UPCOMING: - Tuesday, May 13th - BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 2:00/7:30pm Courthouse - Thursday, May 22nd - BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 7:30pm Courthouse - Wednesday, May 28th - PLANNING COMMISSION 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, May 8, 2008 Present: Ms. Philippa Proulx, Ms. Emily Hunt, Ms. Linda Russell, Mr. Mike Harman, Mr. Mike Tapager Absent: Mr. Tommy Bruguiere, Board Liaison (Note: Mr. Tom Eick, Health Department, was also present at the meeting.) PROPOSED AMENDMENT - SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE - SECTION 4-4 (WATER & SEWER) AND ARTICLE 12 (GENERAL PROVISIONS-ZONING PERMITS) - The current ordinances require soils work for every lot - so if a large landowner wishes to divide off a parcel to sell, he/she is required to do soils work on both the smaller parcel for sale and the larger "residue" parcel - whether he plans to build on the remaining 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. At the last work session, Commissioners considered removing the requirement for soils work from the Subdivision Ordinance and making that a part of the Zoning Ordinance. Supervisors agreed that that could be the best option at their last meeting. Since that time, however, it was suggested that allowing land to be divided without soils work could create a serious issue with large parcels with few sites with suitable soils. The example was given of a recent case where a 400-acre parcel was platted but only four sites with suitable soils could be found - requiring that larger lots be created to accommodate the septic systems. Mr. Bruguiere provided correspondence suggesting that the ordinance be amended to require soils work on subdivisions of 5 lots or more unless the lots are over 20 acres. He also suggested that an exception to showing the drainfield on the plat be added for a lot within the subdivision with an existing home. Mr. Boger presented a draft amendment that, after discussion and editing by the Commissioners, is as follows: 4-4 Water and Sewer. D. Individual Septic Systems. No subdivision shall be approved where individual septic systems are to be used until written approval has been secured from the health official. In order to grant approval, the health official, or his agent, shall determine the suitability of soil for use of septic systems with subsurface disposal. 1. Any subdivision approved after ______ (date of adoption of amendment) shall have an approved site for a septic system and reserve area. 2. In all zoning districts, the reserve on-site septic system area shall be sufficient to accommodate a minimum of one hundred (100) percent of the capacity of the initial on-site septic system. 3. The location of each on-site septic system area and reserve area shall be shown on the plat of the subdivision and if pretreatment is proposed for the septic system, such proposal must be clearly stated on the plat. 4. Exceptions to the above provisions: a. Family subdivision b. Subdivision containing three (3) lots or less, provided the following statement is placed on the face of the plat: "Approval of this subdivision plat by the County of Nelson does not certify or guarantee that the soils on this property will support a septic system for the purposes of the subdivision (whether residential, commercial, or industrial) as no demonstration has been made by the property owner, developer or purchaser." 4-4 Water and Sewer, E. Alternative Waste Treatment Systems. Commissioners agreed to add, "In all zoning districts, the reserve for an alternative waste treatment system area shall be sufficient to accommodate a minimum of one hundred (100) percent of the capacity of the initial on-site system. Exception b. (3 lots or less) above was agreed to by consensus with Ms. Hunt and Ms. Russell stating that they feel strongly that the amendment should be for two lots. Commissioners agreed to hold the public hearing at three lots and then make a decision on their final recommendation based on further consideration and public input. Commissioners, noting that they had already held a public hearing on the proposed amendment, agreed to hold another public hearing since several changes have been made to the proposed amendment since that first public hearing. Commissioners directed staff to advertise the proposed amendment for public hearing at their regular June 25th meeting. OFF-STREET PARKING - Mr. Boger asked Commissioners for an interpretation on "off-street parking" for the new Region 10 building, noting that the plans call for parking spaces of varying sizes. He said that that area is exempt from the requirement to provide off-street parking, but asked whether the standard parking space size can be enforced if off-street parking is provided. Commissioners agreed by consensus that if a project provides off-street parking, they must meet the requirements of the ordinance for those parking spaces. COMP PLAN UPDATE - Commissioners agreed to individually continue working on noting areas of the Comp Plan that need updating and then to work on those updates at their May 28th meeting. Meeting adjourned. Copyright 2000-2008 by Rural Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Reports may be reprinted or excerpted with attribution. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OF INTEREST: - Friday, May 16th - Rockfish Valley "Starry Night" Community Gathering 6:30pm-10:30pm at Spruce Creek Park on Rt. 151. No Fee - bring a picnic meal. S'mores and telescopes provided. Sponsored by the Rockfish Valley Foundation, The Charlottesville Astronomical Society and the Central Blue Ridge Virginia Master Naturalist Chapter. For more information, call 361.2251 or email agelasto@mindspring.com. - 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