A NOTE OF THANKS: A special thanks to Boomie, Jay and The Hamner Theater crew for hosting our First Community Dance Party. Thank you too to our guest DJs - Bev Yaeger and Allen Dolleris. Thank you to Serelda Elliot for her awesome graphics to advertise the dance. And last, but not least, thank you to all who came out to dance and support both Rural Nelson and The Hamner Theater! It was great fun and for those of you who missed it, we will dance again at The Hamner Theater on SATURDAY, APRIL 5TH - mark your calendar now! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- UPCOMING: - Thursday, February 7th - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY 3:00pm The Nelson Center - Tuesday, February 12th - BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 2:00/7:30pm - Courthouse ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MARK YOUR CALENDAR: - Wednesday, February 20th - 7:30 pm - RURAL NELSON MEETING: "The Challenge of Affordable Housing" Location: The Nelson Center on Rt. 29. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOTE: We realize that our webmail program may be sending out duplicate reports to each of you. We are working to fix the problem and apologize for any inconvenience. PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION Tuesday, February 05, 2008 Present: Ms. Philippa Proulx, Ms. Emily Hunt, Mr. Mike Harman, Mr. Mike Tapager, Ms. Linda Russell, Mr. Tommy Bruguiere (Board Liaison) Also Present: Mr. Tom Eick, Environmental Specialist with the Nelson County Health Department and Mr. Steve Thompson, a Certified Soil Scientist who also does the certified soils work for the Health Department Commissioners met in a work session to consider, at the Supervisors' request, amendments to the county's Subdivision Ordinance Section 4-4 Water and Sewer. Mr. Boger reported that the present ordinance requires soils work for each lot in a subdivision. He noted that a landowner who owns a large tract of land and wishes to divide off a smaller parcel to sell is required to do soils work on both the smaller parcel and the residue parcel - whether he ever plans to build on the residue parcel or not. In addition, the present ordinance requires that if the residue parcel has an existing septic system, the owner must locate a 100% reserve area. Mr. Boger suggested that it may be best to remove the septic requirements from the Subdivision Ordinance and put them in the Zoning Ordinance with a disclaimer re the septic on the plat. Ms. Proulx asked Mr. Thompson and Mr. Eick whether soils information for the county would give the county sufficient information to become a part of the ordinance to determine what soils work would be required in various areas of the county. Mr. Thompson said that because of the topography and varied soils in the county, one 100-acre parcel could have very different soils. He said that the parcel should not be divided without actual soils work. Ms. Proulx said that the soils information could set aside problematic areas but could not be used then to identify areas that would probably not need soils work. Ms. Russell asked what actual work is done for a preliminary opinion in soils work and what costs are involved. Mr. Thompson said that feasibility studies are similar to producing a soils map. He said that the holes bored are to determine what areas are likely to perk and that if being divided into two acre lots, holes would need to be bored on each acre of each lot. He said the cost could range, depending on the number of lots and the work to be done, from $800-$1,000 to a day's work. Mr. Eick said that a feasibility study does not provide the information that he needs. He said that the regulations require 3-5 holes per drainfield if the soils are good. Mr. Thompson said that you could end up with 10-12 holes in one site to be able to submit paperwork for a permit. Mr. Thompson said that the preliminary study helps the surveyor to divide the lots. The surveyor flags the proposed lots and the soil scientist then returns to bore 3-5 holes in each lot with findings then presented to the Health Department for review and approval. Mr. Bruguiere noted that the concern is not with platted subdivisions which should have soils work done on each lot, but rather with the landowner who wants to divide off acreage to sell having to pay to do soils work on that land plus on the residue he plans to keep. He said that a landowner with an existing septic system on the residue should not have to find a 100% reserve if a system is already in place. Mr. Thompson said that the soils work requirement could be tied to the number of divisions over an establish period of time. Ms. Proulx gave the example of a landowner with 25 acres who wants to sell 23 acres and keep two acres with an existing house and septic system. The current ordinance would require that the landowner do soils work on the 23 acres he wants to sell plus identify a 100% reserve drainfield on the two acres with an existing septic system. Mr. Thompson agreed that the landowner should not have to prove something he does not need but noted that the landowner could be selling off his reserve if his existing system ever fails. Ms. Proulx asked Mr. Eick what size reserve is reasonable. Mr. Eick said that 100% reserve is reasonable and is enough to replace a system if it fails. Mr. Thompson explained that the state requirement for a 50% reserve was established years ago when the plan was to add to a failed system to spread the liquids out more. He said that when a system fails though, it is now more effective to replace the whole system. Commissioners agreed by consensus to propose amending the ordinance to exempt a parcel with an existing septic system from the requirement that a 100% reserve be located. Mr. Thompson said that if a landowner has 5 acres and divides off 3 acres to sell to an adjoining landowner, the boundary line could be vacated making the parcel a part of the adjacent parcel and no soils work would be required. He said that if the parcel sold remains a separate, taxable parcel though, it is a building lot and soils work should be done. Mr. Boger suggested a 20-acre cutoff for an exemption to the soils work requirement. Mr. Thompson said that 20 acres is reasonable. He noted though that a subdivision could be ten 20-acre lots and that a buyer would want to know that there was at least a reasonable possibility that a site could be found. Commissioners agreed that the 20-acre exemption should only apply to a residue lot, as defined in the ordinance. Mr. Eick noted that, by county ordinance, any division is a subdivision and requires soils work on each lot. He said that under state code, the Health Department must review the septic system and reserve for each subdivided lot. Mr. Tapager suggested that language be drafted to exempt a residue parcel of more than 20 acres from the required soils work and that a land use attorney review the language. Commissioners directed staff to draft the language, have both Mr. Eick and Mr. Thompson review the language for their comments and have an attorney review the draft. Ms. Proulx asked that the draft be available in time for Commissioners' review prior to the February 27th meeting. Meeting adjourned. Copyright 2000-2008 by Rural Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Reports may be reprinted or excerpted with attribution. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ OF INTEREST: - Wednesday, February 20th - 4:00pm-7:00pm Region 2000 Regional Water Supply Stakeholder Workshop - informational session and a time for input from interested public. Location: Lynchburg Public Library. - "A Cradle of Democracy" - A Winter Lecture Performance sponsored by The Wintergreen Nature Foundation and the Historical Society of Nelson County. Performances at the Nelson County High School Auditorium. For reservations, call The Wintergreen Nature Foundation at 434.325.8169 or online at www.twnf.org. Saturday, February 9th - 7:00pm - "Virginia's Leadership & the Struggles of a New Nation" Saturday, February 23rd - 7:00pm - "A Time of Celebration" - Saturday, March 15th - March Madness at Oak Ridge - An Awareness Building Fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Celebrate Mardi Gras with dancing, gaming, heavy appetizers and cocktails at The Carriage House at Oak Ridge. All profits benefit the American Cancer Society. For tickets or information, call 263.8676. Tickets $60/person ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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