This week in county government; Missed filing deadline leaves Dem off ballot in SD10; Planning Commission to consider rezoning, CUP for affordable housing; PC to discuss rules for short-term rentals
Engage Louisa is a nonpartisan newsletter that keeps folks informed about Louisa County government. We believe our community is stronger and our government serves us better when we increase transparency, accessibility, and engagement.
This week in county government: public meetings, July 10 through July 15
For the latest information on county meetings including public meetings of boards, commissions, authorities, work groups, and internal county committees, click here. (Note: Louisa County frequently schedules internal committee/work group meetings after publication time. Check the county’s website for the most updated information).
Monday, July 10
Louisa County School Board, Central Office Administration Building, 953 Davis Highway, Mineral, 7 pm. (agenda, livestream)
Tuesday, July 11
Louisa County Electoral Board, Executive Boardroom, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 10 am. (agenda)
Wednesday, July 12
James River Water Authority, Fluvanna County Administration Building, 132 Main St. Palmyra, 9 am. At publication time, an agenda was not publicly available.
Louisa County Water Authority, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 6 pm. At publication time, an agenda was not publicly available.
Thursday, July 13
Louisa County Planning Commission, long-range planning work session, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 5 pm. (agenda packet, livestream)
Louisa County Planning Commission, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 7 pm. (agenda packet, livestream)
Other meetings
Monday, July 10
Mineral Town Council, 312 Mineral Ave., Mineral, 6:30 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.
Missed filing deadline leaves Democrat off ballot in SD10
Republican John McGuire will be the only candidate on the ballot in this fall’s 10th state Senate District race after the Democratic candidate missed a key filing deadline and the State Board of Elections didn’t act on his request for an extension.
Louisa County resident Daniel Tomlinson, who was named the Democratic nominee in mid-May, was expected to face McGuire in the ruby red 10th in the November 7th general election. But Tomlinson failed to file his certificate of candidate qualification and statement of economic interest by the June 20 deadline. The forms require a candidate to swear they’re qualified to hold the office they seek and disclose income sources, investments and real estate holdings.
Tomlinson asked the Board of Elections to grant him a 10-day extension but, at its July 5th meeting, the board declined to act on his request. Tomlinson was one of six would-be General Assembly candidates—a mix of Democrats and independents—who asked for but didn’t get extensions. Unless the board takes further action, those candidates’ names won’t appear on the ballot.
In an in-person appearance at the meeting, Tomlinson told the board that he had no one to blame but himself for missing the deadline, chalking it up to a “rookie mistake” by a first-time candidate. He pleaded with the board to grant the extension, noting that he had promptly filed both forms when he was made aware of his error.
“Unfortunately, while it’s nobody’s fault but my own, the consequence of being denied the opportunity to run for this office will be felt by hundreds of people who have already worked and contributed to this campaign and to thousands of people who thought that they would have a voice and be able to participate in a two-party election,” Tomlinson said.
The board didn’t discuss Tomlinson’s request, but Chair John O’Bannon, a Republican who previously served in the House of Delegates, thanked him for his honesty. After listening to several candidates argue that leaving their name off the ballot would disenfranchise voters, O’Bannon said that suspending the rules for candidates who didn’t follow them was its own form of disenfranchisement.
“When somebody asks for a late extension, to some degree you disenfranchise the folks that did follow the rules,” he said.
On Thursday, Tomlinson posted on his campaign Facebook page that his name wouldn’t be on the ballot and apologized to his supporters.
“I want to apologize to all of you who believed in me, supported me, and were invested in this campaign. I've let you down. I've let myself down and I've let District 10 down,” he said.
In an email to Engage Louisa Thursday morning, Tomlinson said he was “devastated” by the board’s decision because “the citizens who are in search of an alternative to a one-party election” had been “denied that alternative due to (his) blunder.” Tomlinson didn’t respond to a question about whether he’s considering running as a write-in candidate.
The board’s decision not to grant extensions for the general election differs from a stance it took in April when it granted a blanket 10-day extension for any candidate who missed the filing deadline for state and local party primaries.
At its April 11 meeting, Commissioner of Elections Susan Beals, an appointee of Governor Glenn Youngkin (R), recommended that the board grant candidates the 10-day grace period, noting the wave of retirements in the legislature and significant number of first-time candidates. She also said that the Department of Elections had run into some difficulty receiving paperwork through the mail.
The board, comprised of three Republicans and two Democrats, voted unanimously in favor of the extensions. O’Bannon referenced redistricting as a factor in the decision, a 2021 process that reshaped all 140 legislative districts, as well as the large number of new candidates.
Under Virginia law, the board is permitted but not required to give 10-day extensions, which begin when candidates are sent notices that they missed the deadline. For years, the board automatically granted the grace period, O’Bannon said, before opting for a stricter policy under its former chair, Democrat Bob Brink.
With Tomlinson off the ballot, McGuire has a clear path to the senate, a seat he was expected to easily win even with a Democratic opponent. The 10th is a strong Republican district that Youngkin won by about 36 points two years ago. It includes most of Louisa County and western Hanover at its northern edge and stretches south across all or part of eight other mostly rural localities.
McGuire beat three other contenders for the Republican nomination at a May 6 convention after a hard-fought and expensive campaign. The fitness instructor and former Navy SEAL, who has served three terms in the House of Delegates, spent nearly $350,000 in that race.
Despite the district’s partisan lean, local Democrats had hoped that the general election wouldn’t go uncontested. Tomlinson’s paperwork snafu was the latest twist in the party’s rocky effort to field a candidate.
Powhatan resident Jacob Boykin filed to run as a Democrat in the district in January, but the 20-year-old James Madison University student failed to meet party requirements to secure the nomination. That prompted the party’s 10th District Legislative Committee to call a late May caucus to choose a nominee and Tomlinson to declare his candidacy. Boykin subsequently withdrew from the race and announced on Twitter that he’d instead run for a seat on the Powhatan County School Board.
All 140 seats in the General Assembly are up for grabs in newly drawn districts this November in a high stakes election that will determine which party controls the legislature’s two narrowly divided chambers. Last session, Republicans held a 52-48 majority in the House while Democrats had a 22-18 edge in the Senate.
Planning Commission to consider rezoning, CUP for affordable rental units
A plan to build affordable housing between the towns of Louisa and Mineral is set to begin the public approval process.
The Louisa County Planning Commission on Thursday night will hold a public hearing and consider whether to recommend to the Board of Supervisors approval of the Fluvanna-Louisa Housing Foundation’s application to rezone, from industrial to residential, 8.32 acres at 140 Resource Lane adjacent to the Louisa County Resource Council (tmp 42-4C). The Commission will also consider FLHF’s request for a Conditional Use Permit to allow multi-family dwellings on the property. Together, the rezoning and CUP would clear the way for FLHF to construct 25 rental units on the parcel, which is located in the Mineral Growth Area Overlay District.
FLHF plans to rent the dwellings to income-eligible elderly residents and essential workers, like first responders and school staff, according to a project narrative included in its application. The non-profit organization already owns about 20 rental units in Louisa and Fluvanna and provides low-cost home repairs and other services.
The project would consist of 16 one-bedroom units for elderly residents with incomes below 60 percent of the area’s median income and nine two-bedrooms homes for essential workers primarily with income below 80 percent AMI. For a single person, 80 percent of the county’s median income is $41,650, according to figures published last year by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.
FLHF would likely charge tenants rent that equals about 30 percent of their income, in accord with federal affordability guidelines, instead of market rate. The units would be reserved for Louisa County residents or those who work in the area and can’t find housing.
The complex would help address a severe shortage of affordable rental units in the county, according to FLHF, and provide much-needed homes for elderly residents living in substandard housing. The foundation offers four rental units to income-eligible seniors at another property, which, it says, has a waiting list and “a proven track record of success in the community.”
In addition to its request for a rezoning and CUP, the foundation is asking the Board of Supervisors to grant two special exceptions. In one, FLHF requests a decrease in buffer requirements for growth area overlay districts, which mandate extensive supplemental plantings to screen buildings from view. In the second, FLHF asks for leeway in the county’s growth area design standards, allowing it to use cement board siding and vinyl siding.
Community Development Department staff recommend approval of FLHF’s application and the special exceptions, noting in its report that situating the project in a designated growth area with access to public utilities supports the 2040 Comprehensive Plan’s primary goal: to protect the county’s rural heritage. The comp plan also notes the importance of workforce housing near places of employment.
Staff points out that the project is centrally located between the towns of Louisa and Mineral and adjacent to the Louisa County Resource Council, a non-profit that provides services to some of the county’s most vulnerable residents. In addition, it’s in close proximity to several schools and emergency service facilities. The location is beneficial to both elderly residents, who might benefit from LCRC’s services, and essential workers who could work nearby, per staff’s report.
Regarding the special exceptions, staff says that the project has limited visibility and that the decreased landscaping requirement combined with a requirement to involve the local master gardeners in the project “would enable sufficient native plantings.” Staff says that the use of cement board and vinyl siding is “common for residential use.”
FLHF developed its plan for the complex in partnership with Louisa County, which plans to provide financial support for its construction. In 2021, the county was awarded $775,000 in federal funding specifically earmarked for affordable housing as part of a Community Project Funding Request submitted by Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger’s office. An initial plan to use that money to build an 80-plus unit mixed-income community at Ferncliff with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville met stiff resistance from neighbors. County officials eventually opted to work with FLHF on a scaled-down project in a new location.
Aside from the $775,000 contribution, county officials will tap $647,000 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME Investment Partnership program, according to a financial breakdown of the project presented to supervisors earlier this year. FLHF agreed to contribute more than $1.7 million toward the estimated $3.2 million price tag with some of that money expected to come from state and federal grants.
As a condition of the rezoning and CUP, FLHF agrees to involve local businesses and community groups in the project including Louisa County Public Schools’ Career and Technical Education program and the master gardeners.
Other business
Commission to consider rezoning request for family subdivision: In other business, the commission will hold a public hearing on Thomas and Mary Johnson’s request to rezone, from general commercial (C-2) to agricultural (A-2), 10.8 acres on the south side of Louisa Road (Route 22) just west of the Town of Louisa (tmp 40-22-C). The parcel is in the Louisa Growth Area and designated for mixed-use development on the Future Land Use Map in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan.
According to their land use application, the Johnsons want to rezone the property to subdivide it under the county’s family subdivision ordinance. They note that their son and his family are ready to build a home in the county and they want their heirs to “build on this land to put a stamp” on it. “Louisa is our forever home. We see this as bringing more togetherness to our family and community,” the Johnsons wrote.
Community Development Department staff recommend approval of the rezoning. Staff writes in its report that while the subject property is zoned commercial, “the surrounding area is primarily rural in character and uses,” so the rezoning fits in with the neighborhood.
PC to discuss livestock at large ordinance: Commissioners will continue a discussion on potential penalties for people who allow their livestock to run at large. At its June meeting, the commission held a public hearing on a draft ordinance that would prohibit farm animals from running at large at any time and implement escalating penalties for people who habitually allow their livestock to roam. But the panel didn’t vote on whether to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve the regulations.
The proposed ordinance mirrors regulations approved by the Board of Supervisors last year to rein in roaming dogs. Specifically, it makes it unlawful for livestock or poultry to run at-large—meaning off the owner’s property and out of the owner’s control—at any time. People who habitually allow their livestock or poultry to roam would be subject to a $100 fine. Habitual offenders are defined as those cited for at-large farm animals three times or more in a two-year period. An additional violation within two years of the fine would constitute a Class 4 misdemeanor.
The draft was created in response to citizen complaints that farm animals frequently trespass on their property and occasionally cause damage. Under current code, county officials have no way to directly address the issue.
While no one spoke for or against the ordinance during the public hearing, several commissioners balked at the proposal. Mineral District Commissioner John Disosway warned that regulating roaming livestock was a sign that the county is losing its rural character. Cuckoo District Commissioner George Goodwin called the draft “a sledgehammer approach to a finishing hammer problem.”
The commission ultimately opted to defer action until its July meeting, allowing members and staff time to rewrite the proposal. Goodwin said that he would work with the county attorney’s office to come up with a more appropriate solution. It’s unclear if he made any progress in that effort. The meeting materials only include a copy of the draft ordinance as it was originally presented.
At work session, PC to discuss rules for short-term rentals
Prior to its regular meeting, the Planning Commission will hold a work session where members will discuss proposed rules for short-term rentals. The temporary lodging option, typically offered on online platforms like Vrbo and Airbnb, has exploded in popularity in recent years especially around Lake Anna where property owners offer a range of dwellings for vacationers to rent, from single-family homes to a tugboat.
As STRs draw droves of tourists to the lake, they’ve stirred controversy in waterside neighborhoods. Some year-round lake residents have complained that STRs are businesses operating in residential areas and a threat to the character of their community, public safety and the health of the lake. They’ve voiced concern that STRs are frequently overcrowded and they worry that this could lead to septic system failures that impact the lake’s water quality.
In response to those concerns, county officials took a stab at passing short-term rental regulations last year under a section of state code that allows for the establishment of an STR registry, among other rules. But that proposal, which included a controversial occupancy cap and mandated periodic septic system inspections, stalled in the face of resistance from the Louisa County Chamber of Commerce and some STRs owners who insisted that adopting significant restrictions on the rentals could decimate local tourism. County officials also said they were worried that the General Assembly would change how it permits localities to regulate STRs, a hot topic in Richmond during the last several legislative sessions.
At its June 20 meeting, the Board of Supervisors again turned its attention to STRs, sending new draft regulations to the Planning Commission for its review. Assistant County Administrator Chris Coon said that the draft rules now under consideration would regulate STRs through the county’s zoning code instead of relying on the state code section that permits localities to establish a registry and other rules.
“We felt that with all those conversations and potential changes (from the legislature), it would be better to bring it back to the zoning code. The General Assembly does give us the authority to maintain our zoning code and land use,” Coon said.
Coon described the draft as providing “a little bit less specificity but cast(ing) a broader net” than the previous proposal. Broadly, the proposed rules impose some regulations on STRs in densely populated areas where they’ve seemingly caused the most concern while largely avoiding regulations in more rural areas.
Since it was introduced to the board less than a month ago, the draft has already undergone some changes and could be tweaked more as it moves through the public approval process. Any changes to county code regulating STRs would require a public hearing in front of both the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors and an affirmative vote by a majority of the board. The commission could vote to set a date for its public hearing at Thursday’s meeting.
As currently proposed, the ordinance would permit STRs by-right with some restrictions on property zoned residential (R-1 GAOD, R-2 GAOD) in the county’s designated growth areas, as defined in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. STRs operating in these zoning designations would be required to:
provide a point of contact for their property to Louisa County and its subdivision’s governing body, if applicable;
provide to tenants a copy of Louisa County code sections pertaining to noise and solid waste as well as as the definitions for Special Occasion Facilities and Gatherings as part of Short-Term Rental contracts.
inform tenants that using the property for a special event typically held at a special occasion facility—a wedding, for example—is prohibited unless the property has a valid Conditional Use Permit;
provide tenants with at least one off-street parking space per bedroom and an off-street parking space for a trailer (20 ft by 8 ft);
provide to Louisa County documentation of septic system inspections and repairs whenever they are completed, if applicable;
comply with all applicable state building code and safety regulations;
If STR owners didn’t follow those rules, they would be required to obtain a Conditional Use Permit from the Board of Supervisors.
The draft ordinance also designates STRs on property zoned for resort development (RD) as a by-right use subject to restrictions. It’s unclear if they would be subject to the same restrictions as STRs on residentially zoned parcels in growth areas.
STRs operating inside or outside of growth areas in industrial (IND, I-1, I-2) and commercial (C-1, C-2) zoning designations would require a CUP as would STRs operating in residential zoning designations outside of growth areas. Short-term rentals in agricultural zoning (A-1, A-2) inside or outside a growth area would be permitted by-right and not subject to the rules governing STRs on residentially zoned property in growth areas.
Allowing STRs by-right in agricultural zoning outside of growth areas is a change from the proposed regulations shared with supervisors at their last meeting. Those rules required any STR operating outside a growth area to obtain a CUP with two notable exceptions. If an owner provided evidence that their property was operating as an STR at the time of the ordinance’s implementation, it would’ve been grandfathered in. If a rental was part of a farm, under some circumstances, it could’ve been classified as agri-tourism, prohibiting the county from regulating it through its zoning code.
Pulling back regulations on short-term rentals in agricultural zoning could be a response to concerns about restricting the rentals in rural areas when most of the complaints have come from people in residentially zoned subdivisions. When supervisors first publicly discussed the draft rules at the June 20 meeting, Green Springs District Supervisor Rachel Jones said she wanted to ensure that the ordinance wasn’t a one-size-fits-all policy that would harm STR operators in rural parts of the county who weren’t causing concern in their neighborhood.
“I just want to make sure that…when we do pass an ordinance that we are not affecting those residents,” Jones said. “I want to make sure that we don’t put a blanket across the county that hurts other landowners where we’re not having this issue.”
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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