Government Glance for August 22, 2022: Lynchburg Council to review Dearington neigborhood plan; Albemarle to begin process to create next strategic plan; Rezoning for Hickory Hill in Hanover
Another look at what's happening in local and regional government meetings cross Virginia's new Fifth Congressional District.
We’re in a strange time of the year, mathematically. This is the fourth week of a summer month, which often means there are few meetings. Speaking anecdotally, most meetings are held the first, second, or third weeks of the year. That means these fourth weeks are a little light on regular meetings.
Next week, though? It is a fifth week of the year with an extra Monday, a superfluous Tuesday, and a hidden Wednesday. So, that may be a good time for a new newsletter on local government in Virginia’s new Fifth Congressional District to take a slight break.
The week after that? Monday has the different name of Labor Day, making September 6 one very busy Tuesday for those who keep track of all the government meetings. But that’s still two weeks from now, so let’s stay focused on what’s just ahead.
This week:
Bedford County Supervisors will have work session on grant funds for school resource officers, hire Halycon to design master plan for county park system
Powhatan Supervisors will review changes to their planning district’s hazard mitigation plan
Lynchburg City Council will review a neighborhood plan for the Dearington neighborhood and review potential changes to College Park
Albemarle Planning Commission to review process to update zoning code
Hanover Supervisors to take rezoning for Hickory Hill development
Monday, August 22, 2022
Bedford County Supervisors to authorize parks master plan, Town purchase of parkland from school system
The seven-member Bedford County Board of Supervisors meets at 5 p.m. for a work session on a grant to hire more School Resource Officers followed by a regular meeting at 7 p.m. (meeting packet)
In the work session, staffing in the Sheriff’s Office will update Supervisors on a $45 million grant program created by the Virginia General Assembly this year to hire more school resource officers. Awards were announced on August 5. The program will cover the full cost of new officers for the current fiscal year, but local matches are required beginning in FY24. The grant expires in FY27.
In the regular session, there is one public hearing for vacation of a public street in the Sunset Cay subdivision at Smith Mountain Lake. This is a necessary step for Key Largo Boulevard to become Gray Hawk Lane.
After that, there are three items under regular business. In the first, Supervisors will be asked to authorize the county administrator to submit a grant application for the FY2023 Virginia Telecommunications (VATI) initiative with Shentel as the private component of the public-private partnership to expand broadband in the northern section of the county.
In the second, there is an application to accept a proposal from the firm Halycon Planning and Design of Salem to create a Park Master Plan for a cost of $75,000.
“The Parks and Recreation Department maintains a number of County owned parks properties, including three large regional parks,” reads the staff report. “In an effort to ensure proper development and improvement of these facilities, a Park Master Plan is needed and was identified by the Board of Supervisors as a Strategic Priority.”
The work will take about eight months to complete. A subcontractor will be Hurt and Proffitt of Lynchburg.
In the third, there will be a vote on a request to convey Edmund Street Park from the Bedford County School System to the Town of Bedford.
“The Town of Bedford has leased a 5.96 acre parcel of land at 600 Edmund Street and maintained a public park on that property since 1974,” reads the staff report. “The Town has requested to enter into an agreement of sale with the School Board for 1.2 acres of the aforementioned leased parcel for the purpose of improving the public park on that property.”
Powhatan Supervisors to meet with GIS staff, consider tax exemption for forest harvesting equipment
The Powhatan Board of Supervisors will have a meeting in two segments. First, they’ll meet with staff to get various updates in the Village Building Conference Room at 5:45 p.m. Specifically a “discussion of day-to-day operations with Powhatan County Board of Supervisors and Powhatan County Information Technology and GIS Staff.” (staff meeting agenda)
There is a light agenda In the regular meeting that begins at 6:30 p.m. Under old business, they will continue a discussion on the request from the Virginia Loggers Association that certain equipment be tax exempt. Several other localities have already granted this request, which is taking advantage of legislation signed into law in 2020 by Governor Ralph Northam. (full agenda)
Under new business, Supervisors will consider an amendment to the 2022 Richmond-Crater Multi-Region Hazard Mitigation Plan. Much of the area covered by the plan is not within the confines of the new Fifth Congressional District but Goochland and Hanover counties are with Powhatan.
They will also discuss the county’s classification and compensation plan. Most Virginia localities are seeking ways to retain staff in a competitive environment.
A public hearing scheduled for this meeting has been postponed to September 26.
Tuesday, August 23, 2022
Dearington neighborhood plan gets audience with Lynchburg City Council
The seven member Lynchburg City Council will have a work session at 4:30 p.m. in which they will preview business for future meeting as well as discuss land use items in detail. (meeting agenda)
In the first item, they will take up a plan for the Dearington neighborhood, which when adopted will be part of the 2013-2020 Comprehensive Plan. (learn more about the plan)
“Remnants of past City transgressions will be turned on their head as renewed investment will transform previously neglected spaces into valuable assets,” reads the plan vision. “Jefferson Park specifically, the heart of the Dearington neighborhood, will provide opportunities to reflect, to restore, and for recreation.”
This item goes to the Planning Commission on September 14 followed by a City Council public hearing on October 11.
Next, they’ll review the master plan for College Park near the University of Lynchburg. The firm Skeo Solutions was hired to work on the project to transform the area into a Walkable Watershed.
“The College Park Master Plan Update reimagines the 60-year old park with new walking paths, contemplative spaces, gathering areas, and plantings intertwined with structural improvements to the park’s primary feature, a series of five connected stormwater ponds,” reads a section of their report. (view item)
After that they will review the fourth phase of a plan to replace water lines downtown. Thirteen out of 50 blocks have been completed.
“Planning for the next phase of the program has begun,” reads the staff report. “This phase will complete the Main Street segment of the program by upgrading or replacing water, sewer, storm, street, sidewalk, streetscape, and traffic infrastructure on five blocks of Main Street between 12th Street and the expressway.”
A public meeting on this phase will be held on September 22 at 6 p.m. with a location to be determined.
Next, the preview items for business items at future meetings;
AC Capital LLC seeks permission to encroach into an alleyway at Court Street and 12th Street for balconies, building edge, roof overhanging, and canopy. (staff report)
Support for a Smart Scale application for Campbell County to improve Timberlake Road’s intersections with Greenview Drive and Laxton Road. This is right at the border with Lynchburg. (staff report)
An evaluation of Lynchburg’s use of funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the HOME/Community Development Block Grant program. (staff report)
A request to rename the new Lakeside Bridge over Blackwater Creek for Rosel and Elliot Schewell. (staff report)
A request for adjustments to the FY22 budget for the fourth quarter as well as the first quarter for FY23. (staff report)
There’s not too much business In the regular meeting that begins at 7 p.m. Do recall that Council receives a briefing on items at work sessions a month before.
A couple seeks the city to vacate a portion of Clayton Avenue so they can enclose a backyard and take ownership of a portion of the pavement as a driveway. (heard on July 26) (staff report)
Hertz seeks permission to lease cars again at the Lynchburg Regional Airport. The company stopped operations in September 2020 but would like to begin again. The concessions agreement will need to be updated. (heard on July 26) (staff report)
Under public comment, a specific entity has made a request to be heard:
“The Lighthouse Beloved Community would like to be on the docket to talk about converting some of the Housing Choice Vouchers into Home Ownership Vouchers for the City of Lynchburg,” writes Terrick Moyer, director of operations for Lighthouse Community Health Services.
Albemarle PC to review zoning code modernization process, consider additions to Clifton Inn
Albemarle County Planning Commission work session beginning at 4 p.m. and regular meeting beginning at 6 p.m. (meeting info)
The topic of the 4 p.m. work session is on the modernization of the Albemarle County zoning code. Earlier this year, county staff hired the Berkley Group to assist the county’s Department of Community Development with the multi-year project. That company is also working with Pittsylvania County on their update of the zoning code and working with Nelson County on their Comprehensive Plan update
“The proposed amendments are intended to establish more efficient administrative procedures, provide a clear and user-friendly format, and create an adaptive, modern ordinance meeting the current needs of Albemarle County,” writes Deputy Director Charles Rapp in a letter to the Planing Commission. “By addressing the zoning modernization process in a comprehensive manner, staff will be able to involve multiple levels of stakeholders, including staff, residents, developers, and landowners.”
So far the work has included a review of setbacks as well as an updated land use matrix to state what can happen where and whether a special use permit is needed. At this work session, the seven Commissioners will be presented with a list of next steps for the two phase rewriting of the zoning code.
According to the Berkley Group, the process will be split into five different phases and could last between three to four years. That timing will depend on the progress of the Comprehensive Plan review (AC44) which is happening concurrently.
But we know how Phase 1 one would go. This section will cover “Administrative Provisions” and tonight’s meeting is considered the reset date for the process, which will continue with interviews with different stakeholders this fall. A diagnostic report will be reviewed in December with another Planning Commission work session in February to review an article that will be written. Then more drafting, investigations, and final revisions before the Board of Supervisors is presented with the information next June.
There are two public hearings on the regular agenda. The first was originally scheduled for the August 9 meeting but was postponed due to quorum issues.
Verizon Wireless seeks a special use permit for a 142-foot cell tower adjacent to I-64 in Greenwood. That’s within the Greenwood-Afton Rural Historic District, a district on the National Register of Historic Places. (meeting info)
“Two large farms with historic resources, Mirador and Seven Oaks (Septenary Winery), are located nearby,” reads the staff report.
This is a separate application from one submitted for a tower on an adjacent property that was withdrawn and never went to public hearing. The tower’s potential visibility from the two historic properties is currently screened by vegetation. Hence, staff is recommending denial.
In the second public hearing, the owners of the Clifton Inn seek a downzoning from Planned Residential District to Rural Areas for a 28 acre portion of 94 acres.
They also seek to amend an existing special use permit to expand the number of guest rooms at the Clifton Inn from 14 to 50 and the number of guest rooms at Collina Farm from five to 16. This permit would also increase the number of seats in the restaurant from 52 to 100, allow new structures for events, and increase the number of events.
The report states that staff cannot recommend approval in part because of the additional water use that would be required.
“Currently, the Clifton Inn parcel is designated water to existing structures only,” reads the staff report. “All new structures at Clifton and Collina would be served by well and septic. Based on the number of structures proposed at Collina, a central system would need to be approved by the Board of Supervisors. That request has not been made at this time and well and septic are not fully designed.”
The applicants say they have high demand for their services.
“The inn, with its associated amenities has experienced concurrent success of the restaurant and special events on the property,” reads the application written by staff at the firm Shimp Engineering. “It has been difficult for Clifton Inn to meet the demand for its various hospitality services within the constraints of the existing special use permit and so Clifton Inn LLC respectfully requests an amendment to SP200200019 to accommodate an expansion of the historic inn operation.”
In other meetings:
The Charlotte County Planning Commission will have a meeting on the Comprehensive Plan process underway. The meeting info page is a page with has info about the meeting. Information about the Comprehensive Plan is on this page, which is about the Comprehensive Plan.
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
Albemarle Supervisors to begin process of creating next strategic plan at retreat
It’s about that time of year for the Albemarle Board of Supervisors to have another retreat to begin the process of updating the Strategic Plan. They will meet at the North Fork Research Park’s Room B at 994 Research Park Boulevard by the Charlottesville Regional Airport. This meeting is open to the public though it is unclear if there will be a livestream. (agenda)
“Strategic planning is used to set priorities and focus energy and resources to move organizations towards their vision,” reads Albemarle County’s page on strategic planning. “Albemarle County has used strategic planning for many years to inform policy development and financial decision-making and to achieve the community desires and values articulated in the County’s Comprehensive Plan.”
The current strategic plan is for FY20 through FY23, with FY20 beginning three years ago on July 1, 2019. The plans usually run for three years, but one was extended due to the pandemic. The nine policy areas staff has been directed to work on have been:
Climate Action Planning
Continue to Expand and Promote the County’s Outdoor Recreational Parks and Amenities
Develop an Economic Development Program
School Space Needs
Infrastructure Planning
Revitalize Aging Urban Neighborhoods
Expand and Upgrade the General District Court and Circuit Court
Redevelop Rio / Route 29 Intersection Area
Expand Broadband
What will the next set of priorities be? The process of determining them begins at the retreat on Wednesday morning. The last process kicked off in early September 2018, and I wrote about that four years ago. For long-time observers of county policy, these discussions can be invaluable yardsticks to measure progress. As in the late summer of 2018, the process will be led by Kristy Shifflet, the county’s director of performance and strategic planning.
Hanover County to take up Comprehensive Plan change and rezoning for Hickory Hill development
The seven-member Hanover County Board of Supervisors will meet at 2 p.m. for an afternoon meeting followed by the regular meeting at 6 p.m. (agenda packet)
In the afternoon session:
There will be a briefing on the Connect Hanover Broadband Initiative, a public-private partnership with All Points Broadband, Dominion Energy Virginia and Rappahannock Electric Cooperative.
There will be a presentation on the Fall Line Trail from Ashland to Petersburg. A first section of the trail has been constructed in Ashland called the Trolley Line Trail. That trail has led to discussions of a regional trail system to serve Hanover.
Supervisors will get a preliminary financial report
There will be a vote on reappropriation of funds from FY22-FY23
Supervisors will discuss upcoming legislation with County Attorney Dennis Walker
In the evening session there are several public hearings:
There’s a request to rezone 5 acres from agricultural to limited industrial on Lakeridge Parkway in the South Anna Magisterial District.
There’s a request for a Conditional Use Permit for a 32-acre utility-scale solar facility on Peppertown Road in the Cold Harbor District.
There’s a request to amend the Comprehensive Plan designation for a portion of 52 acres of land between Providence Church Road and East Patrick Henry Road from “Commercial and Planned Business” to “Commercial - Suburban General” and “Suburban High” in the Beaverdam District.
The fourth item is a rezoning associated with the third item for the Hickory Hill development. The request is from agricultural to to a variety of higher-use zoning districts.
The fifth item is to convert a portion of a borrow pit on Ashcake Road into a new area for landfill of commercial debris. This is in the Beaverdam District.
Saturday, August 27, 2022
The Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors will hold an annual planning retreat. According to the meeting info page, this will be televised on Zoom and on YouTube.
Sunday, August 28, 2022
In a very rare Sunday event, Nelson County and the Berkley Group have scheduled another public workshop on the Comprehensive Plan review. This will be held at the Nelson Center at 8445 Thomas Nelson Highway in Lovingston. (meeting info)
Thanks for reading! This newsletter is still an experiment work in progress made available for free to anyone with an interest in local governance in Virginia’s new Fifth Congressional District. That’s nearly a million people! It’s my hope in producing this work that people who live in one area can ask better questions of their local government by seeing what goes on in other places.
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