UPCOMING: - Note: No Economic Development Authority Meeting in June. - Tuesday, June 10th - BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 2:00/7:30pm Courthouse - Wednesday, June 25th - PLANNING COMMISSION 7:30pm Courthouse - Thursday, June 26th - BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 7:30pm Courthouse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: - Saturday, June 28th and Sunday, June 29th to work the gate at the Nelson County Summer Festival at Oak Ridge Estate. Rural Nelson will earn a donation for our work so please volunteer to work a shift or two. Help needed for the following times (Saturday and Sunday): 10am-1pm; 11:30am-2:30pm; and 2:00pm-4:30pm. Please let us know when you can work! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Rural Nelson Community Dance Party with Guest DJs. Saturday, June 21st at The Hamner Theater at the Rockfish Valley Community Center off Rt. 151 in Afton. Doors open at 8:00pm. $5-$10 suggested donation to benefit Rural Nelson. Cash bar available to benefit The Hamner Theater. 21 and over please. Call 434-263-5000 or www.thehamnertheater.com for directions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, May 28, 2008 Present: Ms. Philippa Proulx, Ms. Emily Hunt, Mr. Mike Harman, Ms. Linda Russell, Mr. Mike Tapager Absent: Mr. Tommy Bruguiere, Board Liaison EXCEPTION/MR. PHILLIP D. PAYNE, IV - Mr. Boger reported that that applicant is requesting an exception to Section 4-4D, Individual Septic Systems to permit division of property without the required soil work and drain field locations. Mr. Payne explained that he owns a 17.245-acre parcel in the Shipman area adjacent to his farm and wishes to divide off and sell approximately 10 acres of that land. He said that the 7.245 acres remaining from that parcel is sloped and covered with pine trees, with the only access to that parcel being through his farm. Mr. Payne said that his request for an exception is for the 7.245-acre parcel. Ms. Proulx asked whether Mr. Payne could do a boundary line adjustment to include the 7.245-acre parcel in the farm parcel, eliminating the need for an exception. Mr. Payne said that a boundary line adjustment could work. He noted that he has been working on putting a conservation easement on his farm for the past 10 months and would have to review the documents to make sure that a boundary line adjustment would not send the conservation easement process into a tailspin. Ms. Proulx suggested that the request could be tabled until the next meeting to allow Mr. Payne to review his easement documents. Application continued until the June meeting for further review with a public hearing to be held at that time. FINAL SUBDIVISION PLAT/M/M GEORGE H. BRETT, II - Mr. Boger reported that the applicants, represented by Mr. Stuart Sadler, have submitted a final plat to divide a 43,414 sq ft lot into two lots, 22,075 sq ft and 21,339 sq ft respectively. The property is located on Shamokin Springs Trail in the Chestnut Springs Section of Mountain Subdivision 16-A at Wintergreen and was originally two lots of the size noted above. With no public comment, Commissioners voted 5-0 to approve the final plat. CLASS II COMMUNICATIONS TOWER/VERIZON WIRELESS/MAYO CREEK - Mr. Boger reported that Verizon has applied for a permit to construct an 88 foot wooden pole on property owned by Black Fox Hills, LLC on James River Road (Rt. 56 - approximately 6.5 miles east of the railroad tracks in Shipman) in Wingina. Ms. Lori Schweller, Attorney representing Verizon, presented the results of the balloon test showing no visual impact on surrounding properties and requesting a waiver of the landscaping requirement as the site is embedded in a tree farm. With no public comment, Commissioners voted 5-0 to approve both the permit for the tower and the waiver of the landscaping requirements. CLASS II COMMUNICATIONS TOWER/VERIZON WIRELESS/BUCK CREEK - Mr. Boger noted that this permit is to construct an 88 foot metal pole at 18115 Thomas Nelson Highway in Faber on property owned by John B. Young, Jr.. Because the section of Thomas Nelson Highway between River Road (Rt. 6 West) and Irish Road (Rt. 6 East) is designated as a Scenic Byway, the application includes a request for a Special Exception from the Board of Supervisors for a waiver to Section 20-7-2e to permit the metal pole within the viewshed of the Scenic Byway. Ms. Schweller presented the results of the balloon test showing no visual impact on the surrounding properties. She again requested a waiver for the landscaping requirements as the site cannot be seen from any surrounding properties because of the wooded area. With no public comment, Commissioners voted 5-0 to approve both the permit and the waiver of the landscaping requirements contingent on the Board's approval of the Special Exception. CLASS III COMMUNICATIONS TOWER/VERIZON WIRELESS/EADES HOLLOW - Mr. Boger reported the applicant is requesting a permit to construct a 114 foot metal tower on property at 10777 Thomas Nelson Highway in Lovingston owned by Randy Daniel Perry. The application includes a request for two Special Exceptions from the Board of Supervisors - 1) exception to Section 20-8-2 for a reduction of the required setback of 142.5 feet to 20 feet; and 2) an exception to Section 20-8-3 to reduce the restriction of no Class III towers within 2 miles of each other, to allow this Class III tower to be within 1.5 miles of another Class III tower. Ms. Schweller explained that the request for a reduced setback is due to the fact that this metal tower is designed to collapse within the property line and is, therefore, no threat to adjoining properties. She noted that the request for a reduction to 1.5 miles from another Class III tower is due to the need for a closer tower to provide continuous coverage due to terrain. With no public comment, Commissioners voted 5-0 to approve the permit contingent on the Board granting the exceptions noted above. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE - Commissioners agreed to table discussion of any revisions pending receipt of updated data and statistics. Mr. Boger reported that he is working on gathering the necessary data. Meeting adjourned. Copyright 2000-2008 by Rural Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Reports may be reprinted or excerpted with attribution. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OF INTEREST: - Wednesday, June 4th - Blue Ridge Sierra Club meeting - Nelson Library 7:30pm - Speaker: John Cruikshank, Chair of Piedmont Sierra Club, will talk about energy. Snacks provided. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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