Upcoming: - Monday, November 29 PLANNING COMMISSION ZONING WORK SESSION 7:30pm Courthouse - Tuesday, November 30 PLANNING COMMISSION ZONING WORK SESSION 7:30pm Courthouse - Wednesday, December 1 RURAL NELSON MEETING 7:30pm at the office at 622 Front Street, Lovingston. Program: "Protecting Gateway Communities". - Thursday, December 2 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY 4:00pm Courthouse ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLANNING COMMISSION Wednesday, November 17, 2004 All Commissioners present. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT/ASHLEY'S MARKET - Mr. Barry Patrick has requested a permit to add 1,484 square feet of office space at the attic level to the market. The convenience store is being renovated to add additional retail sales space and the office space. The renovation will add 18 parking spaces to the parking lot. The business is located at 6445 Rockfish Valley Highway in Afton. With no public comment, Commissioners voted 5-0 (Dr. Walker absent for this vote) to recommend approval. PRELIMINARY SUBDIVISION PLAT/"DUTCH CREEK SUBDIVISION" - The applicant, Mr. Ray M. Pennington, III, Home Run LLC of Harrisonburg has submitted a plat to divide 216 acres into 86 lots. The minimum lot size is 2.0 acres to be served by individual wells and septic systems. The property is located on Rt. 639 north of Elma. Mr. Boger noted multiple problems with the information submitted including the following: - the topographic data shown is misleading and does not accurately show the impact of existing conditions with significant slopes on the property; - the floodplain is shown but lists the watercourse as Dutch Creek rather than as a tributary of Dutch Creek; - the plat shows 86 lots, but there are actually 87 including acreage across the abandoned railroad line; and - the plat does not show the existing dwelling, ruins of two other dwellings; all of the existing streams or the existing easement for the electric line on the property. Mr. Boger also noted that the roads in the proposed subdivision must be paved as required for Class II roads by the Subdivision Ordinance, that soil work must be submitted to the Health Department showing that each lot can support a drainfield plus a 100% reserve area and that an E&S plan would be required. He suggested that, given the density of the proposed subdivision, the developer should consider providing open space and recreational areas for the residents. He also suggested that utility services for the development should be underground. Mr. Boger also reported that there is also a boundary line dispute on one section of the proposed development. Mr. Pennington said that he and his partners live in Front Royal and Harrisonburg and that he owns a place at Wintergreen. He agreed that there is a property line dispute on approximately ½ acre and said that he would leave that out of the plan if the dispute could not be settled. He agreed that he would have to work with VDOT on approval. He said that he felt that VDOT would require a new alignment at the intersection of Rt. 642 and Rt. 639, but that his engineers believed it would be workable. He said that the proposal is for what is allowable under the current zoning ordinance but that he would work backwards on the density if he had to. He said that he had sped this project along as he was well aware that a new zoning ordinance is in the works. He said that the dry hydrant would probably be located centrally in the subdivision and that he might want to utilize a central water system for the hydrant. Ms. Russell commented that there are many things not necessarily required for preliminary plat approval, but that would affect the number of lots being requested. She said that what has been presented is not complete and does not comply. She said that she could not begin to consider the project without the applicant becoming more familiar with the requirements. During Public Comment, Mr. Andy Wright of Dutch Creek Lane, said that the proposal is a disaster. He noted that it not only fails to meet the needs of the county, but that the size and density is completely incongruous and incompatible with the rural area in which it would be located. He said that not only would it adversely affect everyone along Laurel Road from Shipman to Rt. 6, but everyone in the county who would have to spend their tax dollars to subsidize this developer's profits after they have flipped the property and moved on. He noted the project as a perfect example of the county's lack of protections against opportunistic, inappropriate and ill-conceived development. Mr. Wright said that the county will require additional school classrooms, teachers, school buses and emergency services for 86 new households. He noted that nearby residents, some with hand-dug wells, will find their water supplies in jeopardy as 86 new wells try to draw from the same source. Mr. Wright noted concerns with 86 new septic systems on 200 acres on a slope that drains down to the largest tributary of the Rockfish River south of the confluence of the north and south forks. To put the proposal in context, Mr. Wright said that the Shipman Post Office rural routes currently serve 528 households and that this project by itself would increase that number by over 16%. He noted major concerns with the lack of planning for steep slopes and flood plains on the site. Mr. Wright said that this proposal is precisely the kind of opportunistic development that the citizens of Nelson intended to prevent when they supported the Comprehensive Plan adopted just over two years ago. Mr. Robert McSwain, Dutch Creek Lane, noted violations of the county's Subdivision Ordinance, including Sections 5-4A and 4-7B. In addition, he said that the plat fails to include or address 22.927 acres across the abandoned railroad line that is part of the same tax parcel. He said that the plat fails to show five streams and additional intermittent watercourses, noting that four of the streams would be crossed by a subdivision road. He noted that a tributary of Dutch Creek, mislabeled on the plat as Dutch Creek, has floodplain areas not marked on the plat. Mr. McSwain noted that the plat fails to show derelict buildings or the existing road to the cemetery and Powell homestead. He noted that the cemetery (.047 acres) is included as part of the minimum 2.0 acre size of lot 66. The plat of record and deed conveying the property to Homerun LLC state that the cemetery is reserved to the heirs of W.A. Powell for their access and use. He also said that the back entrance to the subdivision onto October Lane (Rt. 763) is unacceptable - that although the width and surface could be significantly upgraded by proffer - the line of sight at the intersection with Rt. 639 would be very dangerous. Mr. Chapin Wilson, Laurel Road and adjoining landowner, said that his boundary with the subdivision would be approximately 3,000 feet, for which there is no boundary line agreement. He noted that he owns some of the land being represented to the Commission as lots in Home Run LLC's Dutch Creek Subdivision, with 12 lots potentially affected by the boundary line dispute. He asked that the Commissioners reject the proposal. Ms. Janet Cabrerra, adjoining landowner, said that her property is a part of the boundary dispute but not even shown on the site plan. She said that the applicant might be building on her land without an agreement. She expressed concerns about water and asked that the project be denied. Ms. Sue Selden, who lives across from the proposed project, said that her land has been in the family for hundreds of years and noted that what the board plans and zones, the whole county must then live with. She said that this is not the kind of development we need and that it is a bad plan. She asked that the project be denied. Mr. Grover Wade, Laurel Road, expressed opposition to the project and asked that the county reject the plan as ill conceived. He said that the proposed zoning ordinance is a wonderful plan and needed. Mr. Wade said that we need orderly, planned growth with protection for surrounding property owners. Ms. Janet Hunter, Schuyler, said that she lives 1.5 miles downstream from the proposed development and is concerned about the effects of this development on the Rockfish River. She said that this project, the densest subdivision in Nelson, would create an estimated 4.25 acres (at approximately 2,145 sq ft per lot) of impermeable surface right next to a tributary to the Rockfish River and would contribute to the contamination of the Rockfish River. Mr. Gordon Koerner, Brownings Cove, said that he is in favor of subdivisions and wants the county to grow to improve the life of the citizens and anyone who wants to move here. He said that subdivisions are not a financial burden on the taxpayers. He noted that his road runs into the road that would serve this development however and the road was not a good road for that much traffic. He said that VDOT has no plans to improve the road for at least the next six years. He said that the plan calls for one main road with cul-de-sacs to serve the lots, which the fire and rescue departments do not like. He said that potential buyers should know in advance whether the land will perk, noting that during the drought quite a few wells were lost in the area. Mr. Koerner said that the proposed project would fit better in Charlottesville, Waynesboro or Lynchburg. He suggested that the developer pull the preliminary and submit a more complete plan. Ms. Phyllis Ammons, Laurel Road, said that she loves the county and the Laurel Road area and would love for nothing there to change but that that is not realistic. She said that others have built around her property, and done so in a respectful way. She said that there is nothing about the proposed subdivision that is respectful of the neighbors. Mr. Mike Craig, Wheelers Cove, spoke in opposition to the project. Ms. Debbie Simpson, October Lane, said that she has lived on October Lane for 25 years and that her family has to use four-wheel drive to get out. She said that the road this development will be using includes a dangerous curve. Ms. Simpson said that 10-20 lots might be okay, but that 86 would not work. Mr. Robert Stratton, Albemarle County, said that he grew up on Laurel Road, owns a small parcel there and his mother still lives on Laurel Road. He said that he does not oppose a subdivision but that the county needs to rethink what is being proposed, noting that other people do live there too. He expressed concern with the impacts on wells in the area. He said that his mother had recently asked whether he plans to move back to Laurel Road He said that after looking at the proposed development, he might as well stay in Albemarle County. Mr. Richard Lynch, an adjoining property owner, said that he is a builder so is not opposed to development. He said that he bought the property though because of the rural area and that the proposed development would be better built right on Rt. 29 or in Lovingston. He asked the Commissioners to reject the project as drawn. Ms. Janice Jackson, adjoining landowner, spoke in opposition on behalf of several families. She noted their concerns with water quality and quantity and traffic issues. Ms. Susan McSwain, Dutch Creek Road, said that this is the first large subdivision since the public hearing on the proposed zoning ordinance and that it clearly demonstrates the need for a new ordinance. She noted the value of the wildlife on the property and said that there is more to life than making the most dollars you can on a piece of land. Ms. Wisteria Johnson, Elma, said that her family has lived in that area for six generations. She said that this plan is representative of the cancerous cells coming to Nelson and expressed support for planned development in the county. She said that she is opposed to the project for many reasons, including the fact that it is obviously not a planned community. Ms. Johnson said that the roads require extreme care to travel now and asked what that travel would be like with 80 additional families on that same road. She said that during the past drought, her family's well had gone dry and that they now buy their drinking water in bulk. She expressed concern for the quality of daily life in the area. She said that the developer has submitted a haphazard plan, buying property for a little bit of nothing. She asked whether the developer would really care what kind of people ended up living there. Ms. Johnson said that if the county's planning is not appropriate, what would be her future or her children's future. She asked that the plan be rejected. Mr. Bo Delk, Lovingston, said that it would be easy to put 87 dry hydrants in the development but that to be functional, there has to be a source of water. He noted several existing subdivisions in Nelson where dry hydrants are not functional. Mr. Delk said that a subdivision would need approximately 1,000 gallons of water/minute/2 hours for fire protection and noted that that is a lot of water. He suggested that a better alternative would be a 2,000 gallon tank at each house to for rainwater collection. Mr. Delk also said that the developer had purchased and timbered a parcel of land adjacent to Callohill Park in Lovingston and had done a good job with that parcel, although he noted that there are no houses on that land. Mr. Tom Eick, Roseland and employed by the Nelson Health Department, clarified that when a developer plans a subdivision, county and state codes require that a private consultant verify that each lot has an adequate drainfield. He said that the required 50' setback from any watercourse would greatly restrict that drainfield space, especially on smaller lots. He said that finding adequate drainfield space could be difficult based on topography and soils. He noted, however, that state health regulations are minimalistic and do not guarantee that there will not be future problems. He suggested that a subdivision of the size proposed should have a community water system as 2-acre lots leave no spare room. Ms. Nancy Boone, Laurel Road, noted water concerns. She also asked the Board to consider the additional burden of 87 new families on volunteer fire and rescue personnel. Ms. Anne Buteau, James River Road, expressed opposition and concern with erosion. She said the project is not well planned. Following the Public Hearing, Mr. Pennington said that he was glad to know there were so many community-minded citizens in Nelson County and said that he would take all of the comments into consideration. He withdrew is application and said that he would deal with the boundary disputes. SITE PLAN/PAYNE'S GARAGE - Mr. Bob Payne had submitted a site plan at the Commission's October meeting for renovation of the existing building and the addition of a showroom. The property is located at 3846 Patrick Henry Highway in Piney River. Mr. Boger reported that the VDOT's approval of the entrances has still not been received, but that the 60-day time period for a county decision would expire before the Commission's December meeting. After verifying that the 60-day period begins with the submission of the site plan, Commissioners voted 6-0 to recommend approval of the site plan contingent upon VDOT's approval of the entrances. ZONING ORDINANCE - Noting receipt of the Board of Supervisors' resolution referring the proposed ordinance to the Planning Commission for review, public hearing and a recommendation, Commissioners scheduled work sessions for Monday and Tuesday, November 29 and 30, both at 7:30pm at the Courthouse. The also scheduled a Public Hearing on the proposed ordinance for Wednesday, December 22 at 7:00pm with a location to be announced. DECEMBER PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING - Commissioners voted 6-0 to change their December regular meeting from December 15 to December 29 (7:30pm at the Courthouse). Meeting continued to Monday, November 29th at 7:30pm at the Courthouse. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This report, sent to over 580 Nelson County citizens, was made possible by the generous donations of Rural Nelson members and supporters. We need your help to continue this service. Please consider donating. 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