Upcoming: - Tuesday, November 30th PLANNING COMMISSION ZONING WORK SESSION 7:30pm Courthouse - Wednesday, December 1st RURAL NELSON MEETING 7:30pm at the office at 622 Front Street, Lovingston. Program: "Protecting Gateway Communities". - Thursday, December 2nd ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY 4:00pm Courthouse ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLANNING COMMISSION ZONING WORK SESSION Monday, November 29, 2004 Present: Ms. Proulx, Dr. Walker, Ms. Russell, Mr. Bruguiere, Mr. Harman Absent: Ms. Hunt (Note: the draft ordinance is posted on the county's website at www.nelsoncounty.com and on Rural Nelson's website at www.ruralnelson.org. Ms. Proulx presented a list of proposed "housekeeping" changes - minor items to clarify language and to make changes previously agreed to by the Commissioners. Commissioners noted no problems with any of the changes listed with the exception of the definitions and uses for Home Occupations, which they tabled for later discussion. Mr. Bruguiere said that he had received a copy of a proposed sliding scale zoning and asked Mr. Boger for his recommendation. Mr. Boger advised against sliding scale zoning, noting that those localities that have adopted it are having problems with it. He also said that it is not fair to the average property owner. RURAL & FARMING DISTRICT - Mr. Bruguiere then suggested deleting the "Purpose and Intent" section of the district, noting that it leads to restrictions on by-right subdivisions and appears to be against any development at all. Ms. Russell said that the purpose of the Rural & Farming District is to keep larger lots rather than chopping them up into 2-acre subdivision lots. Mr. Bruguiere agreed that it was primarily to support farming, but said that the development models are not developed yet so there should be places to develop. He said that he would like to see the limits to the number of divisions removed and would rather see five 2-acre lots by-right. He said that if a farmer had to sell off five 10-acre lots, it would take up a lot of his land. He said that large landowners should be able to sell off a part of his land to keep farming. Ms. Proulx said that Mr. Bruguiere's proposal would allow the Rural & Farming District to be cut up into 2-acre lots. Mr. Boger said that his suggested was allowing division for a Major Subdivision at 1 unit per 10 acres with no limit to the number of divisions and a Minor Subdivision at 1 unit per 5 acres with a maximum of 5 lots no matter what size the parcel. He noted that a landowner could do a Minor Subdivision with future divisions at the 10-acre size. Ms. Proulx said that she would rather see something larger than 10 acres for Major Subdivisions since there would also be the option of the 5-acre Minor Subdivision. Mr. Bruguiere said that he could deal with Mr. Boger's suggestion, but that he would not want to see it at more than 10 acres. Mr. Proulx pointed out that Rural & Farming is not the only district, that there is also a Rural Residential District with higher densities and smaller lot sizes. Mr. Boger noted that the ordinance was designed with the theory that a rezoning would be appropriate for a good project in a good location, giving the county more control over larger development. Ms. Proulx said that she felt the Rural & Farming areas should be preserved with reasonable lot sizes. She said that she would like a larger lot size and then looking at the Rural Residential areas as the place to increase densities. She also noted that she had no problem leaving the "Purpose and Intent" section as is, changing any densities based on final decision of the Commissioners. She said that she thought Rural Residential could kick in with an appropriate development plan rather than as a by-right use, allowing the county to see how the plan would fit into the area, the effect of new roads, water, etc. Ms. Proulx also noted the many citizens who are in favor of preserving open space. Mr. Harman said that, for many of the large landowners, the land is their retirement. Ms. Proulx said that she would be happy with the 10-acre lot size if there were a limit to the number of divisions. She noted 471 Nelson landowners with 100 or more acres and 2 landowners with 1,000 or more acres or 3% of the population of Nelson. She said that we have to build the ordinance so that it works well for the whole county. Ms. Proulx said that there has to be a balance so that a few are not dividing into small lots while the burden falls on the rest of the taxpayers. Ms. Russell said that 20 acres would be reasonable but that she could go with 10 or 20 acres. She said that with the Rural Residential District, the Major Subdivision and the Minor Subdivision, there could be smaller lots. She said that she believes in the intent of the Rural & Farming District. Mr. Harman said that the people he has talked to do not like the 20 acres, but noted that those conversations did not include the options of the Major and Minor Subdivisions. Dr. Walker said that she could agree to a 10-acre lot size with limits on the number of lots. Mr. Bruguiere (referring to the recent subdivision proposed for Laurel Road) said that, while he is not promoting that subdivision, asked what else you could do with that land. Ms. Russell moved (Dr. Walker seconded) to set Rural & Farming at: Minor Subdivision - one unit per 5 acres with a maximum of 5 lots; Major Subdivision - one unit per 10 acres with a maximum of 5 lots; Further divisions - one unit per 20 acres with no limit on the number of lots; and Family Subdivisions at 2 acre lots. Commissions voted 4-1 (Mr. Bruguiere voting no) on the motion. RURAL RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT - Mr. Bruguiere said that he would like to get rid of the entire district as it is too much like Rural & Farming. He said that if a buffer is needed between the other districts and Rural & Farming, one could be created but that the Rural Residential District is a worthless district. Dr. Walker said that deleting the district would take away the smaller, denser development in a rural atmosphere, taking away another option. Ms. Proulx said that she would also be concerned that farming operations are challenged by denser development. She said that one of the goals of the Comp Plan was to protect farming areas. Mr. Harman said that the district could perhaps be scaled down and made easier to understand. Dr. Walker said that the county's simple document from the past has certainly not worked for the county. She said that simple might be easier to read, but that does not mean it works. She said that we would need more than we have had to protect ourselves and the person next door. Dr. Walker said that she wants to work with the citizens already here, but that those not yet here will find the ordinance a little more demanding with the costs borne by the developer. Ms. Russell said that the district is needed. Ms. Russell moved (Dr. Walker seconded) to set Rural Residential at: Minor Subdivision - 1 unit per 3 acres with a maximum of 5 lots; Major Subdivision - 1 unit per 5 acres with no limit on the number of lots; and Family Subdivisions at 2 acre lots. Commissioners voted 4-1 (Mr. Bruguiere voting no) on the motion. BUSINESS DISTRICT - Mr. Bruguiere said that currently the ordinance has business only within the Mixed Use model in the development areas with the only other business area being in the Planned Shopping District. He noted that there are a lot of business parcels around the county. Mr. Boger said that there is only one business district of any size and that most are scattered parcels throughout the county. Ms. Proulx said that while the existing business parcels would be grandfathered under a new ordinance, there is concern that they might be limited in any future expansion. She said that a Business District might be the best way to go as some areas might not be appropriate for a Mixed Use designation. Mr. Boger said that it did not necessarily have to be a strict B-1 District as in the present ordinance, but could be a Service Enterprise District (SE-1). Ms. Proulx agreed that SE-1, with adjusted permitted uses, would be a good model. Mr. Boger suggested grandfathering existing business parcels as B-1 with the used defined in the present ordinance, but allowing no further parcels to be added to B-1. Ms. Proulx suggested doing the same with existing SE-1 parcels. Mr. Boger said that he would consult with the county's attorney before the next work session to make sure that that would work. Meeting continued to Tuesday, November 30th at 7:30pm at the Courthouse. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ OF INTEREST: - Sunday, December 5th NELSON COUNTY CHRISTMAS PARADE - 3:00pm Front Street, Lovingston ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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