UPCOMING: - Wednesday, April 23rd - PLANNING COMMISSION 7:30pm Courthouse - Thursday, April 24th - BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 7:30pm Courthouse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 WORK SESSION Thursday, April 17, 2008 PRESENT: Ms. Philippa Proulx, Ms. Emily Hunt, Mr. Mike Tapager, Ms. Linda Russell, Mr. Tommy Bruguiere (Board Liaison) ABSENT: Mr. Mike Harman SPECIAL USE PERMIT/JERRY W. COFFEY - The applicant has applied for a permit to operate a public garage to store truck trailers waiting for use in transports on property located on Piedmont Road (Rt. 657) in Gladstone. Any repairs done on site would be done inside the proposed 50' x 80' steel building. Mr. Coffey noted that the final site plan will not be complete until next week but presented drawings to show where trailers would be parked. Ms. Russell asked how many trailers could be parked on the 130' strip on the parcel. Mr. Coffee said 8-12 with another 3-4 parked on the well side if needed. She then asked whether there would be any screening between the road and the 130' strip. Mr. Coffey said that the area would be landscaped with azaleas planted. Mr. Tapager asked what type of lighting would be used outside. Mr. Coffey said that there would be one building-mounted fixture pointing down with an on/off switch. Mr. Tapager said that he is torn on the issue of screening, noting that the purpose is to soften the visual impact to the area. He said that given the use and the specific site, he could not see how to make taller screening effective. Mr. Tapager said that he thought the proposed landscaping is probably appropriate to the area and use. Ms. Russell said that evergreen screening with fencing has been required for other repair facilities. Ms. Proulx noted that the screening considerations do have to be site specific. Mr. Tapager said that the point is to balance the area and site with surrounding uses. After discussion, Commissioners voted 5-0 to recommend approval of the permit with the following conditions: 1) VDOT approval of the entrance; 2) Approval of an E&S plan, if required; 3) Health Department approval; 4) Planning Commission receipt of the final site plan; 5) Approval of a final landscaping plan; 6) Approval of a final lighting plan showing one building-mounted light; 7) A site plan notation of no signage; 8) No vehicles or trailers that are not roadworthy stored outside the building; and 9) A limit of 15 trailers stored outside the building at any time. SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE-SECTION 4-4 (WATER AND SEWER) AND ARTICLE 12 (GENERAL PROVISIONS-ZONING PERMITS) - The present Subdivision Ordinance requires soils work for each lot in a subdivision. A landowner who owns a large tract of land and wishes to divide off a smaller parcel to sell is currently 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. The most recent draft amendment to the ordinance would require that each lot have an approved site for a septic system as well as a 100% reserve area in the case of a system failure. The draft requires that the system area and reserve be shown on the plat. The draft would exempt Family Subdivisions; lots greater than 20 acres with a disclaimer, "Health Department approval has not been obtained for on-site wastewater systems for this lot or lots numbered ___."; and existing systems. Commissioners first discussed the issue of defining "Wastewater System". Ms. Russell said that if a wastewater system includes both the septic system and the reserve, it should be defined that way. Commissioners agreed to add the definition as, "Wastewater System - any wastewater treatment system including any required reserve." Mr. Tapager then suggested that the ordinance also define "Reserve Wastewater System Area" as it is referenced in the ordinance. Commissioners agreed to add the definition as, "Reserve Wastewater System Area - that portion of a wastewater system set aside to accommodate the replacement of a failed initial system." Mr. Boger suggested that it could be a better approach to remove the septic requirements from the Subdivision Ordinance and put them in the Zoning Ordinance with a requirement that the developer must meet the Health Department requirements with a 100% reserve area before getting a Building Permit. After further discussion, Commissioners directed staff to draft that amendment and consult with the county attorney before further consideration. Ms. Proulx noted that, if the ordinance were amended to remove the requirements from the Subdivision Ordinance and to include the requirement and definitions in the Zoning Ordinance, the proposed amendment would have to be advertised again for public hearing. She suggested that staff provide the draft amendment at their regular April 23rd meeting for review prior to another work session. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE - Commissioners agreed that each Commissioner will review the Comp Plan, noting areas that need to be updated or revised for consideration at a future work session. Meeting adjourned. Copyright 2000-2008 by Rural Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Reports may be reprinted or excerpted with attribution. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OF INTEREST: - 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