RURAL NELSON MINUTES
NOVEMBER 5th, 2002
RURAL NELSON OFFICE
NEXT MEETING:  TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3rd, 2002 7:30 p.m.

NOTE: The Draft Ordinance referred to in these minutes is available at:
http://www.ruralnelson.org/CommDesn/TourismOverlayDistrictDraft2.htm

Conny Roussos opened the meeting in Al Weed's absence, and we all
introduced ourselves.  The program for the evening was the work of the
Design Guidelines Committee on the Tourism Corridor Overlay District
Plan.  The committee wanted our feedback generated by a discussion of
working models.

Our overlay ordinance is based on Rockbridge County's, and reflects the
committee's work over the last few months.  The project is moving fast,
as the county has hired Frank Cox to work on zoning, under which this
ordinance will fall.  We need to determine how we feel about this
overlay ordinance and communicate through Fred Boger, Planning Director.
 The county has made the decision that the Planning Commission and the
Board of Supervisors will work on the zoning rewrite jointly.  Cox plans
to have the zoning ordinance before the joint committee by sometime in
January.  There will be a Zoning Ordinance Work Session on Wednesday,
November 13th at 7:00 p.m. in the Courthouse.  This is a change from a
previously scheduled time.

Mr. Cox seems to have a good feel for the intent of the Comprehensive
Plan.  The goal of the TC-O District is to maintain and preserve the
historic character, cultural significance, economic vitality, visual
quality and architectural character of the county.  This wording comes
from the state code, and refers strictly to commercial design. Obviously
there will be tradeoffs between economic vitality and visual quality.
Mike pointed out that there are a lot of people who feel that there
should be no restraints at all, even on commercial property.

The proposed ordinance calls for a District Administration Review Board.
 Its powers are designated in paragraph 4 of the plan.  Mike stated that
although this plan adds another layer that a builder must go through,
the Board of Supervisors will still make the ultimate decision on a
project.  It was pointed out that this plan needs a one-page explanatory
front sheet that explains its purpose and context.  Kim pointed out that
our website is getting a lively number of hits, and is a good way to
spread information about zoning progress.

Mike pointed out that Clark County's design video makes it possible for
builders to view examples of what they refer to in their ordinance, so
they have visual examples of what is meant by the architectural
vernacular of the county saving the building time and expense.

Paragraph 5 says that a building permit cannot be issued until the
application has gone through the Review Board.  It was suggested that we
recommend that the first sentence of Paragraph 5 be deleted, as it only
makes the Board seem to have more power than it actually has.  The
emphasis should be on timely review by the Board.  In the second
sentence of paragraph 5, "In reviewing applications" was struck as
unnecessary.

Page 2 begins with a run down of what the Review Board should consider
(letters A through H dealing with texture, colors, compatibility,
building materials etc.).  The intent of the ordinance as to historic
preservation is to see that renovations and improvements are compatible
with the character and scale of historic buildings in the county, and
that any planned structure is harmonious with the historic buildings
within the subject overlay district.

This plan is mainly directed to those coming into the county with
grandiose development plans, giving the county strict design criteria
that they can insist upon. 
There was discussion of how to make the wording of the first sentence on
page 2 more comprehensible.  "Director of Planning" was changed to
"Planning Director" throughout the document.  Work was also done on
simplifying paragraph 7, giving the Planning Director the responsibility
of both scheduling and posting the hearing time for applications.  The
paragraph dealing with application requirements was changed to "any or
all of the following requirements may be requested," as a way of
distinguishing between dealing with big developments and smaller local
projects. 

In paragraph 8, the Planning Director was given the responsibility for
making the proceedings of the Review Board a matter of public record.
"Meetings of the Review Board shall be open to the public," was added to
paragraph 7.  There was a question as to why such a long (five-year)
expiration time is stated in paragraph 10.  Paragraph 14 seems
redundant.  Another redundant sentence in paragraph 15, referring to the
fact that the five members would be appointed by the Board of
Supervisors, was removed.  It was suggested that one, rather than two,
owners of businesses within the TC-O District should be on the board.
There was argument about whether one of the members should be required
to be a representative of a conservation organization.  It was felt that
this might jeopardize the whole plan.  In paragraph 15 the term
"registered" was taken off of landscape architect.  In paragraph 16,
County Administration Office was changed to County Courthouse.  In
paragraph 9, "mutual agreement" was changed to "mutual written
agreement."  Conny asked for any more comments by email, and hoped to
get the revised plan to Fred Boger by this coming Monday. 

Kim reported that the Fish Hatchery is still under threat of being
closed by the VA Department of Game and Inland Fisheries for budgetary
reasons.  Kim asked for emails, letters and calls to the VDGIF in favor
of keeping it open.  (See contact information at the end of these minutes)

The Treasurer's Report:  We have had $14,515 incoming, and $18,157
outgoing.  The balance is $3,642.  This does not include $1,100 raised
through the sale of 220 copies of "Never Ask Permission" at the
Decorator Showcase House in Richmond during the month of October.

Not enough people signed up for the first of the three fund-raising
dinners, so it was cancelled.  Please hurry and make reservations for
the following two:  December 12th at the Rhodes Farm Inn, and January
12th at D'Ambola's.

The next Rural Nelson meeting will be Tuesday, December 3rd at 7:30 p.m.
at the office.  The speaker will be John Rice, Land Conservation Officer
with the Piedmont Environmental Council.

Respectfully Submitted,

Mary Buford Hitz
***************************************************
Contact Information:

Mr. William L. Woodfin, Jr.
Director
VA Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
4010 W. Broad Street
Richmond, VA  23230
804.367.1000
bwoodfin@dgif.state.va.us
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