UPCOMING: - Thursday, January 18th - PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION ON ZONING/SUBDIVISION AMENDMENTS 7:30pm Courthouse - Wednesday, January 24th - BOARD OF SUPERVISORS' WORK SESSION 4:00pm Courthouse - Wednesday, January 24th - PLANNING COMMISSION 7:30pm Courthouse -------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED ZONING AND SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS Tuesday, January 16, 2007 Present: Ms. Philippa Proulx, Ms. Emily Hunt, Mr. Mike Harman, Ms. Linda Russell, Ms. Delores Truesdale, Mr. Tommy Harvey (Board Liaison) Ms. Proulx opened the meeting, noting that the purpose of the public hearing is to take public comment. She said that the Commission is aware of concerns regarding the advertised Agricultural District setbacks and will have an opportunity to make changes before making a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors at the next Commission meeting. Ms. Proulx said that the Commissioners would not answer questions at this meeting, but would ask staff to get answers to the individual speakers as needed. MR. GEORGE CHEAPE, Arrington, said that he hopes the agricultural setbacks will be changed. MR. GORDON KOERNER, East District, said that the 0-5 acre setbacks proposed for the Agricultural District should be 4-5 acres since the minimum lot size is 2 acres. He said that a "front yard" is not defined in the ordinance and the distance of measure can mean anything to someone putting up a house. He said that the setback should be measured from the dwelling to the property line. Mr. Koerner asked why family subdivisions and cluster developments are given preferential treatment throughout the ordinance. (Mr. Harvey noted that family subdivisions are governed by state legislation rather than county ordinance.) MR. DON BURLAND, Nellysford, said that the county has changed since the adoption of the zoning ordinance in 1977, noting a population of 12,200 in 1977 and an estimated population of 16,500 in 2010. He said that in 1977, 40% of the population lived in Lovingston but that by 2010, 1/3 of the population will live in the Rockfish Valley and 1/3 will live in Lovingston. Mr. Burland said that the county needs a zoning ordinance that reflects the changes in the county with tools to manage growth. He said that the proposed division rights for Agricultural Districts recognize the reasonable division of land and ensure the right to family subdivisions, while the proposed amendments to the Subdivision Ordinance clarify procedures. Mr. Burland encouraged the Commissioners to recommend the amendments to the Board of Supervisors and then work on a Zoning Ordinance to address change. MS. GAIL TROY thanked the Commissioners for the opportunity for public comment and said that she is happy with the proposed amendments. MR. STU ARMSTRONG, Nellysford and Executive Director of Piedmont Housing Alliance (PHA), applauded the efforts to preserve the rural character of the county. He said that PHA currently has 75 acres in the county which, under the proposed division rights, would allow 11 units without a rezoning and 25-30 units with a rezoning. He asked the Commission and Supervisors to authorize a workforce/affordable housing study. DR. ANDREW GANTT, Wingina, said that he owns 970 acres in the county and is considering whether he should continue to live in Nelson. He said that first he had to fight against a proposed landfill, the dumpster in his area was taken away, Orion moved into the neighborhood and cost him in legal expenses and the present zoning ordinance is designed to regulate citizens to the nth degree. He said that the county government has done nothing to help him. MR. MARK WATSON, Piedmont Housing Alliance, said that true cluster development would be better than what is proposed, noting that a larger percentage of open space with smaller lot sizes would help with the costs of development and affordability. MR. HARRY BAUM, Afton, said that deleting Section 12-13 requirements for the posting of property prior to a rezoning public hearing could mean that neighboring landowners would not know about a proposed rezoning. He said that he understands that a Circuit Court decision is the reason for deleting the requirement but said that not everyone gets the Nelson County Times and would, therefore, not necessarily know about an application and public hearing. He asked whether the county could post the notice on the property, noting that a fee could be charged for the cost of the posting. Following Public Comment, Commissioners voted 6-0 to continue the meeting until Thursday, January 18th at 7:30pm at the Courthouse for a work session on the proposed amendments. Copyright 2000-2007 by Rural Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Reports may be reprinted or excerpted with attribution. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- OF INTEREST: - Wednesday, January 31st at 7:30pm at the Nelson Library - Blue Ridge Sierra Club - Chapin Wilson & Janice Jackson will give a travelog of their recent trip to Costa Rica. All are invited. - "Nelson County - 200 Years of People, Pathways and Progress" - sponsored by The Wintergreen Nature Foundation & the Nelson County Historical Society. All sessions at 7:00pm at the Rockfish River Elementary School. Rural Nelson members receive a discount on registration (One session $15). For tickets or information, call 325.8169 or visit www.twnf.org. Sessions: "Hardy Souls" - January 27th - looks at the hearty souls who were the first Nelson settlers. Led by prominent local experts and historians. "Love of the Land" - February 10th - long-gone days and more recent events are remembered for generations through music and narrative. Led by descendents of Nelson's early settlers. - The Nelson Historical Society and Oakland Museum are seeking volunteers - to share memories and photos for the Oral History Project; to work on committees or the Board - and donations - to pay off the mortgage; furnish the tavern; equip the office. For information, call 263.8400 or email info@historicnelson.org. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This report, sent to over 600 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 Lovingston, VA 22949 434.263.5000 www.ruralnelson.org