Mr. Boger, Mr. Carter, Mr. Bill Wanner (Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission) Mr. Boger began by noting that at the last work session Commissioners had asked that he review the uses associated with the Rural Residential Village and Rural and Farming. He said that he had problems with both and was not sure that they fit the intention of the Comprehensive Plan. He said that both districts are critical to the ordinance. Mr. Boger then turned the meeting over to Mr. Wanner, noting that he had also reviewed both the draft for both districts and would review cluster development to clarify the concept. Mr. Wanner said that his review of the Rural Residential indicated that it was not reflective of the Comp Plan goal of creating a middle ground between the higher density of the designated growth areas and the Rural and Farming areas. He noted that the Comp Plan's Future Land Use map identifies several Rural Residential areas and that in the context of the goals of the Plan, there were two possible scenarios for how those areas could develop. One possibility would be for an area that was entirely residential on the periphery of a village. He noted that smaller lots would be appropriate to this scenario with more affordable housing on relatively smaller parcels of land of 10-20 acres. In the second scenario, the development could be on a larger parcel of maybe 100 acres with a significant reserve of open space. Mr. Bruguiere said that the uses allowed in Rural Residential would be better in the Rural and Farming District, keeping the Rural Residential strictly residential. Mr. Wanner said that his reading of both districts showed them to be very similar. Mr. Bruguiere said that to combine the uses in the two districts would not work. Mr. Wanner said that there are basically two proposed options for this model - five 20-acre lots on 100 acres or 10 lots in a cluster development with significant land set aside for open space. He said that 5 homes on 100 acres does not allow for a future in farming. Mr. Bruguiere said that the open space, if not used, would be useless. Ms. Proulx said that the county could not tell people what they can do with the open space, that it would belong to the homeowner's association. Mr. Boger suggested that the group had been looking at the small things and that they are now at the point where Mr. Cox would need to come back to explain what is not working with the draft. He said that it would be difficult for staff to relay the Commissioners' thoughts. He noted that the two districts being discussed are critical to the ordinance. Mr. Boger suggested that the group would need to look at concepts and then have Mr. Cox refine and possibly rewrite sections. Mr. Bruguiere said that he was concerned with clustering homes on 1 ½-acre sites because of the soils in the county. Ms. Proulx asked Mr. Wanner for his thoughts on what approach might work for Nelson in the Rural and Farming Districts. Mr. Wanner said that it would be valuable to identify and protect good agricultural areas and prime soils. He said that the reality is that with low-density allowances, it would be expensive with 10-20 houses on 100 acres. He suggested that it should be incumbent on the developer to identify prime soils and areas to be creatively protected within a development. Mr. Wanner noted that Mr. Cox's draft proposed maximum rural clusters at 2 ½ acres and suggested that something closer to 5 acres would allow for the privacy of rural living. Ms. Proulx said that the county does not have a lot of prime agricultural land, as it is classically defined, suggesting that Nelson-specific values be used to make that determination. Mr. Boger reminded the group that Mr. Cox had provided a draft for review. The concepts and language would then have to be refined. Ms. Proulx asked Mr. Wanner if he could provide information on the purchase of development rights and suggested that the county begin looking at that while looking at the Rural and Farming District. Commissioners then discussed how to proceed. Mr. Boger suggested that Mr. Cox come back to allow the group to express their thoughts on the draft. Dr. Walker agreed but suggested that they get some thoughts from the Supervisors before Mr. Cox attended. Mr. Bruguiere said that three of the Supervisors had recently attended the Farm Bureau Legislative Meeting and told that group that the ordinance would change radically when it was presented to the Board. Mr. Bruguiere said that he personally did not like two of the districts and neither did the large landowners. Dr. Walker pointed out that there was no point in the Commissioners writing and writing only to find that changes were decided well in advance. Ms. Brennan suggested that the Board and Commissioners both meet with Mr. Cox as the two groups had never had a conversation about the controversial issues. Ms. Proulx and Dr. Walker said that they would like to know if the Board and Commission are not in agreement. Mr. Brush said that he would like to see the Commissioners reach consensus before a public hearing, regardless of whether the Board was in agreement. Mr. Bruguiere said that if you look at past history with the Comp Plan, very few changes were actually made by the Board. He noted that after two years of work, the Board changed the Subdivision Ordinance very little. Ms. Proulx said that her recollection of that process differed from Mr. Bruguiere's. Mr. Wanner suggested several meetings to develop consensus on the concepts to present to Mr. Cox. Mr. Brush suggested that they also work on aligning the district names with those in the Comp Plan. After discussion on how to proceed, Commissioners agreed by consensus to hold two meetings with Mr. Wanner to clarify the concepts before meeting with Mr. Cox. They also agreed to invite the Supervisors to both meetings. The next Zoning Work Session will be following the regular Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, July 23 at 7:30pm at the Courthouse. The August Zoning Work Session will be on Wednesday, August 20 at 7:00pm - location to be announced. Meeting adjourned. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This report, sent to over 550 Nelson County citizens, was made possible by the generous donations of Rural Nelson members and supporters. Kim T. Cash Field Officer Rural Nelson, Inc. P. O. Box 401 (622 Front Street) Lovingston, VA 22949 434.263.5000 Email: info@ruralnelson.org www.ruralnelson.org