This week in county government; PC oks affordable rental units, talks rules for short-term rentals; BOS to consider approval of 5 MW shared solar facility; News roundup

Jul 17, 2023

Engage Louisa is a nonpartisan newsletter that keeps folks informed about Louisa County government. We believe our community is stronger and our government serves us better when we increase transparency, accessibility, and engagement.

This week in county government: public meetings, July 17 through July 22

For the latest information on county meetings including public meetings of boards, commissions, authorities, work groups, and internal county committees, click here. (Note: Louisa County frequently schedules internal committee/work group meetings after publication time. Check the county’s website for the most updated information).

Monday, July 17

Louisa County Board of Supervisors, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 6 pm. (agenda packet, livestream)

Thursday, July 20

Industrial Development Authority, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 8:30 am.

Other meetings

Tuesday, July 18

Louisa Town Council, 212 Fredericksburg Ave., Louisa, 6 pm. (agenda)

Additional information about Louisa County’s upcoming public meetings is available here.

Interested in taking your talents to one of the county’s numerous boards and commissions? Find out more here including which boards have vacancies and how to apply.

Help our friends at Charlottesville Tomorrow build an informative voter guide: Charlottesville Tomorrow, a nonprofit news organization based in Charlottesville, plans to publish a voter guide with information about nearly 100 state and local races in Charlottesville and 11 Central Virginia counties including Louisa. Let them know what you’d like to see in the guide by filling out this short and simple survey.

PC recap: Planning Commission oks rezoning, CUP for affordable rental units

The Fluvanna-Louisa Housing Foundation’s plan to build affordable rental units between the towns of Louisa and Mineral took a step forward Thursday night. (meeting materials, video)

The Louisa County Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend to the Board of Supervisors approval of FLHF’s request to rezone, from industrial to residential, 8.3 acres at 140 Resource Lane adjacent to the Louisa County Resource Council in the Mineral Growth Area. The commission also unanimously green-lighted the organization’s request for a Conditional Use Permit to build multi-family dwellings on the property. Cuckoo District Commissioner George Goodwin and Jackson District Commissioner Cy Weaver were absent.

Together, the rezoning and CUP would clear the way for construction of 25 affordable rental units to serve elderly residents and essential workers. The Louisa County Board of Supervisors has the final say on the project’s approval.

The project is expected to be built in three phases, according to FLHF Executive Director Kim Hyland. The first and third phase would each consist of eight units for income-eligible elderly or disabled residents. The units would be about 600 square feet, fully accessible and offer maintenance-free living to residents who want to age in place. In the second phase, the organization would build nine two-bedroom units, measuring about 900 square feet, designed for essential workers like first responders and school staff. The complex would also feature gazebos and other community gathering spaces.

The units would be available to elderly residents—likely those who are at least 62 years old— or disabled residents with incomes below 60 percent of the area’s median income and essential workers primarily with income below 80 percent AMI. For a single person, 80 percent of the county’s median income is $41,650, according to figures published last year by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

FLHF would charge tenants rent that equals about 30 percent of their income, in accord with federal affordability guidelines, instead of market rate. The units would be reserved for Louisa County residents or those who work in the area and can’t find housing.

The complex would help address a severe shortage of affordable rental units in the county, Hyland said, providing much-needed homes for older residents living in substandard housing and essential workers, some of whom face long commutes because of a dearth of housing options.

“We see the demand every day. These are people that come to our door and say ‘do you have any rental units available?’ We take their names, but 99 percent of the time, we say we don’t have anything available. They leave their information, hoping and praying that we’ll have an opening, and they’ll have an option. Right now, it’s heartbreaking,” Hyland said.

While the organization already offers 25 rental units across Louisa and Fluvanna, the dwellings are in high demand because of what Hyland termed a “housing crisis.”

Hyland said that the county has a large number of deteriorating homes, particularly in its rural pockets, where elderly residents live because they have no other option. She also noted that some older residents—21 percent of Louisa residents are 65 years old or older—want to downsize and move into a residence that doesn’t require maintenance, but most of the homes available in Louisa are at least three to four bedrooms.

Essential workers face similar challenges, Hyland said, noting that more than 85 percent of dwellings in Louisa are owner occupied, meaning there are few rentals available. Hyland sees the FLHF complex as an affordable option for young workers who could potentially save money that would otherwise be spent on high rent and long commutes. That savings could put them on the path to homeownership.

Hyland touted the Resource Lane parcel as a good location for the complex because it's centrally located and in proximity to a range of services and jobs. The property sits next door to the Louisa County Resource Council, which houses a food pantry and offers other critical services to some of the county’s most vulnerable residents. The property is close to several schools, the public library and emergency service facilities.

In building the complex, the foundation plans to draw on the knowledge and skills of various community groups, Hyland said, including the local Master Gardeners and Louisa County Public Schools’ Career and Technical Education program. The gardeners will help with landscaping, buffering and beautifying the grounds while CTE students will pitch in with various jobs, from construction to landscape design. Hyland said that LCPS students have helped the foundation build two other homes.

Hyland and LCRC Executive Director Lloyd Runnett were the only community members to speak during the public hearing though several people attended the meeting to show their support. LCRC is listed as a co-applicant for the rezoning because a portion of its property will be used for access, utility easements and stormwater management. Runnett said that this is “probably the best project that (he’s) seen to help our community in a very long time” and emphasized the dire need for affordable housing.

“One of the services that (LCRC offers) is information and referral, and we do 600 or 700 phone calls a month. The single biggest question over the last three years is housing,” Runnett said.

In addition to its request for a rezoning and CUP, the foundation is asking the Board of Supervisors to grant two special exceptions. In one, FLHF requests a decrease in buffer requirements for growth area overlay districts, which mandate extensive supplemental plantings to screen buildings from view. In the second, FLHF asks for leeway in the county’s growth area design standards, allowing it to use cement board siding and vinyl siding. While the exceptions would save FLHF money, they wouldn’t negatively impact the neighborhood, according to Community Development Department staff, which recommends their approval.

FLHF developed its plan for the complex in partnership with Louisa County, which plans to provide financial support for its construction. In 2021, the county was awarded $775,000 in federal funding specifically earmarked for affordable housing as part of a Community Project Funding Request submitted by Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger’s office. An initial plan to use that money to build an 80-plus unit mixed-income community at Ferncliff with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville met stiff resistance from neighbors. County officials eventually opted to work with FLHF on a scaled-down project in a new location.

Aside from the $775,000 contribution, county officials will tap $647,000 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME Investment Partnership program, according to a financial breakdown of the project presented to supervisors earlier this year. FLHF agreed to contribute more than $1.7 million toward the estimated $3.2 million price tag with some of that money expected to come from state and federal grants.

Other business

Commissioners green-light rezoning for family subdivision: Commissioners voted 5-0 to recommend to the Board of Supervisors approval of Thomas and Mary Johnson’s request to rezone, from commercial (C-2) to agricultural (A-2), about 10 acres on the south side of Louisa Road (Route 22) just west of the Town of Louisa. The Johnsons, who live adjacent to the property, plan to subdivide the land for a family subdivision so their son and daughter can build homes. A small slice of the property is already zoned A-2.

Thomas Johnson Jr. and, his wife, Jaime Hiter Johnson, who plan to build on the property, spoke during the public hearing. The younger Johnson said that he and his sister plan to split the parcel and that they’re excited to raise their families in Louisa.

“I love that plot of land. I plan to die here…we hope to bring some young energy to the county,” the 34-year-old Johnson said. “We are really into having our children grow up like we did and having the values of being in Louisa.”

While the Johnsons initially plan to create only two lots, under the county’s rule for A-2 zoning, they could divide the parcel several more times as long as the lots conform with the county’s 1.5-acre minimum lot size and 200-foot width requirement.

While the rezoning request received an overwhelmingly positive response from the commission, Louisa District Commissioner Manning Woodward expressed some concern about the property’s proximity to Tanyard Branch, a creek that runs along the edge of the Town of Louisa and has been impacted by runoff from development. Woodward said that stormwater runoff into the creek had contributed to flooding downstream and asked if the Johnson’s would plant trees and maintain vegetation along the waterway to help mitigate any impact from construction.

Thomas Johnson Sr. said that, when the family logged the property, they left a sizable tree-lined buffer. The younger Johnson said he intends to plant more trees. Maintaining a buffer and planting additional vegetation isn’t a requirement of the rezoning.

Woodward seemed satisfied with that response, noting that he’s happy to see young people who grew up in Louisa return to the community. He also said that downzoning the property from commercial to agricultural would likely lessen the negative impacts on the creek in the long run.

Commission again defers action on roaming livestock ordinance: After deferring action at their June meeting on a proposed ordinance that would prohibit farm animals from running at large at any time and implement escalating penalties for people who habitually allow their livestock to roam, commissioners tabled the item again Thursday night.

Cuckoo District Commissioner George Goodwin and Patrick Henry District Commissioner Ellis Quarles had volunteered to work with the county attorney’s office and members of the county’s Agricultural/Forestal and Rural Preservation Committee to rewrite the ordinance after several commissioners expressed concerns about the initial draft. But Chair John Disosway said the stakeholders’ group hasn’t met, prompting the commission to vote to delay action on the item until its August meeting.

As originally proposed, the draft ordinance mirrors regulations approved by the Board of Supervisors last year to rein in roaming dogs. Specifically, it makes it unlawful for livestock or poultry to run at-large—meaning off the owner’s property and out of the owner’s control—at any time. People who habitually allow their livestock or poultry to roam would be subject to a $100 fine. Habitual offenders are defined as those cited for at-large farm animals three times or more in a two-year period. An additional violation within two years of the fine would constitute a Class 4 misdemeanor.

The draft was created in response to citizen complaints that farm animals frequently trespass on their property and occasionally cause damage. Under current code, county officials have no way to directly address the issue.

But several commissioners balked at the proposal when considering it in June. Disosway warned that regulating roaming livestock was a sign that the county is losing its rural character while Goodwin called the draft “a sledgehammer approach to a finishing hammer problem.” Goodwin and Quarles subsequently volunteered to work with stakeholders to find a more palatable solution.

Two Louisa County property owners spoke during Thursday’s public comment period to encourage the county to take steps to address roaming livestock. Doug Hitchcock, who owns 65 acres near Ferncliff, said that he purchased the property mainly for hunting, but has about 10 acres planted in crops. Over the last four or five years, Hitchcock said, his property has been overrun with trespassing farm animals and the county’s animal control officers have no power to rein them in.

“I’ve exhausted all reasonable solutions to the continuous devastation these goats, pigs and sheep have done. I’m not just talking about one or two animals. I am talking about 20 animals. They come and go as they please. My game cameras went from deer to these farm animals,” Hitchcock said. He added that he hopes county officials pass an ordinance to address the issue, but understands that it must be carefully worded so as not to impact the county’s many conscientious farmers.

Hitchcock’s wife, Charlotte, also spoke. She told the commission that she was speaking on behalf of Lynnel Morris who lives on a parcel adjacent to the Hitchcocks’ land and couldn’t attend the meeting due to a family emergency. Charlotte Hitchcock said that Morris is a 76-year-old woman who lives alone and has farm animals roaming on her land daily. She said the animals have occasionally damaged Morris’ property and left it smelling like a barnyard.

“(The animals) have eaten her grass. They’ve eaten her flowers. They’ve gone through her vegetable garden, which she relies on to give her food for the winter. They have damaged bushes and even trees. Her yard is constantly filled with someone else’s livestock and their manure,” Hitchcock said, adding that goats regularly climb on her car and have damaged the hood and windshield. “I am asking you to help Ms. Morris. I know nobody here would like to have goats in their yard or on top of (their) car.”

BOS preview: Supes to hold public hearing on proposed 5 MW solar facility near Gordonsville

The Louisa County Board of Supervisors this Monday night will convene its lone July meeting with three public hearings on tap. The agenda also includes several action and discussion items. Check out a meeting preview below.

Supervisors to hold public hearing on 5 MW solar array: A shared solar facility could be coming to Louisa County’s western edge.

The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing and vote on Louisa Solar 1, LLC’s request for a Conditional Use Permit to construct and operate an up to 5 MW shared solar array on 44 acres of a 119-acre tract off Kloeckner Road just east of the Louisa-Albemarle line. The mostly forested property is owned by Benjamin Ochs and zoned for agricultural use (A-2).

If the project wins approval from the board, it would be the smallest utility-scale solar facility approved in the county to date and the first included in the state’s shared solar program. Established by the General Assembly in 2020, the program provides residents an opportunity to buy a subscription for solar power via a third-party provider. The power generated at the Kloeckner Road facility would feed Dominion Energy’s distribution system, but Dominion customers could buy a share of the power produced at the facility that’s then credited to their bill.

“What (shared solar) does is it essentially gives the citizens an opportunity that may not be able to put solar on their home…to subscribe to power that we produce and we meter. Then, we can give that power back as credits to subscribers. We do that at a reduced rate below what Dominion does,” Jesse Dimond, a project manager for New Energy Equity, told the Planning Commission in June. Louisa Solar 1 is a subsidiary of New Energy Equity.

Dimond said that the shared solar project would directly benefit customers in Louisa and surrounding counties as state law requires that the subscriptions are sold to customers in the locality where its located and adjoining localities. He said that customers who buy shared solar subscriptions typically save about 10 percent on their monthly power bill.

The state’s shared solar rules also require that 30 percent of its customers are low income. At the request of Green Springs District Commissioner Jim Dickerson, Dimond agreed to reach out to Community Development Department staff to explore how the program could be made available to low-income residents in Louisa.

Beyond the benefits of shared solar, Dimond told the commission that the project fits with the character of the neighborhood, contrasting it to large-scale solar arrays that are often situated amid farms and forests. Though the project site is zoned agricultural and adjoins some farmland, it abuts the Gordonsville Growth Area Overlay District and is bordered by a railroad right-of-way and Kloeckner Pentaplast’s manufacturing facility to the east and a Dominion-owned electric generating facility to its southwest. A substation to connect the facility to the grid is adjacent to the property.

“This site, in my opinion, is about as good a location as you get. You don’t often get to put solar next to other industrial uses. You often see it in a large agricultural area and (panels) are just randomly placed out there,” Dimond said.

Dimond said that New Energy Equity wants the project to be a good neighbor. As evidence, he pointed to tweaks made to its original layout and design to accommodate the concerns of a neighboring sheep farmer. Dimond noted that the company hopes to graze sheep on the property to manage vegetation and has offered the farmer an opportunity to graze his flock on the land.

Given the parcel’s surrounding industrial uses and the mature vegetation on site, New Energy is requesting a pair of waivers from the Board of Supervisors to include a 170 and 220-foot setback on parts of the property. Under a revised solar ordinance adopted last year, Louisa County requires utility-scale solar facilities to include a 300-foot setback with an opaque vegetative buffer, but the board can grant a waiver that reduces the setback if certain conditions are met.

In a separate action, the board will vote on a siting agreement accompanying the project. Siting agreements are essentially deals between localities and solar developers that provide financial compensation to offset a facility’s impact.

Under the agreement, the county would receive about $540,000, paid in annual increments, during the project’s 40-year lifespan. New Energy also agreed to a pair of $25,000 one-time payments. One is due six months after the project is accepted into Dominion’s shared solar program. The other is due six months after the project begins commercial operation. A fiscal impact study from Mangum Economics says that, under the property’s current agricultural use, it would generate $6,820 in local taxes over roughly the same timeframe.

If green-lighted by the board, New Energy Equity’s project would be the eighth large-scale solar array approved in the county and the first since the county adopted its revised solar ordinance. The site would also be the first approved in the Green Springs Voting District.

Another facility has been proposed in the district, the 15.6 MW Turkey Solar faciliity, on more than 100 acres off Kloeckner Road. Last fall, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended denial of that project, in part, because it would be visible from adjoining parcels. The project’s developer, Pine Gate Renewables, deferred further action on its application until this fall, according to county staff. The Planning Commission recommended approval of the New Energy Equity project in a 5-2 vote.

Board to hold public hearing on CUP for equipment rental business: Supervisors will hold a public hearing and vote on Sortie, Inc.’s request for a Conditional Use Permit to operate an equipment rental business at 6043 Jefferson Highway (Route 33) near its intersection with Pendleton Road (Route 522) in the Cuckoo Voting District. The .75-acre property (tmp 72 54A) is zoned general commercial (C-2).

Ryan Odom, Sortie’s owner, plans to rent small equipment like tillers, pumps, generators, compressors and aerators and offer U-Haul and trailer rental. He told the Planning Commission at its May meeting that he started his business about a year ago to fill a void in the tool rental market and the Jefferson Highway location provides increased visibility. Odom is leasing the property, which is home to a building with multiple garage bays, from the Wayne R. Byrd Revocable Living Trust.

“Coming to an agreement on this CUP will allow Sortie to fill the missing equipment rental market in this area. Some of you may be familiar that the local hardware stores have stopped renting tools. I’ll be filling that market,’ Odom said.

The commission recommended approval of the CUP with eight conditions including that the business use dark-sky compliant lighting, open only from 8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday, and 8 am and 2 pm on Saturday, and implement some buffer and screening measures.

Supes to hold public hearing on code amendment allowing return of tax surplus: Supervisors will hold a public hearing and vote on an amendment to county code that would empower the board to return surplus real estate or personal property tax revenue to taxpayers.

The amendment is necessary because, during the FY24 budget process, supervisors approved a five percent real estate tax rebate that will essentially return surplus tax revenue to property owners. Though the board agreed to tax homes and land at 72 cents per $100 of assessed value, the rebate will effectively levy real estate taxes at a 69-cent rate and reduce county revenue by nearly $3 million.

Health Department to move to Louisa Medical Center: As part of a reshuffling of county and state services, the Virginia Department of Health’s Louisa office will move from its current location in mobile units adjacent to the Betty Queen Center to a new home in the Louisa Medical Center at 101 Woolfolk Avenue across the street from the County Office Building.

Supervisors will make the move official Monday night by voting on a lease agreement between the county and VDH. Under the agreement, which is expected to take effect in December, the county will lease just over 7,000 square feet of the medical center to VDH at an annual cost of more than $224,000. The initial agreement lasts for 10 years with two five-year renewal options. During the first renewal period, the county would charge VDH just over $227,000 in annual rent. In the second, rent would rise to about $261,000.

The Louisa County Health Center Commission transferred the medical center to county ownership in 2019. A portion of the building is under renovation to accommodate the health department’s needs.

The department isn’t the only local government agency on the move. Earlier this year, the Human Services Department moved to the former Virginia Community Bank headquarters in the Louisa County Industrial Air Park. The county acquired that building last year for about $2 million. This week, the Voter Registration Office, currently located in cramped quarters in the County Office Building, will move across the street to the Human Services Department’s former home at 103 McDonald Street.

Board to consider supplemental appropriation to Parks and Rec Department: Supervisors will consider authorizing a $56,300 supplemental appropriation to the county’s Parks and Recreation Department to cover the cost of salaries and supplies, which exceeded allocations in the FY23 budget. According to the proposed resolution, the department pulled in $83,688 more revenue than was projected for FY23 due to increased programming and participation in programs. The supplement would be drawn from those funds.

BOS to consider budget supplement for Transportation Department: Supervisors will consider authorizing a $55,560 budget supplement to the Transportation Department to cover gas and vehicle repair/maintenance overruns incurred during the last fiscal year. According to the proposed resolution, $51,200 would be used for repairs and maintenance for Fire and EMS equipment while $4,360 would cover fuel costs. The money would be drawn from the county’s Revenue Recovery Fund.

Supes to consider supplemental appropriation for CSA funding: Supervisors will consider a resolution authorizing a $90,000 supplemental appropriation to the Children’s Services Act fund. Of that money, $39,600 would be drawn from the county’s general fund while $50,400 would come from state funding.

Other business: In other business, the board will hear an update from Louisa 4-H and discuss two items: road review by the Transportation Safety Commission and legal ads/publications. The meeting materials don’t include any information about either discussion item. In an email to Engage Louisa, County Administrator Christian Goodwin said that the former item relates to possibly using the Transportation Safety Commission to “do first looks on issues like speed studies, etc.” while the latter relates to “submission requirements for public notices with the media and possible meeting schedule impacts.”

Commissioners express concerns about proposed short-term rental regulations

After a lengthy discussion at a pre-meeting work session last Thursday about a draft ordinance that would regulate short-term rentals, the Planning Commission decided it wants to talk about the issue some more. (meeting materials, video)

The commission agreed to discuss the proposed regulations again at an August 10 work session, prior to its regular monthly meeting, and didn’t set a date for a public hearing where they’d likely vote on whether to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve the rules.

Supervisors sent the draft to the commission for review at its June 20 meeting after a previous effort to regulate short-term rentals stalled last year. Currently, the lodging option, typically offered on platforms like Vrbo and Airbnb, isn’t sanctioned by the county. But Assistant County Administrator Chris Coon said there are at least 460 short-term rentals operating here, according to the Commissioner of Revenue’s Office, which is tasked with collecting the county’s two percent transient occupancy tax. Many but not all of the rentals are clustered around Lake Anna.

The proliferation of short-term rentals around the lake has stirred controversy with some residents complaining that STRs are businesses operating in residential neighborhoods that threaten the character of their community, public safety and the health of the lake. They’ve expressed concern at county meetings that overcrowded STRs would lead to failed septic systems that harm the lake’s water quality.

In response, the county crafted a proposed ordinance last year that included a two-person per bedroom occupancy cap for many homes—in accord with Virginia Department of Health guidelines for homes using septic systems—and mandated periodic septic system inspections, among other rules. But those regulations met stiff resistance from some local business owners, realtors and STR operators who argued the occupancy cap would decimate local tourism.

County officials ultimately shelved the proposal, citing concerns that the General Assembly would change how it permits localities to regulate STRs. The new proposal relies on the county’s zoning code instead of a section of state code specific to short-term rentals.

Coon said the draft ordinance seeks to balance community concerns about the rentals with the rights of those operating them by implementing “common sense” rules. He has described the draft as offering “a little bit less specificity but cast(ing) a broader net” than the previous proposal.

But several commissioners expressed concerns about the draft, in part, because it lacked specificity. They wondered if the ordinance would solve any of the complaints that prompted the county to consider regulations, suggested its provisions would be difficult to enforce and contended that STR owners would’t know exactly what they need to do to abide by the rules.

Broadly, the proposed rules impose some regulations on STRs in densely populated areas where they’ve seemingly caused the most concern while largely avoiding regulations in the county’s most rural reaches.

The ordinance defines STRs as “the rental of a dwelling for periods of 30 days or less” and designates it as a commercial use. It permits STRs by-right with some restrictions on property zoned residential (R-1 GAOD, R-2 GAOD) in the county’s designated growth areas, as defined in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan, as well as on property zoned for resort development (RD). Virtually all waterfront real estate on Lake Anna is included in a growth area. STRs operating in these zoning designations would be required to:

provide a point of contact for their property to Louisa County and its subdivision’s governing body, if applicable;
provide to tenants a copy of Louisa County code sections pertaining to noise and solid waste as well as the definitions for Special Occasion Facilities and Gatherings as part of short-term rental contracts.
inform tenants that using the property for a special event typically held at a special occasion facility—a wedding, for example—is prohibited unless the property has a valid Conditional Use Permit;
provide tenants with at least one off-street parking space per bedroom and an off-street parking space for a trailer (20 ft by 8 ft);
provide to Louisa County documentation of septic system inspections and repairs whenever they are completed, if applicable;
comply with all applicable state building code and safety regulations;

If STR owners didn’t follow those rules, they would be required to obtain a Conditional Use Permit from the Board of Supervisors.

STRs operating inside or outside of growth areas in industrial (IND, I-1, I-2) and commercial (C-1, C-2) zoning designations would require a CUP as would STRs operating in residential zoning designations outside of growth areas. Short-term rentals in agricultural zoning (A-1, A-2) inside or outside a growth area would be permitted by-right and not subject to the rules governing STRs on residentially zoned property in growth areas.

Coon said that the county wouldn’t impose rules on STRs in agricultural zoning to comply with an opinion that Attorney General Jason Miyares published earlier this year. The opinion essentially says that localities can’t use their zoning code to regulate short-term rentals on agricultural land because the use is considered agritourism.

Commissioners grilled Coon about the proposal, asking questions about everything from parking to occupancy. Chair John Disosway wondered if renters would be permitted to park anywhere on a lot—even on a septic system’s drain field—since the ordinance only stipulates that one parking space per bedroom is provided off-street.

Coon responded that, as currently proposed, people could park anywhere as long as it wasn’t on the street. But he said he would include more specific language for the Planning Commission’s review.

Mountain Road District Commissioner Gordon Brooks said that the proposal could leave STR operators confused about exactly what they had to do to follow the rules. He suggested that STR owners wouldn’t know how many people they can rent to as occupancy is impacted by both VDH regulations and the statewide building code. Brooks said he’d like to see the regulations include occupancy guidelines.

“The biggest thing is the number of occupants. How many people can I rent this to? We shouldn’t make that difficult to find,” Brooks said.

Coon said that he would offer some options for discussion at the next work session to address Brooks’ concern.

Several commissioners wondered if the county had the staff to adequately enforce the rules. Patrick Henry District Commissioner Ellis Quarles suggested that the county’s two code enforcement officers already had a full plate. Coon and Community Development Director Josh Gillespie assured the commission that staff could handle the task.

Louisa District Commissioner Manning Woodward said that he thought regulating STRs should be left to homeowners’ associations and that the county shouldn’t be involved at all, observing that a majority of the problems with STRs are at Lake Anna.

“The homeowners’ associations should make the rules in their bylaws to regulate it as they see fit. As many homeowners’ associations as there are down there, there will probably be a multitude of ways that they deal with these things. Some of them may choose not to deal with it at all. But that’s where we are hearing the problems from,” Woodward said.

Mountain Road District Supervisor Tommy Barlow, the board’s liaison to the commission, responded that he had read the restrictive covenants for several developments on the lake and they prohibit commercial activity. But he said that county officials had been told that HOAs didn’t have “enough teeth” to enforce those provisions, prompting residents to turn to the county for help.

Barlow suggested that STRs operating inside or outside of growth areas should require a Conditional Use Permit because they’re commercial activity. He said that the county requires CUPs for businesses that are far less impactful.

“These are money-making operations. They make a lot more than I do in a year,” he said, noting that he had to get a CUP to operate his business at its current location. “Some small outfit like myself has to come to the board for a CUP that has no impact on the neighborhood.”

News roundup

Engage Louisa focuses on Louisa County government. But we recognize that we can’t cover everything and there’s plenty of other news in our neck of the woods. With that in mind, we occasionally include a roundup of links to the work of other journalists covering noteworthy events and issues that impact our community.

Fire truck accident on Peach Grove Road sends two first responders to hospital: WRIC reports that a June 9 fire truck crash on Peach Grove Road sent two Louisa County firefighters to the hospital. One firefighter remains hospitalized. Read the story.

Fireworks accident kills teenager at Bumpass home: The Free-Lance Star reports that Nicholas Layne, a 17-year-old from Hanover County, was killed in a fireworks accident on July 1 at a home on Belle Meade Road in Bumpass. The Louisa County Sheriff’s Office didn’t publicly release details about the accident, which is still under investigation, until July 8. Read the story.

Louisa farm provides food to those in need: In C-ville Weekly, Matt Dhillon reports on a Louisa farm that provides free food to those in need. Read the story.

RTD recounts Jackson family murder: In the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Em Holter recounts the 1959 disappearance and murder of the Jackson family, who lived near Apple Grove in Louisa County. Read the story.

Click here for contact information for the Louisa County Board of Supervisors.

Find agendas and minutes from previous Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission meetings as well as archived recordings here.

Click here for contact information for the Louisa County School Board.

Click here for minutes and agendas for School Board meetings.

Click here to access past editions of Engage Louisa.

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