Adams proposes slashing division rights for some ag zoned land; CTE Center could top $39 million; VDOT poised to replace Hamilton Road bridge; PC roundup

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.

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This week in county government: public meetings, May 12 through May 17

For the latest information on county meetings including public meetings of boards, commissions, authorities, work groups, and internal county committees, click here.

Wednesday. May 14

James River Water Authority, Fluvanna County Administration Building, 132 Main Street, Palmyra, 9 am.

Neighborhood Meeting, hosted by Louisa County’s Community Development Department, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 4 pm.

The neighborhood meeting will focus on two pending land use requests. Click here for more information.

Other meetings

Monday, May 12

Mineral Town Council, Mineral Town Hall, 312 Mineral Ave., Mineral, 6:30 pm. (agenda packet)

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Quote of the week

“I believe the county is at a crossroad, and the action we take in the near future will determine whether we preserve open spaces or if we actually preserve our farming heritage…Simply increasing the minimum lot size would result in fragmentation of our current farms and forests without preserving our farming heritage.”

-Board Chair and Mineral District Supervisor Duane Adams on his preference for cutting the number of division rights on some agriculturally zoned land versus simply increasing the minimum lot size.

The board of supervisors is discussing strategies to slow residential growth and protect farms and forestland ahead of a state-mandated five-year review of the county’s comprehensive plan. Read more below.

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Adams proposes slashing division rights for some ag zoned land

A big change aimed at protecting farms and forestland could be coming to Louisa County’s zoning code if Board of Supervisors Chair Duane Adams has his way.

Adams (Mineral) suggested at the board’s May 5 meeting that supervisors consider consolidating the county’s two agricultural zoning designations (A-1, A-2) into one zoning district as a means of limiting the number of times property owners are permitted to divide their land.

Currently in A-2 zoning, property owners can divide a parent parcel into seven pieces if each lot is at least 1.5 acres and meets certain other requirements. These lots could then be used to build single-family homes by-right, meaning without board approval. In A-1 zoning, parent parcels can be split into three pieces.

Adams wants to slash the number of divisions permitted in A-2 zoning, limiting parcels to just three by-right divisions across all ag zoned land. He argues that the ability to restrict division rights via the zoning code is the “most powerful tool” supervisors have in their efforts to protect farms and forests.

“I do think—this is directed at the board—that if we are going to be serious about preserving ag and forestal land in the county, we need to look at those A-1 and A-2 zoning designations, and we need to look at those division rights. I think something we ought to look at is, maybe, we just have [one] A [zoning district]…and it’s the same across the board,” Adams said.

Adams has also noted at public meetings that he doesn’t think increasing the minimum lot size—currently 1.5 acres in both A-1 and A-2 zoning—is an effective tool to conserve rural land as a standalone measure. He said he’s recently had conversations with farmers who’ve convinced him that upping the minimum to five or 10 acres—a move he’s supported in the past—wouldn’t protect working lands, only eat away at them.

“This whole discussion over the last 18 to 24 months has opened my eyes to different approaches,” Adams said, adding that he’s “listened to the boots on the ground, the people that are actually active farmers.”

In a follow up email to Engage Louisa on Saturday, Adams emphasized that there’s a difference in simply preserving open space and protecting the county’s working farms and forests. He argued that slicing division rights would be the most effective tool in accomplishing both goals, while upping the minimum lot size would likely only accomplish the former.

“I believe the county is at a crossroad, and the action we take in the near future will determine whether we preserve open spaces or if we actually preserve our farming heritage. This has changed my opinion on the direction the board should take. Simply increasing the minimum lot size would result in fragmentation of our current farms and forests without preserving our farming heritage,” he said, referring to the process by which large tracts of ag and timberland are broken up and typically converted to other uses.

Adams acknowledged on Monday that limiting the number of division rights on A-2 zoned land, the county’s dominant zoning designation, is likely to stir controversy as the move effectively strips landowners of property rights they currently have. But he’s said that he’s heard constituents repeatedly say that preserving the rural heritage of the county—including slowing residential growth and protecting farms and forests—is their top priority.

When the county revamped its comprehensive plan six years ago, that message came through loud and clear. Based on citizen feedback, county officials stated that one of the long-range planning document’s chief goals was to “preserve and protect our rural heritage and natural resources.”

Adams said on Monday that residents in the Mineral District continue to rank safeguarding the county’s “rural nature” as their number one priority, based on feedback he received from a recent constituent survey.

But even as residents press county leaders to prioritize rural preservation and, in turn, rein in residential growth, supervisors have struggled with how to accomplish that goal, particularly given the number of parcels in the county’s rural reaches where single-family homes can be built by-right.

During the last comprehensive plan overhaul in 2019 and the rewrite of the zoning code that followed, the board shrunk the county’s designated growth areas by more than 70 percent and slightly increased the minimum lot size in residential zoning with an eye toward tempering residential growth. Supervisors rejected an effort, led by Adams and Jackson District Supervisor Toni Williams, to significantly increase the minimum lot size in A-1 and A-2 zoning.

Those changes appear to have had limited impact on slowing growth or preserving the county’s “rural nature.” According to the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, Louisa County’s population has grown more than 10 percent since the 2020 census, making it the third-fastest growing locality in the state.

Single-family homes are popping up across the county, especially on agriculturally zoned property outside the county’s designated growth areas, as new residents flock to the area in search of affordability—relative to surrounding localities—and a little bit of peace and quiet.

The steady residential growth, Adams and other county leaders say, is ballooning the budget, as the demand for services increase, and endangering the rural charm that drew folks here. Board members have emphasized at county meetings that they want to stem the tide of new residents for both those reasons.

But, for some, like multigenerational farmers, the challenge is more profound. Unbridled development, they say, is threatening the farms and timberland that have been the bedrock of the community for generations and provided a livelihood for their families.

With that in mind, Adams says it’s time to think about more than slowing residential growth and preserving open space. He wants “to aggressively preserve” the county’s working rural lands.

Adams’ proposal to cut division rights on some ag land came after a presentation from Jim Riddell, a fifth generation Louisa County farmer and chair of the county’s Agricultural/Forestal and Rural Preservation Committee.

On the committee’s behalf, Riddell on Monday night presented a multi-pronged “Agricultural and Natural Resources Protection” plan. The plan includes a range of policy recommendations aimed at conserving farms and forestland for future generations.

The plan’s recommendations include everything from launching a county-run conservation easement program and providing tax rebates to farmers to hiring a county staffer to administer conservation programs and expanding the local agricultural extension office.

Riddell has pointed to Louisa’s surging population and steady industrial growth as factors imperiling the county’s farms and forests and the community’s rural way of life.

He noted on Monday that the county has lost some 6,000 acres of ag and timberland in the last five years alone.

Some of that loss is a consequence of residential sprawl. Large-scale solar development and Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) plan to build as many as 36 data centers in the county have played a larger role.

“We need to do all we can to protect our farms, forests and natural resources in Louisa. These are critical resources that are disappearing rapidly…[This loss] undermines and threatens much in Louisa: our food security; our watersheds and reservoir; our environment and wildlife habitat; and energy needs for the future,” Riddell said.

Riddell added that ag and timberland are under pressure on multiple fronts. He noted that it’s becoming harder to make a living off the land as commodity prices plummet. As land is passed through the generations, many property owners opt to sell.

Riddell described the committee’s recommendation as a “toolbox” of tactics and strategies the county could use to incentivize property owners to hold on to rural, working lands. He argued that the county needs to invest in protecting farming and forestry, just as it’s invested in other forms of economic development. And he reminded board members that retaining land where cows graze and soybeans grow means more houses won’t crop up.

“We need a future for ag and forestry…We need to conserve and preserve the farms and forestland we have. It’s going to take smart land use and planning, and it’s going to take local programs with incentives. And, number one, it’s going to take leadership and commitment from the board,” Riddell said.

But the committee stopped short of asking supervisors to amend the zoning code to reduce division rights on A-2 zoned land, a recommendation included in an initial draft of the ag protection plan.

Committee members made the decision to remove the recommendation at their April 8 meeting amid concerns that it could be a political lighting rod and detract from other requests. They left the door open to pushing for the change in the future.

Most board members responded favorably to Riddell’s presentation and the committee’s recommendations. Adams said that he could support 80 percent of the plan without hesitation and other supervisors signaled they were eager for more details.

Several have noted that the county is on the cusp of a financial windfall from industrial development—namely AWS data centers—and some of that money could be funneled to programs that support ag or forestry.

Adams’ proposal to slash division rights, however, didn’t elicit any response from the board’s other six members. But he set the stage for conversations to come.

County officials are preparing for a state-mandated five-year review of the comprehensive plan later this year and changes to the zoning code could follow. Figuring out ways to temper residential growth, preserve open space and protect the county’s working farm and forestland is expected to play a central role in that process.

“As the board moves forward over the next months to update our comprehensive plan whatever decisions are made will impact not only the future of the ag and forestry industry but residential growth in Louisa County,” Adams said in his email.

For a deep dive into Riddell and the Ag/Forestal and Rural Preservation Committee’s recommendations, check out the April 20 edition of Engage Louisa. Read the recommendations here.

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School board green-lights construction contract for CTE Center; Facility could top $39 million

A long-awaited career and technical education center (CTE) slated for construction next to Louisa County High School took a big step forward last week.

The school board at its May 6 meeting approved a $29.29 million contract with Neilsen Builders to construct the 57,000-square foot building. Neilsen is expected to break ground on the facility next month with a target completion date just prior to the 2027-28 academic year. County officials will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking this Wednesday, May 14. (video)

The state-of-the-art center, set to front Davis Highway (Route 22) near the northeastern end of the high school’s campus, will house the division’s robust CTE and workforce readiness program, providing space to expand existing areas of study, add new coursework and adapt to employers’ changing needs.

Nielsen was the lowest of six companies that bid on the project, coming in just $400,000 below the second-lowest bidder, Taft Construction. The Harrisonburg-based firm already has a relationship with the school division. It’s currently constructing a 500-seat addition to Louisa County Middle School.

While the cost to construct the building came in just under $30 million, the facility could top $39.25 when factoring in a $2.5 million contingency and ancillary expenses. Those include nearly $2.4 million in design and oversight fees; $3 million for furniture and equipment; $1.5 million for technology; $500,000 for utilities; and $100,000 for nutrient credits.

The contract also has a late-game add-on: a $1.7 million skybridge connecting the CTE center to the second floor of the high school. The connector was folded into the project at the recommendation of the division’s school safety taskforce, which cited the need for a secure pathway for students to travel between the buildings.

The project’s cost exceeds the upper end of a range RRMM Architects, the firm that designed the structure, shared with the county in early 2024. The firm had anticipated the facility would cost between $31 and $37 million. In an overview of the facility and pre-bid update at the board’s March meeting, RRMM adjusted that projection, estimating the center would cost between $34.6 and $41 million.

The Louisa County Board of Supervisors included $31.6 million for the facility in its FY25 Capital Improvement Plan. The county subsequently floated $62 million in bonds to pay for the center and the middle school addition, which was projected to cost $29.4 million. The addition is expected to come in under budget—potentially as low as $24.2 million, according to Superintendent of Schools Doug Straley.

With little discussion, supervisors at their May 5 meeting passed a resolution in support of the school board accepting Nielsen’s bid. In his motion, Jackson District Supervisor Toni Williams, who served on the center’s design committee, singled out the cost of the connector, noting that it wasn’t initially included in the project but added later due to concerns about “security and weather.”

Williams said he expects the county will be able to cover the costs of both buildings with existing funding and that the connector won’t push the project over budget.

“The good news is, by coupling the projects together, there’s enough money in the financing and funding for the entire project. It’s not going to go outside the budget,” Williams said.

Jack Clark, who’s overseeing the project for RRMM, said during a presentation on Tuesday that though the CTE center isn’t extremely large, it’s a “complex building,” which pushed its cost upward.

Clark noted that the facility’s complexity is a consequence of its built-in flexibility. It’s designed to accommodate a range of coursework, allowing the division to train students for the jobs of today and tomorrow and shift with a dynamic job market.

“One of the ways we [implemented flexibility] is we [made] sure that we had the electrical power necessary as programs need to evolve or programs need to change. So, we’ve got lots of different places in the building where we have electrical panels that are associated just with a shop or lab,” Clark said, adding, “It’s also got lots of opportunities for programs to change because the way the building is set up with large spaces.”

Beyond its flexibility, Clark and school officials have emphasized that the facility’s designed with student safety at the forefront. Aside from the connector, it includes two secure entrances as well as enclosures and privacy fencing around outdoor spaces.

What’s in the building?

LCPS is already home to a thriving CTE program, so the new facility will provide space for both existing courses and new offerings.

With respect to existing programs, the building will feature an expansive area for the division’s culinary arts program, encompassing both kitchen and classroom space, as well as classroom and lab space for welding, nursing, firefighter and EMT training, residential construction and cosmetology.

The building will also house the division’s teacher training academy, which readies students for a career in education, and the accompanying Little Lions Learning Lab, a program that offers aspiring teachers a chance to work directly with young children and provides on-site childcare for division employees. The childcare center will occupy its own secure wing of the building and have a separate parking area.

As for new programming, the building will provide space to train students to work on boats and other watercraft; to prepare students for careers in HVAC installation/repair and plumbing; and to ready students for careers in the electrical/energy sector, computer-aided design and other tech fields.

The facility will also feature flex space that can be adapted for new coursework as well as a large meeting area for conferences, banquets and other events.

Read more about the CTE Center in the March 9 edition of Engage Louisa.

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BOS roundup: Supes ok changes to tax relief program; Hamilton Road bridge replacement set to move forward

Though their meeting lasted barely an hour and half, the board of supervisors on Monday night tackled a wide-ranging agenda, beefing up a tax relief program available to some elderly and disabled residents, adopting a framework for awarding micro-grants to promote tourism and economic development; green-lighting a plan aimed at cutting in half the number of fatalities on the county’s roads and getting an update on the future of a bridge that’s fallen into disrepair in the Green Springs Historic District. (meeting materials, video)

Supervisors beef up tax relief program available to some elderly and disabled residents

Supervisors held a public hearing and voted unanimously to beef up a program that offers tax relief to some elderly and disabled residents.

Currently, the program provides real estate tax relief to totally disabled residents and residents 65 years old and over whose income falls at or below $50,000 a year and whose net worth, excluding their home and 10 acres, falls at or below $200,000.

The program previously capped the amount of tax relief annually available to participants at $2,000. The board voted on Monday night to raise that threshold to $3,000.

The county provides the relief based on a sliding scale. Residents who bring in less than $18,000 in annual income and who have a net worth less than $35,000 are eligible for up an up to 100 percent exemption. At the other end of the scale, residents who make between $40,001 and $50,000 a year and whose net worth is between $150,001 and $200,000 are eligible for an up to 45 percent tax break.

The board’s finance committee, comprised of Jackson District Supervisor Toni Williams and Mineral District Supervisor Duane Adams, recommended increasing the relief threshold during a public hearing on the Fiscal Year 2026 budget last month.

The move is aimed at easing the burden of rising real estate taxes for some of the county’s most vulnerable residents.

Though the board has maintained a level real estate tax rate of 72 cents per $100 of assessed value for nearly a decade, the assessed value of the county’s real estate, excluding new construction and improvements, has jumped about 42 percent since 2022. Consequently, many residents have seen their tax bills rise.

To learn more about the tax relief program, click here.

VDOT set to move forward with Hamilton Road bridge replacement

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is poised to move forward with a plan to replace a steel Pratt pony truss bridge in the Green Springs National Historic Landmark District.

The bridge, which carried traffic over the South Anna River on Hamilton Road (Route 695) for a century and is considered a contributing structure in the federally protected historic district, has been shuttered for the last three months due to structural deficiencies. It was off limits to some emergency apparatuses and other heavy vehicles for years before that.

In a letter to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Marc Holma, VDOT’s statewide architectural team leader, said his department plans to replace the bridge “with a modified Warren type truss bridge,” which provides the “closest appearance to the existing bridge” of any of the superstructures available to VDOT.

Holma said the agency would install the bridge on its existing abutments, which require minor repairs. He noted that the project wouldn’t increase the width of the 12-foot-wide roadway, nor would it rely on federal funding or require any federal permits.

Holma said that when the project’s complete, the bridge would be able to accommodate “all legal loads to include modern emergency and fire vehicles, farm equipment, and school buses.”

County Administrator Christian Goodwin noted that VDOT is ready to move forward with the structure’s replacement during a brief report at Monday’s meeting.

VDOT Residency Administrator Scott Thornton was also at the meeting, but he didn’t share specifics about the bridge replacement process.

At a meeting last year, Thornton said that VDOT’s replacement plan, which was then moving through a stakeholder engagement process, would cost about $669,000 and rely on state funding.

The board of supervisors in March 2023 formally asked VDOT to develop a plan to replace or rehabilitate the bridge. The board cited public safety concerns, noting that some emergency service equipment couldn’t cross the bridge. County officials also pointed out that heavy farm equipment couldn’t traverse the structure, which is situated on a gravel road amid several working farms.

In his letter, Holma recounted the history of VDOT’s efforts to upgrade the bridge. He noted that the department first attempted to address concerns about the structure in 2012 but walked away from the project four years later because “consensus among the parties [invited to weigh in on the project] could not be reached.” Those parties included VDOT, representatives of Historic Green Springs, Inc., a land preservation group and the National Park Service, among others.

Neighbors and county officials began raising concerns about the bridge again several years ago, prompting supervisors to push for a fix.

The bridge was briefly closed to all vehicles in the summer of 2023 after inspectors found significant deterioration on one of its floor beams. Following minor repairs, the structure reopened with a three-ton weight limit, down from its previous five-ton limit, making it accessible only to passenger vehicles.

The bridge was shuttered again in February after an inspection identified “continuing deterioration to several floor beams supporting the deck,” according to Holma’s letter.

Green Springs District Supervisor Rachel Jones asked if the new bridge would mesh with its historic surroundings, noting that some historic district residents have concerns about the replacement plan.

Thornton said that he didn’t have a rendering of the exact superstructure VDOT plans to install but he insisted it would “be designed to fit” in Green Springs.

Board okays Move Safely Blue Ridge Comprehensive Action Plan, Secondary Six Year Road Plan

Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the Move Safely Blue Ridge Comprehensive Action Plan.

The plan is a regional collaboration spearheaded by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Committee in cooperation with its six member localities: the counties of Louisa, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Nelson and Greene and the City of Charlottesville.

In accordance with statewide highway safety goals, the plan aims to implement tactics and strategies that enhance roadway safety with the ultimate goal of reducing roadway fatalities by 50 percent by 2045.

Adopting the plan opens the door to federal funding from the Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All program. The $5 billion initiative, approved as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is aimed at making roads safer for all users. It could potentially fund projects recommended by the plan.

The plan could also be used to leverage funding from other sources, including the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) SMART SCALE program, Deputy County Administrator Chris Coon told the board.

SMART SCALE is the main vehicle the state uses to fund major improvement projects. It recently funded construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Routes 522 and 208 at Wares Crossroads, one of the county’s most dangerous sections of roadway.

In developing the plan, the TJPDC worked with staff from VDOT’s Culpeper District office; Kimley-Horn, an engineering consultancy; Louisa County staff; and community stakeholders.

The organization gathered feedback on safety improvements at a handful of community events, from a Louisa County High School football game to the Jack Jouett Day Festival. The plan also relied on VDOT crash data to inform its recommendations.

Between 2018 and 2022, there were 49 fatalities on Louisa County roads and 257 serious injuries, according to the plan, with 62 percent of the fatalities and injuries occurring on just eight percent of the county’s roadways.

The plan identifies dangerous road segments, including but not limited to, several sections of Route 33 near the center of the county, a slice of Route 208 south of the Town of Louisa and a segment of 522 in the southeastern part of the county.

Coon noted that the plan also identified the intersection at Wares Crossroads as an area of concern, but the roundabout has since been completed.

The plan focuses on mitigating some factors that contribute to roadway fatalities and serious injuries, Coon said, including speed, impaired driving, occupant protection and roadway departures.

Specifically, it recommends various “countermeasures” to enhance safety. Those include conducting speed studies to potentially reduce the speed limit at various points along Route 33; converting the intersection of Route 33 and 22 into a roundabout; realigning Waldrop Church Road to align with Range Road at its intersection with Route 33 and adding turn lanes on the latter road; widening Route 33 at Trevilians; and adding a left turn lane on Route 208 at its intersection with E Jack Jouett Road at Bells Crossroads, among others.

The plan also recommends systemic improvements including rumble strips, edge line treatments, curve delineations and high-friction surface treatment.

In other action related to road improvements, the board held a public hearing and voted unanimously to adopt the Six-Year Plan for Secondary Road System Construction in Louisa County.

Developed in cooperation with VDOT, the plan covers road improvements in the secondary system from 2025-26 through 2030-31, earmarking between $202,955 and $241,517 a year for improvements for a total projected allocation of roughly $1.371 million.

The funds are drawn from the state’s Rural Rustic Program, which is specifically aimed at paving unpaved public roads that carry more than 50 vehicles per day, and “telefee” funds, money paid by telecommunications companies that use public right of ways.

The plan includes funding to pave or improve parts of the following roads over the next five years: West Green Springs Road; Harts Mill Road; Poplar Avenue; Albemarle Avenue; Piedmont Avenue; and New Anna Road. West Green Springs Road will be improved but not paved, based on feedback from residents.

FLAES chips in $60k for emergency service equipment

The Foundation for Lake Anna Emergency Services isn’t letting up on its effort to support the New Bridge Fire and EMS Station near Lake Anna.

The foundation on Monday night presented Louisa County with a $60,000 check, earmarked for the purchase an air cascade system. The system will enable firefighters at the New Bridge station (Company 8) to fill their air tanks on site.

“This will save Station 8 personnel from having to go out of the area to other stations to fill their tanks. We’ve walked in on them a number of times just to say ‘hey’ and see what’s going on. They’re always busy training, so they’re using up those tanks, and they need to be refilled,” Pat Gallagher, a member of the nonprofit’s board of directors, said.

FLAES was launched by lake residents in 2019 to raise $100,000 in seed money for the construction of the New Bridge station. The station, which officially opened its doors in early 2023, is the county’s first emergency service facility built largely with taxpayer dollars. The county’s other fire and rescue stations were built by volunteers.

Since raising the initial $100,000, the foundation has chipped in some $400,000 more for emergency apparatuses and other equipment. The organization raises money in a variety of ways including special events throughout the Lake Anna community. On May 20, the group will host a golf tournament at Cutalong with proceeds supporting the New Bridge facility.

Supervisor ok framework for micro-grant program

Supervisors voted unanimously to green-light the framework for a policy and memorandum of understanding governing micro-grants to businesses from the county’s Tourism Partnership Grant Program.

Drawing money from the transient occupancy tax (TOT), the program provides support to various tourism-related initiatives aimed at bringing visitors to the county, especially for overnight stays.

The board two years ago increased the TOT—a tax that’s tacked on to customers’ bills when they stay the night at a local hotel, bed and breakfast or short-term rental—from two percent to seven percent. Under state law, about 40 percent of the revenue generated by that levy must be spent on tourism-related endeavors. The statutory goal of the requirement is to increase overnight stays in the county.

Under the micro-grant framework, county staff can okay awards up to $4,999 to help businesses with events that draw tourists without securing a recommendation from the Tourism Advisory Committee or approval by the board of supervisors. Funding requests exceeding that amount and grants to most nonprofits require review from the committee and a thumbs up from the board.

Deputy County Administrator Chris Coon said allowing staff to okay smaller funding requests to businesses aligns with the county’s micro-purchase threshold, part of its procurement policy. He said the framework would eliminate administrative burdens and ensure a timelier delivery of funding, noting that the Tourism Advisory Committee only meets once a quarter to review funding applications.

To receive micro-grant funding, Coon said businesses must sign an MOU with the county requiring that they provide event attendance data and marketing content and blog posts to Visit Louisa, the county’s official tourism marketing campaign.

The MOU also requires the businesses to include the Visit Louisa logo on marketing materials and partner with a local entity that provides lodging. Under the agreement, the business gets 50 percent of the requested funding upfront and 50 percent upon completion of the requirements.

In addition to providing financial support, the county agrees to help promote the events via social media and its Visit Louisa app and provide tools to track attendance.

Supervisors reacted favorably to the framework with Cuckoo District Supervisor Chris McCotter, the board’s liaison to the Tourism Advisory Committee, calling it “wonderful.”

“I think it’s a good program, and, as a member of the Tourism Advisory Committee, I take these things very seriously,” he said.

Board appropriates FY26 budget, green-lights LCSO capital expense

In other business, the board voted 7-0 to appropriate the Fiscal Year 2026 Operations and Maintenance Budget and 6-1 to appropriate the FY26 Capital Improvement Plan.

The $174.8 million operating budget covers the day-to-day cost of running county government while the $12.7 million CIP pays for “tangible and long-lasting items” like new school buildings, emergency service equipment and infrastructure.

Mountain Road District Supervisor Tommy Barlow was the lone board member to vote against appropriating the CIP. He didn’t offer any comment when casting his vote.

The board also greenlit a resolution permitting the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office to move forward with $580,000 expenditure to replace high-mileage vehicles. The money is included in the FY26 CIP, but the board’s action allows LCSO to move forward with the purchase prior to the start of the new fiscal year, which kicks off July 1.

Read more about the budget in the May 4 edition of Engage Louisa.

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PC tweaks proposed ordinance regulating retail sales of controlled substances

Commissioners held a public hearing and voted unanimously to tweak the scope of a proposal aimed at regulating where businesses that sell controlled substances can set up shop in the county. (Meeting materials, video)

The commission at its April meeting recommended that the board of supervisors approve a draft ordinance that would require businesses engaged in “the sale or transaction of legally authorized controlled substances directly to consumers” to acquire a conditional use permit (CUP).

With the permit, businesses engaged in the retail sales of controlled substances would only be allowed in commercial zoning, planned unit developments (PUD) and resort developments (RD). They’d be prohibited in the county’s other zoning designations.

Obtaining a CUP requires a lengthy public approval process, including public hearings in front of the planning commission and the board of supervisors and an affirmative vote by the latter body.

Products covered by the proposal include, but aren’t limited to, “prescription medications, hemp products intended for consumption, a substance containing any percentage of controlled substances, and other regulated substances.” The rules wouldn’t apply to alcohol or tobacco sales or passive agricultural activity nor would they apply to existing business selling controlled substances.

But the proposal met pushback from some community members, who argued its language was overly broad and could deter direly needed medical facilities—like an urgent care center—from coming to the county.

In a letter to supervisors and social media posts, Melanie Lucero, a realtor who’s hoping to bring an urgent care facility to a commercial parcel near Lake Anna, urged county officials to include a carve out for urgent care centers and other medical providers.

“This ordinance could have long-term consequences. The language used, as it sits, is too broad and too gray and casts a wide net. It risks making Louisa look unwelcoming to healthcare providers and could drive away the very services we’ve fought to bring here,” Lucero said.

With no discussion, the commission recommended that the board of supervisors adopt a revised version of the ordinance during Thursday’s meeting. The reworked draft retains the CUP requirement, but states that the proposed zoning restrictions don’t apply to “facilities lawfully operating under a valid and active registration with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as licensed medical providers.”

By including that language, the CUP requirement wouldn’t apply to pharmacies, urgent care centers, free-standing emergency rooms and other licensed medical facilities operating with authorization from the DEA.

The draft also removes the definitions of hospital and clinic from county code, adds a definition for a licensed medical facility and changes the definition for medical office. It allows both uses by-right in commercial, industrial and resort development (RD) zoning and prohibits them in agricultural (A-1, A-2) and residential zoning (R-1, R-2) and planned unit developments.

Licensed medical facilities include pharmacies, urgent care centers, hospitals, and medical clinics engaged in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of illness or injury. Per the proposed definition, the facilities “may provide overnight care, serve as a base for ambulance services, or offer emergency treatment.”

Medical offices include facilities that provide “diagnostic services, minor surgical care, counseling, and outpatient treatment on a routine basis,” according to the draft.

The proposed code amendments appear to shift the county’s focus to strictly regulating where businesses that could potentially sell cannabis, or sell cannabis-adjacent products, are permitted to operate, as opposed to establishments that provide prescription medications under the federal government’s supervision.

Coon has said at previous meetings that the push to regulate the retail sales of controlled substances came at the recommendation of members of the board of supervisors amid concerns that lawmakers in Richmond would set up a retail market for recreational cannabis.

Currently, it’s legal to possess, share and grow a small amount of cannabis, but, outside of licensed medical dispensaries, retail sales are prohibited. The Democratic-controlled General Assembly has twice passed legislation to expand the retail market to allow cannabis sales for recreational use, but Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin has wielded his veto pen to block measure.

The proposed ordinance also grew out of concerns about shops that have cropped up in the county selling cannabis-related and adjacent products, prompted by changes in state law.

Coon said that, since the county doesn’t currently have an ordinance in place dictating where businesses that sell controlled substances can peddle their wares, county officials want to set guardrails on the use ahead of any other action from Richmond.

He framed the revised ordinance as a way to restrict the sales of substances like cannabis—even cannabis for medical use—while providing leeway for what he terms “legitimate healthcare services.”

“The revised language ensures that any business engaged in the retail sale of controlled substances without a valid DEA license must obtain a Conditional Use Permit (CUP), to address potential impacts that are otherwise managed by the regulatory and professional standards applied to licensed medical facilities and their associated medical professionals,” Coon said in a memo to the commission. “In contrast, organizations employing licensed medical professionals and maintaining an active DEA registration for dispensing or administering controlled substances will be permitted by-right in appropriate zoning districts. This structure protects public health while promoting access to legitimate healthcare services.”

The proposal will now move to the board of supervisors for another public hearing and a final up or down vote.

Commission green-lights tweaks to Land Development Regulations

Commissioners held a public hearing and voted unanimously to recommend that the board of supervisors approve a handful of tweaks to the county’s Land Development Regulations that touch on everything from the county’s plat approval process and subdivision requirements to regulations for telecommunications infrastructure and Lake Anna shoreline design standards. (draft amendments)

Other business

Besides its two public hearings, the commission continued a discussion about how to define emergency shelter and homeless shelter in county code, but failed to reach a consensus. Commissioners will hold another work session on the topic prior to their June meeting. Read more about the discussion in an upcoming edition of Engage Louisa. For background information, check out last week’s edition.

The commission also formally asked the board of supervisors to direct staff to develop and issue a request for proposals “to engage qualified firms to conduct a countywide analysis of by-right development potential.” Per the motion, the analysis “shall include a comprehensive review of all parcels in Louisa County to determine the number of divisions currently permitted by-right under applicable zoning and subdivision regulations.”

The commission says the proposal is aimed at informing “decisions related to land use planning, infrastructure investment, and growth management.”

The county will conduct a state-mandated five-year review of its comprehensive plan later this year.

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