This week in county government; Opposition to LA Resort rezoning request dominates another public meeting; Hudson to challenge Deeds for Dem nomination in SD11; What's on the ballot in 2023
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, Nov. 28 through Dec. 3
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).
Wednesday, November 30
Lake Anna Advisory Committee, Richard E. Holbert Building, 9104 Courthouse Road, Spotsylvania, 7 pm. (agenda)
Other meetings:
Thursday, December 1
Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, Water Street Center, 407 E. Water Street, Charlottesville, 7 pm. (meeting materials) A link to watch/participate virtually is available in the meeting materials.
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.
BOS roundup: Opposition to LA Resort rezoning request dominates another public meeting
The Louisa County Board of Supervisors on Monday took care of public business in short order, but not before about a dozen people weighed in during the meeting’s public comment period. Most speakers raised concerns about a proposed rezoning on Lake Anna that would clear the way for mixed-use development on about 15.2 acres currently slated for commercial use. Check out the meeting highlights below. (meeting materials, video)
Lake residents continue to oppose condos at Route 208 bridge
As they’ve done at previous meetings, Lake Anna residents and property owners used the meeting’s public comment period to object to LA Resort LLC’s request to rezone about 15.2 acres just west of the Route 208 bridge from commercial (C-2) to Planned Unit Development (PUD).
If approved, the rezoning would allow LAR to build an up to 96-unit residential condo building plus a 130-room hotel, restaurant, and marina along Mitchell Creek, a narrow cove just south of Route 208 that’s lined with single-family homes. The developer is also asking for a Conditional Use Permit to allow the condo building to reach 80 feet high, 20 feet taller than what’s permitted for multi-family residential structures in a PUD, but equal to the maximum height allowed for some commercial buildings.
The rezoning request has ignited one of the most contentious lake-centered land use fights in recent memory with some neighbors contending that its approval opens the door to “Northern Virginia-style development” that would overwhelm local infrastructure, burden taxpayers, and change the character of the community. The proposal is currently scheduled for a public hearing at the board’s December 5 meeting,
During a November 17th town hall at Callie Opie’s restaurant, Prince William County businessman Mike Grossman, one of the project’s lead developers, countered claims that a Planned Unit Development wouldn’t mesh with the neighborhood, an area targeted for mixed-use development in the county’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan. Grossman pitched the PUD as a better fit for the community than LAR’s previous plan for the property: a 150-unit condo hotel that, he said, could be built by-right.
“We believe that a Planned Unit Development with a residential condominium on the water, instead of a condo hotel, is a much better symbiotic relationship with the area. It’s less intrusive. It’s less transient. It will be less loud and (generate) less light,” Grossman said, noting that LAR could revert to the condo hotel plan if it doesn’t get approval for the rezoning.
But some community members insisted on Monday night that they’d prefer strictly commercial development on the property while also questioning Grossman’s assertion that a condo hotel is a by-right use.
Several residents told the board that they’d welcome a hotel and another restaurant in the area but firmly oppose dense residential development. They argued that commercial development, not residential, would bulk up the county’s tax base and help pay for services while also providing amenities that some residents crave.
Ryan Underwood, a Mitchell Creek resident, said that rezoning the property to allow both commercial and high-density residential development would dramatically reshape the character of the community in a way that, as he put it, “is against the Louisa character that we are trying to maintain.” He said that the county isn’t looking to lure condos, but it does desire economic development, so sticking with commercial zoning makes sense.
“The county is not out there asking for 96 condominiums. There’s no sign on the gateway that says, ‘come, please build 96 condominiums.’ There is probably a sign, based on the economic development requirements, that says ‘please build a restaurant. Let’s get some meals tax. Please build a hotel. The fishermen have no place to stay.’ They’d probably sleep in their boats before they’d stay in the hotels that are available nearby. I urge you to keep Louisa rural. Say no to the PUD,” Underwood said.
Christine Unruh, a Mitchell Creek property owner who said she’s “building her forever home” at the lake, agreed. She said that she attended the mid-November town hall and no one seemed in favor of paying more taxes to increase county services for “exclusive condos,” but folks didn’t seem to mind the idea of a hotel or restaurant. She urged the board to reject the zoning change.
Ben Unruh, who noted that he’s looking forward to retiring along Mitchell Creek, said that he fears the county could be making a costly mistake if they allow a PUD. He reiterated previous concerns, expressed by residents and members of the Planning Commission, that there’s no guarantee the development’s commercial component would come to fruition, and he wondered why county officials would embrace more residential dwellings when they could stick to commercial activity like hotels that “will help develop the economic base long-term.”
Unruh said that revenue-generating commercial activity is the key to covering the cost of a privately-owned wastewater treatment plant that the county is considering buying to service LAR and support continued economic development along the Route 208 corridor. According to county officials, acquiring and upgrading the plant could cost between $7 and $11 million depending on the extent of the enhancements.
“We’re going to end up with a bunch of condos, and you are going to lose a lot of money, and the taxpayers are going to be left holding the bill,” Unruh said.
LAR’s rezoning request is contingent on the county acquiring the treatment facility. The developer has agreed to proffer $1 million toward its upgrade and pay another $250,000 to connect to the infrastructure. Some county officials have suggested that the plant would be a net-positive investment based on potential revenue generated by customers—namely property taxes—plus user fees.
Grossman has said that LAR could rely on a massive drain field to service by-right development—a drain field was approved on the property under a previous site plan—though the developer initially agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding with the county to help upgrade the treatment facility when they were proposing commercial development not a PUD.
Exactly what LAR can do on the property by-right has emerged as another point of contention as some neighbors argue a condo hotel isn’t a permitted use.
Under the condo hotel concept, as Grossman explained it at the town hall, condos would be sold to individual owners who could occupy them when they like. When the owners aren’t using the property, the units would be part of a rental pool, run by a hotel management company with the company and the owners sharing the rental income. The hybrid concept is popular in resort settings across the county, Grossman said, and considered a commercial use per Louisa County officials.
Phil Winston, a Mitchell Creek resident, challenged that assertion at Monday’s meeting, pointing out that there’s no mention of a condo hotel in the county’s zoning code and noting that residents submitted a Freedom of Information Act request asking the county for documents that back up the claim that a condo hotel is permitted in C-2 zoning.
“There is no such item as a condo hotel. You cannot build a condo hotel on a hotel property zoned C-2. It is not allowed regardless of what several of the supervisors have said in public, had an argument in public over,” Winston said, referencing a tense moment during the town hall when some attendees loudly challenged Jackson District Supervisor Toni Williams’ statement that the developer could build about 150 condos by-right.
“I know I’m right because I talked to the zoning department,” Williams told the crowd.
According to two letters from former Community Development Director Robert Gardner, the county would classify a condo hotel as a hotel under LAR’s description of the concept, meaning it would be a permitted use in C-2 zoning.
In a letter to Grossman dated Feb. 19, 2020, Gardner writes that he compared the definition of a condo hotel submitted by Grossman to the definition of a hotel in the county’s land development regulations and determined that “these uses are the same.”
Per Gardner’s letter, the county defines a hotel, in part, as “a building…containing lodging units intended primarily for rental or lease to transients by the day, week or month. Such uses generally provide additional services such as daily maid service, restaurants, meeting rooms and/or recreation facilities.”
Gardner notes that, in an initial letter to the county, Grossman said that the condo hotel would “have an operator/management company, hotel lobby, maid service, restaurant, recreational facilities, and many additional amenities,” and adhere to ordinance guidelines regarding owners’ use of their units including requiring them “to book/reserve the unit just like anyone else.”
In a second letter to Grossman dated July 22, 2020, Gardner confirms that, as described by the developer, LAR’s “current hotel business model” conforms with the county’s definition of a hotel.
Other business:
Board changes emergency vehicle titling policy: Supervisors voted 5-0 to alter the county’s policy for titling emergency vehicles. Under the new policy, if the county pays more than 80 percent of the cost of a new vehicle, it will be the sole entity named on its title. If an individual station pays more than 20 percent of the cost, the vehicle will be co-titled to the county and the station. The policy will only impact vehicles that have not yet been titled.
Jackson District Supervisor Toni Williams said that Louisa County now bears much of the cost of purchasing new emergency vehicles as opposed to individual volunteer-backed stations, prompting the policy change.
Mountain Road District Supervisor Tommy Barlow and Patrick Henry District Supervisor Fitzgerald Barnes were absent.
Supervisors briefly discuss elections: Supervisors briefly discussed the 2022 elections. Louisa District Supervisor Eric Purcell said that he asked for the item to be added to the board’s agenda so he could publicly thank staff and the election officers who helped the county navigate the once-a-decade redistricting process.
There was some voter confusion on Election Day due to redistricting, Purcell said, but voting seemed to run smoothly overall. He said he visited several polling locations to talk with voters about their experience.
Check out Engage Louisa’s election recap here.
Board approves new leases for Arc of the Piedmont, JABA: With no discussion, supervisors unanimously approved new lease agreements for Arc of the Piedmont and the Jefferson Area Board for Aging, a pair of not-for-profit organization that run day programs at the Betty Queen Intergenerational Center. Arc of the Piedmont offers day care services for residents with mental disabilities while JABA provides health care services and day care to aging residents. Read more here.
Hudson to challenge Deeds for Democratic nomination in SD11
Delegate Sally Hudson announced last week that she’ll seek the Democratic nomination in the newly-drawn 11th Senate District, setting up an intriguing primary battle with Senator Creigh Deeds (D) who announced his plans to run for the seat in September.
All 140 seats in the General Assembly—40 in the state Senate and 100 in the House of Delegates—are up for grabs on new maps in 2023, thanks to the once-a-decade redistricting process. The new 11th District includes all of the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle, Nelson and Amherst counties and a slice of western Louisa.
Hudson, a Charlottesville resident and University of Virginia economics professor, has represented the 57th House of Delegates District since January 2020. In a press release announcing her candidacy for senate, she said that, though democracy is under threat in some states, “there has never been a better time to be a Virginia voter,” referencing changes in state law that make it easier to vote and a revamped redistricting process that limits lawmakers’ power to draw their own districts.
“Every seat in our House and Senate is back on the ballot next year, and the Blue Ridge has brand new districts. That means voters have a new chance to choose what they want in their next state reps,” Hudson said.
Hudson alluded to the US Supreme Court’s June decision to reverse a 50-year precedent that constitutionally guaranteed the right to an abortion as one of many reasons that next year’s state legislative races are especially important.
“The Supreme Court has sent the fight for our most fundamental rights back to the states, and we can’t roll back the clock on all the progress we’ve made. The best way to safeguard our future is to send innovative, energetic representatives to Richmond who remind voters every day why their state government matters,” Hudson said.
She added that, as a lawmaker, she’s committed to amplifying her constituents’ voices.
“We win elections when we engage more people in the process,” Hudson said. “From investing in strong schools to protecting the planet that we call home, my priorities will always start with the top concerns I hear from voters every day.”
Hudson will face a formidable opponent in Deeds, who has represented the 25th Senate District for more than two decades. A map finalized by the Virginia Supreme Court in December sent about 63 percent of Deeds’ current constituents in the 25th to the 11th but drew his Bath County home into the Republican-friendly 2nd District. Not long after the maps were adopted, Deeds said that he intended to move to Charlottesville to run in the 11th.
Based on results from previous elections, the district is fertile ground for Democrats. Josh Throneburg (D) won the 11th by 25 points in this year’s midterm elections despite losing his bid for the 5th District congressional seat to Republican Bob Good by about 16 points.
Nearly 7,500 Louisa voters live in the new district, which encompasses the Green Springs 1 and 2, Patrick Henry 1, and Louisa 3 precincts. The rest of Louisa was drawn into the 10th District.
In launching their campaigns, Hudson and Deeds both touted the support of a host of local officials, mainly in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Hudson announced endorsements from Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Chair Donna Price and two other supervisors, Charlottesville School Board Chair Lisa Larson-Torres, and Charlottesville City Councilor Michael Payne, while Albemarle Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Bea LaPisto-Kirtley, Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook, and three other members of city council backed Deeds. Former Govs. Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam and Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have also endorsed Deeds.
In her brief political career, Hudson hasn’t shied away from taking on Democratic Party heavyweights. In late 2018, she launched a primary challenge to long-time delegate David Toscano (D) in the solid blue 57th. Toscano, then the House minority leader, ultimately decided not to seek re-election.
Hudson easily defeated former Charlottesville City Councilor Kathy Galvin in the Democratic primary before running unopposed in the general election. In 2021, she beat Republican Philip Hamilton, claiming more than 78 percent of the vote, to win her second term.
Assuming 11th District Democrats opt for a state-run nominating process, Hudson and Deeds will face off in a primary on June 20, 2023. No Republican has announced plans to run in the district.
A big year for state and local elections: A preview of what’s on the ballot in 2023
November’s midterm elections are over, and the national media is already casting its eyes to 2024. But, here in Louisa County and the Commonwealth of Virginia, we have critical elections on the ballot every year and next year is no exception.
In 2023, Louisa voters will choose who represents us in the General Assembly and who serves in each of the county’s constitutional offices like sheriff and treasurer. And voters in the Louisa, Cuckoo, and Jackson districts will choose who represents them on the seven-member Louisa County Board of Supervisors and School Board.
What happens in local and state government usually doesn’t garner splashy chyrons on cable news or viral memes on social media, but the decisions elected officials make in the Louisa County Office Building and at the state capitol in Richmond directly affect our lives. Those decisions impact everything from the taxes we pay and the roads we drive on to the schools our kids attend and what gets built down the street.
At Engage Louisa, we try not to take sides, but on this we’ll be clear: local and state government matter and both serve us better when we are informed and engaged. With that in mind, here’s a quick look at the local and state elections on tap for 2023.
Our rundown of upcoming elections includes a list of candidates who’ve declared their intention to run for the seat and also notes sitting incumbents. There’s still plenty of time to file to run for both local and state office. Learn more about becoming a candidate here.
The General Assembly
All 140 seats in Virginia’s General Assembly are up for grabs in 2023. The once-a-decade redistricting reshaped the commonwealth’s legislative districts, meaning Louisa voters will cast their ballots in new House of Delegates and state Senate districts next year. Maps approved by the Virginia Supreme Court place most of Louisa County in the 10th Senate District. The rest of Louisa—the Patrick Henry 1, Green Springs 1 and 2, and Louisa 3 precincts—will be in the 11th District. The county is split along the same lines for House districts with most voters placed in the 59th District and the county’s western end drawn into the 55th.
State-run primaries for the General Assembly are set for June 20, 2023 though parties can choose other nominating methods. The general election is set for November 7, 2023.
Read more about how redistricting impacted Louisa County here and here.
Virginia state Senate, District 10
Republican candidates
Duane Adams (Mineral, Louisa BOS Chair)
Sandy Brindley (Powhatan)
Jack Dyer (Hanover)
John McGuire (Goochland, 56th District Delegate)
Virginia state Senate, District 11
Democratic candidates
Creigh Deeds (Charlottesville, 25th District Senator)*
Sally Hudson (Charlottesville, 57th District Delegate)
*Deeds is considered the incumbent in SD11.
Virginia House of Delegates, District 55
Democratic Candidates
Amy Laufer (Albemarle)
Kellen Squire (Albemarle)
*Republican Rob Bell, who currently represents the 58th House District, lives in the new 55th and is considered the incumbent. He hasn’t announced whether he plans to seek re-election.
Virginia House of Delegates, District 59
Republican candidates
Buddy Fowler (Hanover, 55th District Delegate)*
Philip Strother (Henrico)
*Fowler is considered the incumbent in HD59.
Democratic candidates
Rachel Levy (Hanover)
Local offices
Louisa County’s redistricting process reshaped local voting districts, meaning some residents will vote in new Board of Supervisor/School Board districts in 2023. Here’s a look at the local races on the ballot. Incumbents are noted below. (Note: At publication time, it’s unclear which incumbents plan to seek re-election).
Louisa County Board of Supervisors, Cuckoo District
Incumbent: Willie Gentry
Louisa County Board of Supervisors, Jackson District
Incumbent: R.T. "Toni" Williams (R)
Louisa County Board of Supervisors, Louisa District
Incumbent: Eric Purcell
Louisa County School Board, Cuckoo District
Incumbent: Stephen Harris
Louisa County School Board, Jackson District
Incumbent: Frances "Gail" Goodman
Louisa County School Board, Louisa District
Incumbent: Billy Seay
Louisa County Sheriff
Incumbent: Donald Lowe (R)
Louisa County Commonwealth’s Attorney
Incumbent: Rusty McGuire
Louisa County Commissioner of the Revenue
Incumbent: Stacey Fletcher
Louisa County Treasurer
Incumbent: Henry Wash
Louisa County Clerk of Court
Incumbent: Patty Madison
Thomas Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation Board
Incumbents: Steve Lucas, Carolyn Daughters
Click here for contact information for the Louisa County Board of Supervisors.
Find agendas and minutes from previous Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission meetings as well as archived recordings here.
Click here for contact information for the Louisa County School Board.
Click here for minutes and agendas for School Board meetings.
Click here to access past editions of Engage Louisa.