Monday, June 9, 2025: Mecklenburg Supervisors to hear appeal of Planning Commission’s comp plan rejection of solar facility
Plus: Meetings in Bedford and Buckingham
For Fifth District Community Engagement to be a viable way to get information out to people, each edition must come out at least the night before meetings are to be held. That element has been missing.
Today, though, may be one of the first times in which the goal has been accomplished. Of course, to make this deadline, not all steps may have been taken. There are trade-offs no matter what direction you go in.
An honest review from me would say I’m giving short shrift to the communities that are off of the U.S. 29 corridor. I am hopeful that this summer I can take a tour of many of the areas. If you’re a reader not in Charlottesville and you’d like to meet with me to talk about your community, let’s make it happen!
Unfortunately, the trade-off today is it’s late on Sunday night, and I have to get some rest to reset for the next set of stories!
Bedford Supervisors to hold public hearing on several amendments to zoning ordinance
The seven members of the Bedford County Board of Supervisors will meet at 7 p.m. for the first meeting of June. There will be no work session. (meetings are here)
The consent agenda includes a resolution to accept the donation of a wheelchair-washing machine to the county-owned nursing home. This is coming from an organization called CATS and has a value of $7,000.
“The cost of operating this equipment would be the chemicals used during operation and are estimated to be around $300 a year,” reads the staff report. “We expect the chemical cost would be easily recovered by the savings of man hours manually cleaning wheelchairs.”
There are two public hearings.
The first is a request from Bridgewater Bay Development for an amendment to a prior special use permit to change one of the conditions. The original approval allows for a maximum of 370 boat slips and the request is to change that to whatever Appalachian Power Company will allow. As part of that approval, the company has halved the amount they were going to build and will not rent any to the general public.
The second is for several amendments to the zoning text ordinance. These would add definitions for “Hot Shot Trucking” and “Tiny Home” and to remove “Food Truck” from the permitted use table. These will now be regulated in a different manner similar to short-term rentals. In a nod to those opposed to density, the purpose for R-1 zoning will be amended to state the goal is one unit per acre. This all seems quite important and I do hope someone writes about this in full detail.
Supervisors will return on June 23, 2025.
One story about Bedford County:
Bedford council approves town fiscal '26 budget, talks electric capital costs, Justin Faulconer, Lynchburg News & Advance (paywall), May 30, 2025
Buckingham Supervisors to hold public hearing on Comprehensive Plan
The Buckingham County Board of Supervisors will meet at 6 p.m. in the Peter Francisco Auditorium in the County Administration Building. (agenda packet)
There are three public hearings.
The first is on the Comprehensive Plan. The Planning Commission voted 6-1 on April 28, 2025 to recommend approval. If you want to get to the heart of the document, begin here.
“Buckingham County will be a thriving and connected community that preserves its rural charm and natural landscapes while fostering responsible development,” reads the draft vision statement. “Families will grow, agriculture will flourish, local businesses will prosper, and new opportunities will be cultivated.”
Buckingham County last updated its Comprehensive Plan in 2015 and this time the work has been overseen by the Commonwealth Regional Council.
In Buckingham, growth is to be concentrated in one of several village centers. There are six of these.
Chapter VI of the draft plan is called “Special Policy Areas” and is where to look to understand the county’s growth management policies.
The second is on a bonus for employees. Take a look here for more information.
The third is for a tax exemption for farm vehicles. (learn more)
Two future zoning matters will be introduced.
The first is for a special use permit request to operate a commercial garage and auto repair shop at 515 Cattail Creek Road in Dillwyn on land zoned for agricultural use. (learn more)
The second is for a special use permit request to operate a campground on Hatchcock Lane in Howardsville. (learn more)
After a series of other items, the Supervisors will go into closed session. The section of Virginia’s rules for closed meetings is fully cited in print. Here’s how that looks:
T. Executive Closed Session §2.2-3711.A.7 – Consultation with legal counsel and briefings by staff members or consultants pertaining to actual or probable litigation, where such consultation or briefing in open meeting would adversely affect the negotiating or litigating posture of the public body; and consultation with legal counsel employed or retained by a public body regarding specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel.
The agenda lists that there will be action.
A story about Buckingham County:
Power outage fix not permanent, a shutdown will be needed, Brian Carlton, Farmville Herald (paywall), June 1, 2025
Mecklenburg County Supervisors to consider 250 foot tall communications tower
The Mecklenburg County Board of Supervisors will meet at 7 p.m. (agenda packet)
There are four planning and zoning items.
The first is a special exception request for a 250 foot communications tower (learn more)
The second is for a special exception to construct two recreational vehicle sites (learn more)
The third is also for a special exception to construct two recreational vehicle sites. (learn more)
The fourth is an appeal of a Comprehensive Plan review by Antlers Road Solar LLC. The Planning Commission said their application is not compliant in a vote on April 24, 2025. This is really interesting, but I’m out of time. (learn more)
Under the county administrator’s report, there will be a discussion of a proposed ordinance to amend the transient occupancy tax. Localities all across Virginia are making amendments to become compliant with new law that goes into effect on July 1.
A story about Mecklenburg:
Mecklenburg joins Southern Virginia Regional Alliance, Gazette-Virginian (paywall), June 6, 2025
Sorry to hijack your comment section! I was wondering if you ever took suggestions of things to post? There are a couple of different surveys open for local transit planning, and I thought your platform might be a good way to spread that info out to a wide audience.