LCPS officials raise questions about proposed data center campus near high school; BOS to consider proposal for more lakeside condos; Hamilton Rd. Bridge nominated for historic register; PC preview

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, July 7 through July 12

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

Monday, July 7

Louisa County Board of Supervisors, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 6 pm. The board will convene in closed session at 5 pm. (meeting materials, livestream)

Wednesday, July 9

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

Louisa County Water Authority, 23 Loudin Lane, Louisa, 6 pm.

Thursday, July 10

Louisa County Planning Commission, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 7 pm. (meeting materials, livestream)

Other meetings/events

Tuesday, July 8

Louisa Town Council, special meeting, Louisa Town Hall, 212 Fredericksburg Ave., Louisa, 6:30 pm. (agenda)

The Louisa Town Council will hold a special meeting to announce the candidates under consideration for an interim appointment as mayor.

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Quote of the week

“[This] was the first I’d heard about a new facility from Amazon [potentially] coming to the area, much less right next door to the schools.”

-Louisa County Public Schools Chief Technology Officer David Childress on learning in June of Amazon Web Services’ proposal to build up to 7.2 million square feet of data center buildings near the high school/middle school campus.

Read more on school officials’ questions about the proposal in the article below.

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LCPS officials raise questions about proposal for data center complex near high school/middle school campus

Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) plan to develop a sprawling data center complex near the Louisa County High School/Middle School campus is raising questions among school officials.

At the school board’s July 1 meeting, LCPS Chief Technology Officer David Childress and Superintendent of Schools Doug Straley briefed the board on the tech giant’s proposal. (video)

Straley said the project raises a few key questions, including how much traffic it would bring to the area; how many jobs it would create and how that might impact enrollment; how it would impact the public water supply; and how it might affect LCPS’s potential plans to build a new elementary school on a 91-acre parcel on the western edge of its campus that would directly adjoin the proposed facility.

Straley suggested he doesn’t have many answers right now, prompting Board Chair Greg Strickland to direct him to raise those questions with county officials.

“If it were to be approved, we need to be prepared and know what the impacts are,” Straley said.

As proposed, the complex would include up to 7.2 million square feet of data center buildings and seven substations on 1,370 agriculturally zoned (A-2) acres around the northern end of the Northeast Creek Reservoir. It would stretch from just south of Davis Highway (Route 22) to just north of Jefferson Highway (Route 33) and nearly touch School Bus Road (Route 767) at its northwestern edge and Kennon Road (Route 665) at its southeastern end. It would adjoin property owned by the school board just west of the middle school.

The proposed site is primarily within the county’s Technology Overlay District (TOD), a special zoning designation adopted by the board of supervisors two years ago and aimed at attracting data centers.

The large warehouse-like facilities house the backbone of the internet, enabling cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other web-based services. They’re coveted by many local governments for the significant tax revenue they generate but have met pushback from citizens concerned about their potential negative impacts, including their water and power use and the noise they generate.

If approved by the board of supervisors, the campus would be the county’s fourth data center development, joining two other AWS campuses currently under construction in the TOD. Those projects are slated for 150 acres off Kentucky Springs Road (Route 652) adjacent to the North Anna Power Station and 830 acres of a 1,444-acre tract off Route 33 south of the reservoir. In addition, EdgeCore, a Colorado-based firm, recently purchased the 697-acre Shannon Hill Regional Business Park for a data center campus.

Straley said the proposed campus’ impact on traffic tops his list of questions, noting the Davis Highway corridor around the high school and middle school is already congested at peak hours when school’s in session.

He said he’s eager to get more details about how much traffic the facility would generate during what’s expected to be a lengthy construction process—Straley said that it’s his understanding construction could take 15 years—and what traffic estimates look like post-construction.

AWS representatives have acknowledged that the campus would create significant traffic during buildout but emphasized it would draw less traffic than an industrial park or large housing development after its built.

They’ve said the project would be constructed in at least four phases with four access points designed to disperse traffic. They’ve also indicated that a traffic impact analysis is underway, which will provide a clearer picture of what to expect and recommend any necessary road improvements.

AWS also plans to submit a traffic mitigation plan prior to each phase of construction, per a land use application submitted to the county in May. The plan could identify areas unsuitable for large trucks or heavy equipment and implement measures to ease impact at peak hours.

In a conceptual plan, AWS identifies four entrances: a primary entrance off Davis Highway, via Shortmans Road; an entrance off Jefferson Highway, via Old CCC Road; an entrance off Kennon Road, via Huntington East Drive; and an entrance off School Bus Road.

A couple of the entrances have drawn criticism from community members. Residents on Shortmans Road and Kennon Road have argued the access points are ill-advised. At a town hall in late June, Mineral District Supervisor Duane Adams, who represents the area and has said he opposes the project, called an entrance off Kennon Road “dangerous.”

As an alternative to the Shortmans Road entrance, AWS has proposed a potential access point parallel to Shortmans, which cuts through the 91-acre parcel owned by the school board. AWS isn’t seeking county approval for that entrance as part of its current application.

Straley said the division purchased the parcel with an eye toward expanding school facilities, noting it could be the site of a fifth elementary school. He said school officials are trying to figure out how AWS’s plans would impact the site and its potential future uses.

“We don’t know that that site is going to be used for an elementary school. But we purchased that property, and we know that there’s going to be some potential facility on that property,” Straley said.

When AWS’s application first became public about a month ago, school officials were taken by surprised by the project and the prospect of using school property to access it.

School Board Chair Greg Strickland said in an interview last month that he and other school officials first heard about AWS’s proposal when Engage Louisa broke the story in early June. He said AWS hadn’t approached the board about acquiring a right of way through its property.

“We’ve had no discussion with them. We [were completely] surprised when we saw that just like everybody else,” Strickland said.

Childress, who serves as technology director and is also overseeing construction of a 550-seat addition to the middle school and a new career and technical education (CTE) center adjacent to the high school, echoed Strickland at Tuesday’s meeting. He noted that he learned about the proposal a few weeks before when someone texted him an image of AWS’s concept plan.

“[This] was the first I’d heard about a new facility from Amazon [potentially] coming to the area, much less right next door to the schools,” Childress said, adding that he had immediate concerns about the proposal’s impact on the potential elementary school site.

Straley also said the division needs to get more information about how many people the proposed facility could employ, noting that he’d heard “different numbers.” He said the number of jobs could impact both traffic and enrollment and the division needs to be cognizant of that moving forward.

“It really revolves around thinking through the traffic piece and also the piece with what does that look like for enrollment, potentially, because we know we’re already growing very quickly,” he said.

County officials have said that one data center building, which they call a “shell,” could directly generate 25 to 30 jobs, including via contractors. AWS representatives have provided similar numbers. In its application, the company cites an economic impact analysis from Mangum Economics, conducted in 2022, that estimates every 250,000 square feet of data centers provides 30 jobs.

The company plans to build up to 7.2 million square feet on the proposed campus, meaning it could generate as many as 864 jobs, per AWS’s numbers. Economic Development Director Andy Wade said employees would be on-site and work across three shifts.

Both AWS and county officials have touted data center development as a way to generate significant local tax revenue while having less impact on public services than other large-scale industrial uses.

Of the project’s potential impact on public schools, AWS says in its application that “impacts generated by the Project will be offset by the Project’s estimated annual local tax revenues.”

LCPS officials also zeroed in on the facility’s potential water use, wondering how it would impact the Northeast Creek Reservoir. The reservoir supplies water to the high school/middle school campus and other LCPS facilities.

“The third thing I think we need to consider and make sure the county understands…is that we have built the new addition to the middle school, the CTE center and then, potentially, there’s going to be another school on a site near here—water needs. Just making sure that there’s water for those facilities,” Straley said.

Data centers are known as a thirty use, often requiring large quantities of water for cooling. AWS hasn’t provided specifics on how much water the proposed campus would use. All three of its projects intend to draw water from the reservoir.

According to a capacity study commissioned by the county two years ago, the reservoir has a safe yield of 3.2 million gallons per day with current users pulling about 300,000 gallons daily and 500,000 gallons at peak demand.

Adams has said the two AWS campuses already under construction would use, on average, 23,000 gallons of water a day per shell with the heaviest water use in summer and the lowest in winter when the facilities rely on ambient air temperature for cooling.

AWS plans to build seven shells at the campus next to North Anna. It hasn’t said how many it will build south of the reservoir. To date, it’s submitted site plans for 10. County officials have suggested the company could build more than two dozen.

The school board directed staff to provide an estimate of the high school/middle school complex’s future water needs, factoring in the middle school addition, the CTE center, expanded athletics fields and a potential elementary school.

AWS’s has applied for a conditional use permit from Louisa County to develop the third campus. Obtaining the permit requires public hearings in front of the planning commission and the board of supervisors and an affirmative vote by the latter body. Neither public hearing has been scheduled.

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Supervisors to consider controversial proposal for more condos on Lake Anna

The Louisa County Board of Supervisors on Monday night will convene its lone July meeting with two public hearings and several notable action and discussion items on tap.

The marquee item on the board’s agenda is LA Resort, LLC’s request for a proffer amendment to add 18 condos to the 96 already approved in a planned unit development on the shores of Lake Anna. The board considered a beefed-up version of the request in January but tabled action after one board member said he was appalled by the applicant’s presentation.

Board to consider LA Resort’s request for more condos on Lake Anna

For the third time in six months, supervisors are set to consider a controversial request to bring more condos to the shores of Lake Anna.

LA Resort, LLC (LAR) has asked the board for permission to add 18 condos to the 96 already approved in a 276,000-square foot, six-story building slated for 15.2 acres fronting Mitchell Creek, just west of the Route 208 bridge.

The board agreed to rezone the property from commercial (C-2) to planned unit development (PUD) two and a half years ago, clearing the way for Prince William County developers Mike Grossman and Mike Garcia to develop a mixed-use complex pairing the residential condo building with a 130-key hotel, a 150-seat restaurant/bar, a marina and other amenities at the county’s primary gateway from Northern Virginia.

In their land use application, the developers say they want to tweak their original plan to ensure the project’s “economic feasibility.” They intend to swap 12 five-bedroom condos for 30 smaller dwellings, upping the final number to a maximum of 114. Based on market research, they’ve said, the five-bedroom units could prove difficult to sell.

The changes inside the building won’t impact the project’s overall site plan, the developers say, or alter the footprint of 80-foot-tall structure.

They also argue that upping the PUD’s density would have minimal impact on county services, like Fire and EMS, and only slightly increase traffic on New Bridge Road (Route 208), adding just 119 vehicle trips per day.

Just a few months ago, Grossman and Garcia had bigger plans. Grossman presented a request to the board at its January 7 meeting to add 28 units, trading the 12 five-bedroom dwellings for 40 one-bedroom condos. He packaged the proposal with $56,000 in cash proffers, aimed at offsetting any impact on emergency services and supporting affordable housing.

But most board members bristled at the request, making clear they weren’t interested in increasing the project’s density by nearly 30 percent. Jackson District Supervisor Toni Williams said he was appalled by the ask and called the cash proffers “paltry.”

After holding a public hearing, the board opted to defer action, giving the applicant time to craft a more palatable proposal.

LA Resort was poised to present a revamped request at the board’s May 4 meeting, but attorney Torrey Williams, who’s representing the applicant, asked for a deferral just hours before the meeting.

In addition to slimming down the number of additional condos in its latest request, LA Resort has beefed up its cash proffers, offering roughly $138,000.

Of that, $100,000 would go to the Fluvanna-Louisa Housing Foundation to help address the community’s affordable housing needs; $20,000 is slated for Louisa County’s Fire and EMS Department to buy defibrillators for cop cars; and $9,000 is earmarked for the Foundation for Lake Anna Emergency Services, a nonprofit that supports the New Bridge Fire and Rescue Station. Another $9,000 is slotted for the FEMS Department’s general fund, part of a $500 per unit proffer agreed to when the property was rezoned.

LAR also agreed to chip in $1 million for the expansion of a county-owned wastewater treatment plant as part of the initial rezoning. The plant will provide public sewer service to the complex.

When LAR proposed the PUD more than two years ago, it sparked strong resistance from neighbors, especially along Mitchell Creek, a narrow cove lined with single-family homes.

Residents packed county meetings to urge supervisors to reject the request, contending that LAR would bring “Northern Virginia-style” development to their neighborhood, spoiling its rural charm.

Many residents argued the Route 208 corridor can’t handle the onslaught of traffic that nearly a hundred new dwellings would bring; that more boats along Mitchell Creek would make the already-busy area more dangerous; and that intense, lakefront development would increase runoff and exacerbate the Harmful Algal Blooms that have plagued the upper end of the lake over the last six summers.

But supervisors voted 6-1 to approve the plan. Several insisted the project meshed with the county’s long-range vision for the area, noting the property is in the Lake Anna Growth Area and designated for mixed-use development on the Future Land Use Map in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan.

They also said they preferred rezoning the property for a PUD to a previous proposal that could’ve been built by-right, meaning without supervisors’ approval. That plan consisted of a 150-unit condo-hotel, a hybrid concept in which unit owners typically stay in their condos part-time while renting them the remainder of the year.

Two years later, distaste for the project persists. Community members have repeatedly spoken out on social media and, occasionally at board meetings, urging supervisors to reject LAR’s push for more units.

“It’s unfortunate that a developer, whomever it may be, has to continually come back to this board for changes—and more, and more, and more, and more—all to feed their pockets…and really the residents of this county gain virtually nothing from them asking for more,” neighbor Phil Winston told the board in May.

Supes to discuss proposed amendments to Dogs Running At Large ordinance

Supervisors will discuss potentially amending the county’s “Dogs Running At Large” ordinance. The meeting materials don’t include any additional information about the item.

The board in February toughened rules for residents who allow their dogs to roam. The changes came after community members complained that some magistrates weren’t enforcing the former regulations because they lacked clarity.

Under the current ordinance, allowing a dog to run at large constitutes a Class 4 misdemeanor on the first offense. A second violation within one year of a conviction for the first violation constitutes a Class 2 misdemeanor. A third or subsequent violation within two years of conviction for the second or subsequent violation constitutes a Class 1 misdemeanor.

A Class 4 misdemeanor is punishable by a maximum $250 fine. A Class 2 misdemeanor is punishable by up to six months in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine while a Class 1 misdemeanor is punishable by up to a year in jail and/or a maximum $2,500 fine, per state code.

The ordinance also makes it unlawful for a dog’s owner to place a dog in the custody of someone “not physically capable of maintaining effective control of such dog.”

The ordinance includes a clause allowing for a warning notice on the first offense when an animal control officer deems it “more suitable.”

A dog is considered running at large when it’s “roaming or running off the property of its owner or custodian and not under its owner's or custodian's immediate control,” according to state and county code.

While it’s unclear what changes the board might consider, the discussion to tweak the rules comes as the Louisa County Animal Shelter operates at what staff has termed ‘critically full’ with little room to take in stray dogs and cats.

The shelter operates as no-kill, meaning it euthanizes less than 10 percent of the animals it takes in. But, due to the space crunch, staff has said it may have to euthanize more dogs, endangering that status.

The board had included nearly $2 million in the Fiscal Year 2026 capital budget to expand the shelter but opted to delay funding until FY27 in favor of giving homeowners a three percent rebate on their real estate tax bills. The county’s General Services Department does have money to begin preliminary design work for the expansion, but it’s unclear where that process stands.

General Services Manager Anderson Woolfolk told county officials earlier this year that the expansion is needed to help ensure the shelter remains no-kill and to stave off the spread of disease. It would double the size of the 3,000-square foot facility.

Woolfolk said the shelter, which was converted from an old slaughterhouse some 30 years ago, handles twice the number of dogs and cats than it did when it opened, a consequence of steady population growth.

Community members interested in adopting a dog or cat can visit the shelter at 18 Sacred Heart Avenue, Mineral, Tuesday through Saturday from 12 pm to 5 pm. Click here to learn more.

Supervisors to consider CUP for contractor’s office, equipment rental biz near Trevilians

Supervisors will hold a public hearing and vote on whether to approve James Weber’s request for a conditional use permit (CUP) to operate an equipment sales and rental business and contractor’s office and shop on about four acres at 17935 Louisa Road (Route 22) in the Louisa Election District (tax map parcels 24-45, 24-46).

The commercially zoned property (C-2) is located on the north side of Louisa Road just west of its intersection with Oakland Road (Route 613) and adjacent to the Trevilian Station Battlefield. A portion of the property was formerly used for storage and resale of second-hand items and antiques.

Kelsey Schlein, a planner with Shimp Engineering and the applicant’s representative, told the planning commission in June that Weber’s contracting business mostly builds retaining walls. Schlein said he’d couple that use with equipment sales and rental, operating something akin to a Sunbelt Rentals, which offers everything from masonry equipment to general construction tools.

According to his land use application, Weber plans to install a commercial entrance off Louisa Road to serve the property and erect a 4,000 square foot building to support the business’ equipment sales and rental component. He plans to repurpose an existing structure for the contractor’s office and shop.

The planning commission voted 6-0 to recommend approval of the CUP with eight conditions.

Board to consider CUP for cabinet biz

In the second public hearing of the night, supervisors will consider Builders Cabinet Company and its owner, Joey Bryant’s, request for a CUP to operate a cabinet and carpentry manufacturing shop and contractor’s office and shop on about six acres on the east side of Belle Meade Road (Route 701) near Beagle Run subdivision in the Jackson Election District (tax map parcel 85-14-9).

Bryant and his wife, Pam, own the agriculturally zoned (A-2) property and reside on an adjoining parcel.

According to his land use application, Bryant plans to construct a 4,800-square foot enclosed garage to manufacture custom-made cabinets and carpentry products. He says the use wouldn’t negatively impact neighbors, noting that few clients would visit the facility.

The planning commission voted 6-0 to recommend approval of the CUP with eight conditions.

Other business

Board to establish airport advisory committee: Supervisors are set to formally establish the Louisa County Airport Advisory Committee. The five-member committee will be appointed by the board of supervisors.

Per its proposed bylaws, the committee will be tasked with generating ideas to support the growth of the airport; assisting in planning aviation-related events that draw public interest; helping to align airport initiatives with the county’s broader economic development goals; and encouraging partnerships with community stakeholders. It won’t have any formal authority over airport operations, budgeting or decision-making.

The board considered establishing the committee at its June 16 meeting but tabled action after several supervisors agreed its bylaws should be tweaked to ensure that members serve staggered terms.

Board expected to put nearly $42 million in long-term capital reserves: Louisa County, via the Louisa County Industrial Development Authority, last month sold the 697-acre Shannon Hill Regional Business Park for $42 million to EdgeCore, a Colorado-based data center developer, owner and operator. (Read more in last week's edition of Engage Louisa).

County officials have said they’ll use surplus funds from the sale primarily to pay off debt early.

At Monday’s meeting, the board is poised to place the sale proceeds in the county’s long-term capital reserves, a fund that holds unassigned monies to pay for capital projects like new buildings and infrastructure upgrades.

Board to consider supplemental appropriation to LCWA for dam repair: Supervisors will consider authorizing a $78,043 supplemental appropriation to the Louisa County Water Authority (LCWA) to replace a faulty valve stem at the Bowlers Mill Dam. The appropriation would also cover the cost of a trash rack to keep debris away from the valve and the dam intake. If approved, the county would draw the money from its General Fund.

Board to authorize pass-through appropriation for brush truck purchase: Supervisors are set to okay a $90,000 pass-through appropriation to the Louisa County Fire and EMS Department for the purchase of a brush truck for the New Bridge Fire and EMS Station. The Foundation for Lake Anna Emergency Services donated the money.

Supes to ok pass-through appropriation for airport upgrades: Supervisors are poised to authorize a $42,465 pass-through appropriation for lighting upgrades at the Louisa County Airport. Of that, $38,218, or 90 percent, will come from the Virginia Department of Aviation while $4,246, or 10 percent, will come from a county contingency fund.

Board to hear one presentation: The Louisa County Chamber of Commerce will update the board on its work.

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Hamilton Road Bridge nominated for National Register of Historic Places

A century-old bridge slated for replacement by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has been nominated for the National Register of Historic Places.

The Hamilton Road Bridge (Route 695), which has carried traffic over the north fork of the South Anna River since the 1920s, was nominated for the honorary designation last week by Historic Green Springs, Inc. (HGSI), a preservation group. (nomination form)

The steel pony truss bridge is tucked amid rolling farmland on a gravel road in the Green Springs National Historic Landmark District, a federally recognized historic district in southwestern Louisa County.

VDOT announced plans to replace the bridge earlier this year despite resistance from HGSI, which has advocated for its restoration. The bridge has been shuttered for about five months due to structural deficiencies. Prior to its closure, the structure had a three-ton weight limit, meaning it was off limits to large trucks, farm equipment and emergency vehicles.

In its application, HGSI describes the circa 1917 bridge as a “significant contributing feature to the rural character of the [Green Springs National Historic Landmark District] and an excellent example of historic transportation history.” It notes that the bridge’s original span and supports remain fully intact.

The application says the structure is the last “remaining bridge built under the newly formed ‘Virginia State Highway Commission,’” a precursor to VDOT. Virginia was leading the way in road development at the turn of the 20th century, the application recounts, and “as such, the bridge is a critical feature in celebrating the Commonwealth of Virginia's legacy of transportation innovation.”

“The Hamilton Bridge is part of the rural landscape and historic network of rural roads that has remained largely unaltered for over 100 years and remains much as it was experienced by original landowners and travelers on Hamilton Road. This rare surviving bridge does more than connect places. It connects users to the past and helps tell the stories of those who came before,” the application says.

For more than a decade, VDOT, local officials and Green Springs residents have wrestled with what to do with the bridge, given its steady deterioration and inability to accommodate heavy vehicles. Stakeholders first convened in 2012 to address problems with the bridge with HGSI presenting a detailed restoration plan, according to Rae Ely, the group’s president.

Efforts to rehabilitate the bridge hit a snag as they moved through the National Historic Preservation Act’s Section 106 process, which is required for projects that receive federal assistance. Stakeholders were unable to agree on how to move forward, prompting VDOT in 2016 to officially walk away from the process.

In early 2023, Green Springs District Supervisor Rachel Jones, along with other county officials, pressed VDOT to take another look at upgrading the bridge. The move came amid concerns that some emergency apparatuses couldn’t cross it, leading to lengthier response times. The structure was then posted with a five-ton weight limit and accommodated about 50 vehicles per day.

After consulting with stakeholders, VDOT said in May that it would replace the bridge “with a modified Warren type truss bridge.” The agency said the structure provides the “closest appearance to the existing bridge” of any available to VDOT.

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

It’s unclear if HGSI’s nomination will impact VDOT’s replacement plan. According to the National Parks Service website, inclusion on the register is an honorary distinction that places no restrictions on what a non-federal owner can do with their property unless the property is involved in a project that receives federal assistance, usually funding, licensing or permitting.

VDOT has said the replacement project will rely solely on state funding and doesn’t require any federal permits. Scott Thornton, the agency’s Louisa residency administrator, told the board of supervisors last year that he expects the project will cost about $669,000.

Ely said in an interview last week that she isn’t sure if the nomination will have any impact on VDOT’s plan. She said the project should already be subject to federal oversight, via the Section 106 process, because it’s located in a federally protected historic district. But, she said, VDOT had chosen to bypass the process.

“This bridge is almost in the center of a national historic landmark district…and it’s surrounded by thousands of acres of federal conservation easements, so that’s about as federal as you can get,” Ely said.

At publication time, Thornton hadn’t responded to multiple inquiries about whether the nomination impacts VDOT’s plan to replace the bridge.

Green Springs District Supervisor Rachel Jones said in an interview last week that while she values the bridge as a historic resource, she’s open to VDOT replacing it to ensure emergency vehicles can reach Hamilton Road residents as quickly as possible.

“I really need to make sure that emergency service equipment can get over that bridge…We even have a young boy on that road that has cancer…They have to drive, with that bridge closed, 10 miles out of their way just to come to Zion Crossroads to go shopping. I want to take the stress off them to be able to cross that bridge. If emergency services have to get to that little guy as quickly as possible, that’s what I want,” Jones said.

Jones said she’d like to see the bridge preserved in a different location, noting she’s trying to determine if the structure could be added to the register if it’s moved.

As part of the nomination process, HGSI’s application first goes to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources for consideration. In a letter to DHR Director Julie Langan, Ely asked that the agency expedite its review.

Ely said last week that HGSI has been working on the nomination for some time, noting the significant amount of research included in the application.

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Planning Commission set for busy meeting

The Louisa County Planning Commission on Thursday night will consider a busy agenda, including four public hearings. The commission will also take up unfinished business from last month, considering whether to recommend that the board of supervisors approve a conditional use permit (CUP) for a renewable natural gas unloading facility in western Louisa County.

Commission to hold public hearing to consider regulations for humanitarian shelters

After months of discussion, the planning commission will hold a public hearing and consider whether to recommend to the board of supervisors approval of a draft ordinance that would add a definition of humanitarian shelter to county code and impose restrictions on the use.

The public hearing comes after advocates with the Louisa Homeless Coalition (LHC) asked county officials to loosen a provision in county code requiring a conditional use permit (CUP) to operate a homeless shelter in most zoning designations. Code currently calls a homeless shelter an “emergency shelter.”

LHC wants the county to allow churches to provide temporary shelter to homeless people during the coldest months of the year sans an onerous public approval process. Volunteers have pushed for the change in hopes of launching a program modeled after People and Congregations Engaged in Ministry (PACEM) in Charlottesville, where a rotating group of churches offer overnight shelter to unhoused community members March through November.

LHC launched a pilot program last winter, but members have said their efforts were hampered by the county’s CUP requirement.

The commission has instead opted to move forward with amendments that would remove the definition of “emergency shelter” from code, replace it with a definition for “humanitarian shelter,” which county staff says is more inclusive, and require a CUP for the use anywhere in the county.

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.

The draft ordinance defines humanitarian shelter as “a facility that provides temporary shelter and basic services to individuals or families without requiring leases or occupancy agreements.” The proposal would remove the definition of “emergency shelter.”

To obtain and retain a CUP, entities seeking to shelter unhoused community members or others needing a place to stay on a temporary basis would be required to have a staffer or authorized representative on site whenever the shelter is operating; establish a structured intake process; partner with at least one qualified provider of supportive services; provide a narrative explaining how they’d avoid “adverse impacts on surrounding properties and uses;” and provide a point of contact to respond to community concerns, among other requirements.

The proposal would allow a humanitarian shelter only as an accessory or ancillary use, explicitly prohibiting standalone shelters.

Commissioners discussed the proposal at their June meeting where it met strong pushback from volunteers with the coalition, most of whom urged government to get out of the way and allow churches to carry out their mission unmolested.

Sue Frankel Streit, an organizer with LHC, said the group complied with several of the proposed CUP requirements when they ran the pilot program at two churches last year. She argued the CUP process creates obstacles for the program and that county officials should let churches do what local government won’t.

“I know [Louisa County] isn’t going to house homeless people. We all know that. We’re actually, at this point, resigned to that. But just let us do it to the best of our very limited ability,” Frankel Streit said.

Allan Smith, pastor at Mechanicsville Baptist Church near Boswells Tavern, contended the CUP process infringes on churches’ ability to practice their faith.

“It is my belief that, as the pastor of our church, faith is not just something we do by sitting in our pews on Sunday morning. It is something we literally practice 24/7. And yes, I do believe that we are called to care for those in need in our communities…I do consider what we do to care for the poor and, in this case, the homeless to be actually part of what it means to practice our religion…To me, [the CUP process] feels unnecessary and infringes on our beliefs and what it means to be a church,” Smith said.

The board of supervisors has the final say on whether the amendments are approved.

Commission to consider CUP for RNG injection facility

After holding a public hearing but tabling action last month, commissioners will consider whether to recommend that the board of supervisors approve Columbia Gas Transmission and Vanguard Renewables SVP, LLC’s request for a conditional use permit (CUP) to operate a renewable natural gas (RNG) unloading station on a 5.6-acre agriculturally zoned (A-2) parcel at the corner of Brickhouse Road (Route 637) and Poindexter Road (Route 613) in the Patrick Henry Election District (tax map parcel 37-44).

The CUP would clear the way for the expansion of a compressor station situated on an adjoining parcel, enabling the injection of RNG into the Columbia gas pipeline. The gas would be transported throughout the region, including to facilities in Louisa.

RNG refers to biogas that’s used as a replacement for fossil fuels, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. It comes from a variety of sources, including livestock farms, landfills and wastewater treatment facilities.

The biogas injected in Louisa would originate at a dairy farm in Amelia County with large trucks regularly transporting gas to the site.

After the applicant made some last-minute changes to its preliminary site plan and two community members expressed concerns about the impact of the facility’s proposed entrance off Brickhouse Road, commissioners decided to defer action to give the applicant more time to address concerns. Those concerns centered on the proposed entrance; how often trucks would visit the facility—now and in the future—and whether they’d deliver RNG on Sundays.

In a revised proposal, staff recommends conditions that limit truck visits to five per day and 28 per week and beef up buffer requirements to shield the facility from view. The conditions only allow truck visits/injections between Monday and Saturday.

Commission to consider CUPs for two cell towers

Commissioners will hold public hearings on a pair of requests to build wireless communication towers in Louisa County.

Verizon Wireless is requesting a conditional use permit (CUP) to construct a 195-foot cell tower with a four-foot lightening rod on 64.8 agriculturally zoned acres (A-2) adjacent to Jouett Elementary School in the Jackson Election District (tax map parcel 83-68).

The company is also requesting a CUP to build a 195-foot cell tower with a four-foot lightening rod on a 772-acre agriculturally zoned parcel (A-2) on the west side of Zachary Taylor Highway near Wares Crossroads in the Mineral Election District (tmp 28-97F).

In its land use applications, the company says both towers aim to expand Verizon’s network of service in the county while also meeting the needs for increased network capacity.

Louisa County’s Telecommunications Masterplan, a 2007 document designed to promote the rational growth of wireless infrastructure, doesn’t propose a tower for either area in its “Projected Theoretical Coverage for 2020.” But county planning staff notes the demand for wireless service has increased over the last 17 years and thus finds the locations in compliance with the plan.

Staff recommends 21 conditions as part of the CUPs for both towers, including that the structures are gray or another neutral color; that construction of the towers begin within two years of the CUPs’ approval; and that all ground equipment be shielded from pedestrian view.

Commission to hold public hearing on tweak to code related to right-of-way dedication

The commission will hold a public hearing and consider a tweak to county code aimed at clarifying that “right-of-way dedication shown on a subdivision plat may be to the County of Louisa for public use; or the Commonwealth of Virginia, as may be required by the Virginia Department of Transportation.”

In a memo to the commission, staff says the clarification was initiated by the board of supervisors during a discussion of a package of minor revisions to code approved at the board’s June 16 meeting.

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