Halifax Supervisors to consider 60 megawatt increase for solar facility
Plus: Louisa considering lodging tax increase
Last week, I made a decision to not write up a summary of the Hanover County Board of Supervisors as I was trying to get a Charlottesville Community Engagement out. I lost a couple of days in late September and was behind in processing meetings in Charlottesville and Albemarle.
I’m still behind, but missing a couple of editions of this experiment Fifth District Community Engagement won’t stop the momentum.
I had thought about reporting something from the September 27, 2023 meeting of Hanover Supervisors, but at this point I won’t have time to do so. You can watch the video here. Perhaps you would like to learn how to do this work? If so, contact me. There’s experience to be gained if not a fortune.
Today in local government:
Charlottesville City Council will consider an appeal from a developer of a Planning Commission decision that a portion of the project would not be compliant with the Comprehensive Plan and will kick off budget season.
Louisa County’s Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on a change to the short-term rental ordinance to make their use by-right in many zoning districts, and will consider an increase in the lodging tax.
Supervisors in Halifax County will consider a rezoning and siting agreement for a 60 megawatt solar facility that the Planning Commission recommended denial in September.
Halifax County Supervisors to consider 60 megawatt solar facility
The eight member Board of Supervisors in Halifax County will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the County Administration Building at 1050 Mary Bethune Street in Halifax. (meeting packet)
After the call to order, the invocation will be given by Supervisor Calvin “Ricky” Short. Supervisor Dean E. Throckmorton will lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
Then there’s the adoption of the agenda, approval of the minutes from September meetings, and the consent agenda, there will be recognitions.
The one on the agenda is for William E. Coleman.
“William E. Coleman was the former executive director of Tri-County Community Action Agency for 42 years and the founder and administrator of the Halifax County Community Federal Credit Union,” reads the resolution. (page 52)
Coleman also was the first African-American to represent District 6 on the Board of Supervisors for a period of 12 years from 1986 to 1997.
There are no public hearings at this meeting.
There is a presentation from Kirsty Johnson on the Career and Technical Education Showcase. The event is happening on October 19, 2023 at 5 p.m. at the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center at 820 Bruce Street in South Boston.
Under new business there are several items.
The first item is a discussion of the legal status of the application for Hillandale Solar LLC for an installation on 737 acres of land zoned A-1. Of that, 386 acres will be used for the solar panels.
“The plan also encourages joint effort with state, regional, and commercial entities to properly site and develop new generation facilities and transmission infrastructure, including facilities that generate electricity from solar resources,” reads the staff report. (page 98)
Then there will be consideration of a Conditional Use Permit for Hillandale Solar LLC to construct a 60 megawatt facility on Rock Barn Road and Sandy Ridge Road. The land use used for timber. (page 100)
The third item is a siting agreement for Hillandale Solar. (page 169)
The Planning Commission voted 5-2 to recommend denial. Read more about that in the Halifax News and Record.
“The agreement provides for approximately $9.8 million of revenue to the County over the 35 year expected duration of the project including revenue share, real estate taxes, and siting capital payments,” read the staff report.
Number four is a resolution to accept a Federal Emergency Management Administration grant for a weather warning system worth $292,450.
“The weather warning sirens will be installed at the following: Fire Departments; Oak Level Fire Department, North Halifax Fire Department, Liberty Fire Department, Clover Fire Department, and Scottsburg Fire Department.” (page 188)
The fifth item is consideration of a memorandum of understanding for the Riverdale Drive Community Improvement Planning Project.
“The first steps of formulating a project is to perform community surveys of the housing conditions,” reads the staff report. (page 206)
The cost for those services is estimated at $6,000 and grant funding is being pursued.
The sixth item is one we’ll see a lot across the Fifth District before the November meeting of the Virginia Association of Counties. This will be to designate who gets to cast a vote during business at that upcoming event.
Afterwards there will be pending matters and unfinished business.
The meeting ends with a closed session with two items. One is related to appointments and the second is an industrial land review.
Supervisors will next meet on October 12 for a joint meeting with the Halifax County Industrial Development Authority. They’ll also have a joint meeting this month with the Planning Commission on October 17.
Charlottesville City Council to consider appeal of PC ruling of 0 East High Street
The five member Charlottesville City Council meets at 4 p.m. for a work session followed by a regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Both are in City Council Chambers. (meeting overview)
In just over six months, Charlottesville City Council will adopt a new budget for fiscal year 2025. The development process begins with a kickoff at the work session. This will include a review of the Office of the City Manager, the Office of Economic Development, and Office of the City Attorney and the City Council Clerk. (overview) (OED overview)
The regular meeting begins with two proclamations. One is for Digital Inclusion Week and the other is to mark October 8 through October 14 as Fire Prevention Week. A theme for the latter is “Cooking safety starts with YOU!”
“Since January 1, 2023, the Charlottesville Fire Department (CFD) has extinguished over 60 building fires and more than 70 kitchen fires contained to the stove or container,” reads the resolution.
One item on the consent agenda is worth noting. Council will hold the first of two readings of appropriation of $800,000 for a Transportation Alternative Program grant for a pedestrian bridge over Meadow Creek as called for in the 2013 Meadow Creek Valley Master Plan.
“This project will construct ADA-accessible stone dust paths from Greenbrier Park up Meadow Creek to behind the Pepsi Plant and up to the Virginia Institute of Autism at Greenbrier Drive near Hillsdale Drive,” reads the staff report.
There are two land use items.
Council will consider a special use permit and a critical slopes waiver for an eight-story building at 1709 Jefferson Park Avenue. The Planning Commission recommended approval in September and you can read my story for more details. (SUP staff report)
Council will be asked to review an appeal of the Planning Commission’s September 12, 2023 codification of a resolution that some of the public facilities that would be built as part of the 0 East High Street project are not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. For details, read a story I wrote from their recent vote. (staff report)
Louisa County Supervisors to consider increases in lodging tax; public hearing on short-term rental changes
The seven member Board of Supervisors in Louisa County meets at 5 p.m. for a closed session followed by a regular meeting beginning at 6 p.m. They meet in the administration building at 1 Woolfolk Avenue in the Public Meeting Room. (meeting overview)
I reviewed the tape from the September 18, 2023 meeting and the recording does include the citation of Virginia code that allows the Board to go into closed decision. These aren’t printed in the agenda but worth reviewing.
The last closed session covered a performance review for public safety employees as well as a discussion with legal counsel about the performance agreement with Amazon Web Services. Last week, a company filed an application with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the first of two data center campuses to be built as part of an $11 billion investment. (read my story)
The open session for October 2 begins with the usual opening items. Supervisor Toni Williams will give the invocation. There’s also the Pledge of Allegiance, adoption of the agenda, and approval of the September 18, 2023 minutes. (review those minutes)
There are a few items on the consent agenda worth reviewing:
Louisa will use $145,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds for renovations to the Voter Registrar Building, the Louisa Medical Center Building, and the Sheriff’s Storage Building. (resolution)
The General Services Department is requesting up to $98,000 in funds to repair a bulldozer used at the county landfill. (resolution)
The Sheriff’s Department seeks approval to proceed with a $50,000 project to upgrade recording equipment. (resolution)
Supervisors will approve the pass-through of $158,212 in funds from the Virginia Department of Fire and Rescue for the county’s fire and EMS services. (resolution)
The first item of business is a discussion on a potential increase to Louisa County’s tax on hotels and other forms of lodging. Virginia code allows localities to levy a transient occupancy and guidelines for how a portion of the revenues are to pay for tourism marketing.
If the rate is over two percent of the bill, then the county gets to use those revenues how they want. Anything over that amount has to go to marketing, unless the total levy is above five percent.
Currently Louisa has a two percent rate. That yielded $389,331 in FY23. A projection in the presentation calculates what would happen if the total rate was seven percent. That would have generated $583,997 for tourism and another $389,331 for the county to use as Supervisors directed.
After reports, there will be a public hearing for amendment to the county’s short-term rental ordinance.
“The proposed amendment aims to align local regulations with evolving needs and opportunities while preserving the community's character and safety,” reads the staff report written by Deputy County Administrator Chris Coon.
The major change is to allow short-term rentals as a commercial activity in specific zoning districts. Currently they require a conditional use permit county-wide and no one has been granted one. But there’s a caveat according to the presentation.
“The Virginia Attorney General Opinion has clarified that short-term rentals on agricultural property are categorized as agritourism activities and, therefore, cannot be subjected to regulation by the local zoning code,” reads the presentation.
That opinion was issued on January 12, 2023. (read the opinion)
The ordinance would allow short-term rentals by-right on A-1 land, A-1 land in a Growth Area Overlay District (GAOD), and A-2 land in a (GAOD). Short-term rentals would be allowed with restrictions in R-1 land in a GAOD, R-2 in a GAOD and R-D.
“If you have waterfront property on Lake Anna, you are most likely in a growth area,” the presentation continues.
Reading material from all around the Fifth District
Lynchburg City Council to consider designating Odd Fellows Road for longtime legislator, Emma Martin, Lynchburg News & Advance (paywall), September 14, 2023
Hanover County Board of Supervisors looking for interim Chickahominy District representative, Dean Mirshahi, WRIC-TV, September 29, 2023
Buckingham library dedicates sculpture, Farmville Herald, September 29, 2023
Bedford County considers mandatory sewage pump-out for homes close to Smith Mountain, Leesville lakes, Justin Faulconer, Lynchburg News & Advance (paywall), September 29, 2023
Pittsylvania County plans to build new jail to address overcrowding issues, Makalya Shelton, WDBJ 7, September 29, 2023
Louisa celebrates 150th anniversary, Sarah Allen, CBS19, October 1, 2023