This week in county government; BOS preview: supervisors to consider rules for short-term rentals
Engage Louisa is a community newsletter aimed at keeping folks informed about Louisa County government. It’s free, non-partisan, and powered by volunteers. 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, Sept. 19 through Sept. 24
For the latest information on county meetings including public meetings of boards, commissions, authorities, work groups, and internal county committees, click here.
Monday, September 19
Community Policy Management Team, work session, Administration Conference Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 9 am.
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. (agenda packet, livestream)
Wednesday, September 21
Community Policy Management Team, Executive Board Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 1 pm.
Lake Anna Advisory Committee, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Administration Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., 7 pm.
Other meetings:
Tuesday, September 20
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.
Supervisors to consider regulations for short-term rentals
The Louisa County Board of Supervisors on Monday night will consider adopting regulations for short-term lodging that could shake up the vacation rental market at Lake Anna.
After months of discussion both in public and behind the scenes, supervisors will hold a public hearing on a proposed ordinance that would implement new rules for short-term rentals, establishing a county-wide registry for the properties and imposing a controversial occupancy cap. The lodging option, typically offered on platforms like Vrbo and Airbnb, has exploded in popularity in recent years, but isn’t explicitly addressed in county code.
In March 2022, there were 380 dwellings available as short-term rentals in Louisa County, according to a survey of online platforms conducted on the county’s behalf. Many, but not all, were clustered around the lake. The offerings ranged from multi-bedroom lakefront homes to a tugboat and a yurt.
A recent study by the vacation rental management company Vacasa ranked Lake Anna as the top place in the country to invest in a vacation home. The company noted that the median sales price for a home at the lake is $435,000 and the average annual gross rental revenue over the last 12 months was $81,293, a 12.2 percent return on investment. Lake Anna spans Louisa, Spotsylvania, and Orange counties and cools Dominion’s North Anna Nuclear Power Station.
As short-term rentals have proliferated in lakeside subdivisions, attracting both vacationers and investors, the debate over how the county should regulate them, if at all, has intensified. Some residents argue that STRs are businesses operating in residential neighborhoods and require regulation to protect the character of their communities, public safety, and the health of the lake. Others, including out-of-county homeowners who regularly rent their property and business owners who cater to tourists, say that cracking down on STRs infringes on property rights and threatens the local economy.
The ordinance up for consideration Monday night has been months in the making. A group of Lake Anna residents, many from the Overton Fork subdivision, prompted its creation after they complained to supervisors earlier this year about short-term rentals in their community. Many of the rentals, they said, are operated by absentee investors only interested in profit. The residents said that overcrowded STRs are ruining the tranquility of their neighborhood and cited concerns about failing septic systems, increased traffic, fire safety, and other issues.
“My concern is that overcrowded homes could be leading to overloaded septic systems. As you know, a failed septic system could affect the groundwater, our drinking water for those who live downhill from them as well as the health of Lake Anna,” Joanna Bradley, an Overton Fork resident, told the board at its February 14 meeting. She noted that she’s aware of two homes in her community that have an occupancy capacity of six but advertise as a rental for between 10 and 14 people.
Her neighbor, Jackie Smoot, said that she moved to the lake from northern Virginia to enjoy a quiet retirement closer to her grandchildren, but now her subdivision is overrun by unruly short-term renters who crowd its common area and prevent her from relaxing at the beach with her family.
“We are not a resort. It’s our neighborhood. We worked hard. We try to keep it clean, and we want to retire here. But now it has turned into a resort and it’s really bad,” she said.
Dennis Wallingsford, who also lives in Overton Fork, said that Louisa County is a magnet for STR investors because of its low property taxes and lack of regulations. He noted that, in his 100-lot subdivision, he knows of at least eight short-term rentals.
“Unregulated short-term rentals are offering the same services as licensed bed and breakfasts and hotels but without the same regulations such as following the proper building code, fire and safety code, and insurance and health department certification,” Wallingsford said.
After meeting with stakeholders around the lake including Overton Fork residents and representatives from the business community, county officials in March proposed draft regulations that included a registry, occupancy cap, and requirements for a property management plan, among other rules.
At a May public hearing in front of the Louisa County Planning Commission, a slightly-tweaked version of the proposal sparked strong pushback from some community members, particularly business owners who rely on tourism and STR owners.
Tracy Hale Clark, executive director of the Louisa County Chamber of Commerce, urged the county to take its time in crafting regulations, arguing that the proposed rules hadn’t been sufficiently studied to gauge their impact on tourism and the broader economy.
“We believe that it would be in every stakeholder’s best interest to dedicate time and effort to evaluate this matter further. We started in February. It’s only May. We’ve had one conversation that the chamber and other stakeholders were at the table to discuss (STRs). In other communities, this has gone on for years,” Clark said, suggesting that the county establish a long-term workgroup to gather data and “better understand the problem.”
The commission tabled the ordinance in May then voted 5-2 to recommend adoption of a pared down version in June. Supervisors have delayed holding their own public hearing and voting on the proposal for more than three months, suggesting that it’s the subject of behind-the-scenes debate and could see additional tinkering during Monday’s meeting.
As currently proposed, the ordinance retains its most controversial feature: a cap that limits occupancy to two visitors per bedroom unless a home has a septic system designed to handle additional capacity. STR owners relying on septic would be required to provide a copy of their permit from the Virginia Department of Health, which reflects a system’s capacity, while homeowners using common public or private sewer systems would be required to submit a copy of their certificate of occupancy.
The occupancy cap has been a concern for both proponents and opponents of the regulations. At public meetings, some residents have focused on their fear that septic systems strained by over-occupancy will harm the lake’s water quality. That argument gained traction early on with Mineral District Supervisor Duane Adams, who lives on the lake and represents a significant swath of its shoreline.
“I have a letter that was provided to me by a former member of the Board of Supervisors that’s dated 1969. The Army Corps of Engineers said, when the lake was being developed, that the long-term threat to the water quality at Lake Anna would be failing septic systems,” Adams said in February. “I think (overcrowded STRs) goes to that issue and exacerbates that issue.”
John Wayne, chair of the Lake Anna Civic Association’s land use committee, linked overused septic systems to the Harmful Algal Blooms that have plagued the upper end of the lake over the last five summers. The blooms feed on excess nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen, which can be released from the systems. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality recently included the lake on its list of impaired waterways because of the blooms. Wayne told the Planning Commission that LACA “would support any measures that preserve and protect the cleanliness and safe use of Lake Anna and the watershed.”
Opponents argue an occupancy cap isn’t necessary and infringes on property rights, noting that government isn’t placing limits on how many visitors a homeowner can have who doesn’t operate an STR but regularly host multiple guests. Some business owners and STR operators said that the cap would be a crushing blow to their livelihoods and ability to own a home at the lake.
Marie Snyder, who lives in Louisa County and operates a business that provides linens to STRs and other residences, told the Planning Commission that adopting strict rules would “bankrupt” her and hurt Louisa’s economy, noting that she employs four people during the off-season and 20-25 in the summer when most people visit the lake. She took issue with the occupancy limit, telling the commission that one client emailed her and complained that the limit would “cause him to lose 95 percent of his rentals and force him to sell his dream home.”
After the Planning Commission recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve the cap in June, Clark said that there were “some concerns” among local business owners and she was working to get “further clarity on the issue.”
Beyond the occupancy cap, the draft ordinance includes several other components. It defines a short-term rental as the “rental of a dwelling for periods of 30 days or less” and classifies it as a commercial use that’s permitted by-right in most zoning designations and via Conditional Use Permit in commercial and industrial designations.
To track STRs, the proposed rules establish a county-wide short-term rental registry, requiring operators to annually register their property and pay a $50 fee. The proposed regulations also require that STR owners are current on all associated taxes and fees, such as the county’s two percent transient occupancy tax, before registering a property.
Prior to offering their property for rent, the draft rules stipulate that STR operators provide the county with a property management plan that includes a point of contact to “respond to complaints, clean up garbage, manage unruly tenants and utility issues, etc.” The owner is also required to provide the contact information to the subdivision’s governing body if one exists. Rental contracts for STRs must include copies of Louisa County’s noise and solid waste ordinances, among other county rules.
To further address concerns about septic systems, the proposed rules state that STR operators must provide the county with a dwelling’s most recent septic system inspection, which should be performed by an accredited septic inspector at least every 24 months. The report must also provide a recommended date for the system’s next pump-out. Residences connected to common public or private sewer systems would be exempt from these requirements.
The draft regulations require that guests park in driveways or designated parking spaces and that safety equipment is provided and maintained in accordance with the Uniform Statewide Building Code. County officials would be permitted to inspect a property with 48-hours notice.
The draft rules bar homeowners from renting STRs for special events unless they have a Conditional Use Permit and prohibit the use of tents and campers to increase occupancy.
At the request of the Louisa County Sherriff’s Office, the proposed ordinance includes a provision requiring STR owners to keep a record of who rented their property for a year. The sheriff’s office said the provision could help with investigations.
STR operators who fail to register their property or otherwise violate the ordinance would be subject to a maximum $500 fine per violation and could be barred from offering the property as an STR until fines and fees are paid. STR operators may be prohibited from offering a specific property for short-term rental after multiple violations.
The Planning Commission recommended that the proposed rules take effect January 1, 2023, to allow homeowners time to come into compliance.
Assistant County Administrator Chris Coon said earlier this year that the county could use records from the Commissioner of the Revenue’s Office and specialized software that identifies STRs to notify operators about any new regulations. The commissioner’s office already tracks the properties to collect the transient occupancy tax.
Coon said at multiple public meetings that enforcement for most of the draft provisions would be complaint-based. He noted that staff would implement a hotline and online system to log and track complaints.
BOS preview: more agenda highlights for Sept. 19 meeting
While a public hearing on proposed regulations for short-term rentals is the marquee item on the board’s agenda Monday night, supervisors will hold a second public hearing, consider two other action items, and hear three presentations. Check out the agenda highlights below.
Supervisors to consider CUP for dwelling that exceeds maximum height limit: Supervisors will hold a public hearing and consider a request for a Conditional Use Permit allowing a single-family home in the Cuckoo Voting District to exceed the maximum allowed building height for dwellings in Residential (R-2) zoning.
Gerry Decker applied for the CUP to allow his residence, currently under construction on a 1.1-acre parcel (tmp 46-42-1) in the Rum Point subdivision on Lake Anna, to exceed the maximum permitted height of 40 feet. As designed, the home reaches 46 feet, 8 inches. County officials didn’t notice that the dwelling would exceed the height limit until an advanced stage of construction.
Senior Planner Tom Egeland told the Planning Commission at its August meeting that the dwelling’s proposed height wasn’t stated on the permitted building plans and the building inspector noted its “extraordinary height” in the field during construction. Staff then confirmed that the structure exceeded the height limit from a scale elevation drawing included in the building permit file.
Decker was the only community member to speak during the commission’s public hearing. He contended that requiring a reduction in the home’s height now would cost thousands of dollars and negatively impact his neighborhood. He said that, as constructed, the home isn’t a detriment.
“I’m not blocking anyone’s view. I’m not hampering anyone’s view. I’m not in a utility zone. I’m not in a flight path. I’m nothing. I’m just 46 (feet), eight (inches),” he said.
Two adjoining property owners and the president of the Rum Point Homeowners’ Association submitted letters in support of the request, echoing Decker’s argument.
“The home (Decker) is building does not interfere with my view at all and will be beautiful when complete. If the roof line were to change at this point to shorten the home, all of us would be stuck with an unattractive home forever. That wouldn’t be good for Mr. Decker or the other neighbors,” Jeff Smith, an adjoining property owner, wrote.
Before motioning to recommend approval of the CUP, Cuckoo District Commissioner George Goodwin said that he attended the pre-application meeting with staff and the applicant and he’s confident “there was no intent by the property owner to hoodwink the county or anyone else.” He said that he trusts staff to “get to the bottom of” whatever oversights led to permitting the home’s construction as designed.
Egeland said that, at the time the home was permitted, the county’s building permit application form for residential dwellings didn’t include a field for proposed height to be filled in by an applicant but there was a field for maximum height. The current form has a field for both proposed and maximum height, he said.
The Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve the CUP request.
Resolution authorizing a supplemental appropriation to Louisa County Public Schools for additional teaching positions: Supervisors will consider a resolution authorizing a $243,327.72 supplemental appropriation to Louisa County Public Schools to cover salaries and fringe benefits for three new teachers.
The school division received additional funding in FY22 due to increased enrollment. The money to hire the teachers will be drawn from that allocation, which was carried over to FY23.
According to data from the Virginia Department of Education, the number of students enrolled in Louisa County Public Schools rose from 4,984 in 2020-21 to 5,168 in 2021-22. Grades 9 through 12 saw the largest jump in enrollment with the number of students rising from 1522 to 1642.
Resolution to approve amendments to the Rappahannock Regional Criminal Justice Academy charter and bylaws: Supervisors will consider a resolution approving amendments to the bylaws and charter for the Rappahannock Regional Criminal Justice Academy. The academy trains law enforcement officers from 17 counties across central and eastern Virginia.
According to the resolution, the organization wants to change its bylaws and charter to address “the perception of unfair practices in creating and approving the budget and limited seats on the executive committee.” The academy’s current governing documents stipulate that only charter members have a financial interest in the academy and the authority to approve and/or adjust its budget. The documents also require that three-quarters of the members on the executive board are from charter member agencies.
The academy currently serves 43 agencies, only 20 of which are charter members. The proposed amendments would allow for “full equity of all members,” per the resolution.
Three presentations on board’s agenda: Supervisors will hear three presentations on Monday night.
The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission will brief the board on the Regional Transit Vision Plan for Louisa County. TJPDC, along with local leaders, transit agencies, and a wide variety of stakeholders, is crafting the plan, which aims to develop a clear vision for the future of high-quality transit across the region. When complete, the document will identify short and long-term actions the community must take to support its vision for high-quality transit. Learn more about the plan here.
The Jefferson Area Board for Aging and the Monticello Area Community Action Agency will update the board on their work. JABA is a regional nonprofit that provides services to the elderly, people with disabilities, and caregivers. MACAA works to eradicate poverty and improve the lives of low-income people in Central Virginia, providing programs that benefit pre-school aged children, teens, and adults.
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.
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