UPCOMING: - Thursday, March 27th - BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 7:30pm Courthouse - Thursday, April 3rd - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY 3:00pm The Nelson Center ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MARK YOUR CALENDAR: - Saturday, April 5th - Rural Nelson's Second Community Dance Party at The Hamner Theater-Rockfish Valley Community Center - Doors open at 8:00pm. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: A few of you may still be receiving duplicate reports. If so, we apologize and we are still working on the problem. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLANNING COMMISSION Wednesday, March 26, 2008 PRESENT: Ms. Emily Hunt, Mr. Mike Harman, Ms. Linda Russell and Mr. Mike Tapager ABSENT: Ms. Philippa Proulx and Mr. Tommy Bruguiere EXCEPTION #6-Hallie L. and Laverne Allen (Continued from January and February) - Continued, at the applicant's request, to the April 23rd meeting. REZONING/BRUCE K. AND LYNN TYLER - The applicants have applied to rezone 0.66 acres located on Afton Depot Lane from Agricultural (A-1) to Business (B-1). The applicant's letter, submitted with the application, states that he owns two parcels. The 1.92-acre adjoining parcel is already zoned B-1 with this law firm located on that parcel since 1984. The letter states that the applicants' home was located on the 0.66-acre parcel until it burned in 2005. The applicants began to rebuild and then learned that the Blue Ridge Tunnel trail would provide access to the general public via the applicants' driveway off Rt. 6, which is designated as a greenway with a right-of-way to the tunnel. The applicants stopped construction on the property at that time. Mr. Tyler said that the 2/3 of an acre could not be used for a residence with a public trail right by the front door so he is asking to rezone the property to B-1, which would coincide with the zoning on the adjoining property. He said that he does not have anyone interested in buying the parcel but is asking for the chance to do something with an otherwise worthless piece of property. Mr. Harman asked what his plans are for the property. Mr. Tyler said that the county may eventually want to purchase the property, which would then have to be rezoned, and that the property would probably sell for a business but that he does not have a specific use at this time. During Public Comment, Mr. Bruce Wachtel, Afton, said that the rezoning would be a bad idea for the following reasons - 1) it would be spot zoning to randomly rezone the parcel to B-1; 2) if the tunnel project happens and if the land is needed by the county for parking, a rezoning would not be required; 3) Mr. Tyler was originally leading the charge to keep random development from occurring in the Afton area; and 4) the rezoning would set a precedent and other landowners could request a rezoning to B-1 next month. Mr. Tom Brokamp, adjoining landowner, said that he had supported the Tyler's in their position when the trail was going by their front door but that now there seems to have been a change of heart. He said that he and his wife are planning to move back to the Afton property within the next 18 months and the trail will go by their bedroom window. He noted that he shares the right-of-way to access his property and adding another B-1 use on that right-of-way is not a good idea although he understands Mr. Tyler's frustration. Ms. Lucy Ivy, a property owner above the Tyler property, said that her land is in agriculture and she is concerned about the public coming in but that she is more concerned about a commercial property going in. She said that she objects to an open-ended commercial use of the property, noting that the existing law office fits into the neighborhood. Ms. Ivy said that there are lots of other uses allowed under B-1 zoning and that affected landowners cannot object when they do not know what the specific plans are. Mr. Tyler said that the rezoning would not be spot zoning as the land across the road, as well as his adjoining parcel, are B-1. He said that he has no planned use for the parcel right now but that the present zoning is incompatible with residential. He said that he would expect that there would be a museum, bike shop or something similar that would be compatible with the tunnel project. Following Public Comment, Ms. Russell said that Mr. Tyler's hope of selling the property to the county would not require a rezoning. She said that the request is for a speculative use which the Planning Commission would then have no control over. She noted that a potential buyer could certainly ask for a rezoning with the purchase contingent on that rezoning. Mr. Tapager agreed with Ms. Russell and noted that the rezoning would not be spot zoning as there are mixed possibilities in that area. He said that if the uses were limited through proffers, he would be more open to the rezoning request. Commissioners voted 4-0 to recommend denial of the rezoning for the following reasons: 1) a lack of specificity of use - speculative rezoning is risky; 2) a rezoning is not compatible with the neighborhood; and 3) since the county is not required to rezone the property, the applicant has not shown that a rezoning is in the best interest of the county. SPECIAL USE PERMIT/JERRY W. COFFEY - The applicant has requested a permit to build a shop on Piedmont Road (Rt. 657) in Gladstone to use in repairing personal company trucks and trailers as well as employees' trucks. Mr. Boger reported that the applicant's repair facility is currently located at 1579 Thomas Nelson Highway at the rear of that property in an M-2 District and is a by-right use. The proposed location on Piedmont Road is zoned A-1 and requires a permit. He reported that Piedmont Road is an industrial road providing access to a major industrial facility in Amherst County with many trucks using the road. Mr. Boger said that the proposed repair facility would have limited impact on the character of the area and neighboring properties if the visual impacts are addressed. The applicant stated that he wants to relocate his business back to his home (across the road). He and his representative, Mr. Johnny Ponton, presented a preliminary site plan. Mr. Coffey noted that VDOT has approved the entrance and the Health Department has passed the well, septic and drainfields. He said that he plans to have a steel building with a couple of offices plus parking for 12 trailers. Mr. Coffey said that he has one truck with 10 employees with trucks working for him, with no more than 3 trucks on the site at any time. Ms. Russell asked about the hours of operation and Mr. Coffey said that he is typically in the office by 8:00am and done by 4 or 5:00pm. He said that Saturdays do get busy if there are repairs to be done. Ms. Russell said that her main concern was screening the parked trailers. Mr. Coffey said that he plans to mulch and plant azaleas - low growing plants to prevent sight distance problems at the entrance. Ms. Russell agreed but said that there should be screening for the parked trailers. With no Public Comment and after further discussion, Commissions voted 4-0 to table the permit request until their April 15th (7:30pm) work session. ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT/LIMITED INDUSTRIAL (M-1) - The proposed amendment would remove Section 18-5 Prohibited Uses from Article 18, Limited Industrial M-1 of the Code of Nelson County, Appendix A. The prohibited uses currently listed are: recreation or entertainment facilities of a commercial nature, fuel storage yards, contractor storage yards, lumber yards, sawmills, stone work. During Public Comment, Mr. Peter Agelasto expressed support for the amendment. Commissioners voted 4-0 to recommend approval of the amendment to the ordinance. SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE AMENDMENT/WATER AND SEWER - Commissioners voted 4-0 to table discussion on this proposed amendment until their April 15th work session. ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT/USES NOT PROVIDED FOR - Commissioners voted 4-0 to authorize staff to advertise a public hearing at their April 23rd meeting for the removal of Section 12-5, Uses Not Provided For, from the ordinance. ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT/AUTOMOBILE GRAVEYARD, CLASS C - Commissioners directed staff to prepare a draft of the amendment for their April 15th work session and voted 4-0 to authorize staff to advertise the proposed amendment for public hearing at their April 23rd meeting. The amendment would revise the language of Section 2-8c to conform to Sections 2-8a, Automobile graveyard, class A and 2-8b Automobile graveyard, class B. Meeting continued to Tuesday, April 15th at 7:30pm for a work session. Copyright 2000-2008 by Rural Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Reports may be reprinted or excerpted with attribution. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OF INTEREST: - Thursday, March 27th - "The Railroad Passenger Train: A Fond Remembrance and a Look Ahead" - 4:00pm in the City Council Chambers on the Dowtown Mall in Charlottesville - a look at the history and future of passenger train service with the authors of "Encyclopedia of North American Railroads" and Meredith Richards. Call 434.984-1578 for more information. - Friday, March 28th - Stories of Nelson County with Earl Swift, author of "The Tangierman's Lament and Other Tales of Virginia" and "Journey on the James". 7:00pm at The Nelson Center. Admission Free. Sponsored by The Nelson County Historical Society, Oakland Museum and Rockfish Valley Foundation. - Saturday, March 29th - Stories of Nelson County with Earl Swift at 10:00am at Elk Hill; 511 Rockfish Valley Highway south of Nellysford. Admission is free but space is limited so please call 434.361.2251 for a reservation. - Saturday March 29th - March on Nelson Litter Pick-Up sponsored by Keep Nelson Beautiful. 9-9:30 registration at VDOT regional office on 56 in Shipman. Safety vests and bags provided. Target road is route 650 (Oak Ridge Rd.) starting in Shipman and working toward 29. Lunch provided to volunteers courtesy of the Blue Ridge Sierra Club. - Friday, April 18th - "Evening of Art, Music and Cuisine" to benefit Rural Health Outreach - 6:30pm-9:30pm at Spruce Creek Gallery on Rt. 151 in Nellysford. Silent auction, live auction, local wines and brews, gourmet hors d'oeuvres plus music by R. W. & Sherri Smith and Mongrel. Tickets $45.00/person - available at Blue Ridge Medical Center or Spruce Creek Gallery. For further info or to donate an item to be auctioned, call Sue Bernard at 434.361.1859; Peggy Whitehead at 434.263.7322 or Judy Rendich at 434.361.0362. - Tuesday, May 20th - Entrepreneur Express - 8:30am-12:00noon at The Nelson Center on Rt. 29. Free workshop with interactive discussions and exercises covering key elements of business practices. Will include business startup and operation; growing your business/marketing strategy; financing/managing resources and information on available resources. Call 434.263.7015 for more information. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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