This week in county government; PC rejects draft STR regs, recommends substitute; BOS to consider tax breaks for data centers; Suit challenging LA Resort rezoning moves forward; Mineral TC roundup
Engage Louisa is a nonpartisan newsletter that keeps folks informed about Louisa County government. We believe our community is stronger and our government serves us better when we increase transparency, accessibility, and engagement.
This week in county government: public meetings, Sept. 18 through Sept. 23
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 occasionally schedules internal committee/work group meetings after publication time. Check the county’s website for the most updated information).
Monday, September 18
Louisa County Board of Supervisors, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 6 pm. (meeting materials, livestream) The board will convene in closed session at 5 pm.
Wednesday, September 20
Community Policy Management Team, Executive Board Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 1 pm.
Other meetings/important dates:
Tuesday, September 19
Louisa Town Council, 212 Fredericksburg Ave., Louisa, 6 pm. At publication time, an agenda was not publicly available.
Friday, September 22
First day of early voting for the November 7 general election, Louisa County Registrar’s Office, 103 McDonald Street, Louisa, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Click here for sample ballots.
Virginia’s 45-day in-person early voting period runs from Friday, Sept. 22 to Saturday, November 4. The Louisa County Registrar’s Office is open for early voting Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm as well as Saturday, Oct. 28 and Saturday, Nov. 4 from 9 am to 5 pm. On Wednesday, October 25 and Wednesday, November 1, the Registrar’s Office will be open until 7 pm. Voters can also vote by mail. (Click here for more information).
Election Day is Tuesday, November 7 and polls are open from 6 am to 7 pm. If you have any questions about voting, call the Louisa County Registrar’s Office at 540-967-3427 or visit the Virginia Department of Elections website.
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.
PC rejects draft short-term rental regulations, recommends substitute ordinance
The Louisa County Planning Commission on Thursday night recommended that the Board of Supervisors adopt rules for short-term lodging that could shake up the vacation rental market at Lake Anna.
Commissioners voted unanimously to reject a draft short-term rental ordinance sent to them by supervisors in June that would permit property owners in residential zoning in the county’s growth areas to rent dwellings for 30 day or less by-right with some restrictions. The commission instead suggested that the board adopt far tighter regulations.
In a 6-1 vote, commissioners recommended that supervisors require STR owners in most residential zoning (R-1, R-2), inside or outside of growth areas, to obtain a Conditional Use Permit. The CUP process typically requires a public hearing in front of the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors and an up-or-down vote by the board. Louisa District Commissioner Manning Woodward was the only member to oppose the substitute proposal.
The commission’s recommendation came after a series of meetings where members discussed the proposed regulations that they ultimately rejected, expressing concerns that they failed to address issues raised by community members impacted by STRs. The draft was crafted by county officials behind closed doors after a public stakeholders’ group, formed last year, couldn’t agree on how to move forward.
Broadly, the draft would allow STRs by-right with some general restrictions in residential (R-1, R-2) and resort development zoning in growth areas, permit the rentals by-right with no restrictions in agricultural zoning and require STR operators to obtain a CUP in other zoning districts. The restrictions would require STR owners to provide contact information to the county, offer one off-street parking space per bedroom and space for a trailer, and submit to the county any work or inspections done on a dwelling’s septic system, among other rules.
Before motioning to recommend that supervisors reject the draft, Cuckoo District Commissioner George Goodwin said he didn’t see how it benefitted the community.
“I’m going to go back to the Zoning Administrator’s presentation, Mr. (Josh) Gillespie. He had three slides. One was reasons for the ordinance. One was strategic goals, and one was benefits of the proposed ordinance. What was listed was quality of life, public health and safety, and compatibility. I gotta say I don’t see what has been presented to us as addressing any of those issues,” Goodwin said, referencing a presentation by county staff earlier in the meeting.
Commissioners also voiced concern about allowing a commercial use in residential neighborhoods by-right with only broad restrictions.
“What we have before us is not specific enough. I think we’ve got some work to do…we’ve got to have clear guidelines on what can be done since it’s going to be a by-right use (in some) residential zoning,” Mountain Road District Commissioner Gordon Brooks said.
For over a year, county officials have struggled with how to regulate short-term lodging, which has exploded in popularity in recent years especially around Lake Anna. Currently, county code doesn’t explicitly permit the use, meaning STRs technically require a Conditional Use Permit. But the county hasn’t enforced that rule and more than 460 rentals operate here, per figures from the Commissioner of Revenue’s Office, largely free of official oversight. More than 90 percent of the rentals are clustered around Lake Anna, according to county staff, mostly in residential neighborhoods in the Lake Anna Growth Area.
The proliferation of STRs in lakeside neighborhoods has stirred controversy. Some year-round residents have argued that the rentals are businesses operating in residential areas and threaten the character of their community, public safety and the health of the lake. They’ve expressed particular concern that overcrowded STRs could lead to failing septic systems that harm the lake’s water quality and pushed for a two-person per bedroom occupancy cap, a standard generally in accord with state health department guidelines for septic systems and the state building code.
Many STR operators and members of the business community have taken a different view, contending that strictly regulated the rentals would decimate the local tourism industry and, in turn, hurt small businesses. In meetings last year, some strongly opposed the occupancy limit and the idea that STRs should require county approval via the CUP process.
Community concerns
Both sides reiterated their concerns during Thursday night’s public hearing. Many of the 13 speakers urged the county to cap occupancy at two people per bedroom and impose regulations for septic system maintenance. They said the draft rules fail to address concerns that overtaxed septic systems are a long-term threat to the lake. Some argued that the draft does little to ensure public safety.
“(The proposal) misses the elephant in the room: discharge of waste from overloaded septic systems, not just the smell, the damage that does to the lake,” said Christine Hunt, a resident of the Wyndemere subdivision in Spotsylvania County.
Hunt linked runoff from septic systems to the Harmful Algal Blooms that have plagued the upper end of the lake in recent years. While the causes of the blooms are complex, they’re generally attributed to excess phosphorus and nitrogen, nutrients that can come for sewage systems, fertilizer and other sources.
“It starts with an algae bloom…and gets worse. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus is leeching and running off into the lake. It will be the end of the Lake Anna cash cow. It’s in danger of being sacrificed,” she said.
Larry Zemke, president of the Windwood Coves Homeowners Association, echoed Hunt, saying that septic system failure is a significant threat to the lake and noting that a two-bedroom STR in his neighborhood routinely advertises that it sleeps more than 10 people. “That’s a lot of butts on the seats in a very compressed period of time,” Zemke quipped.
“A septic system failure in my community will find its way into the lake. Many of the area lake businesses look to the lake as a goldmine for revenue and profit. But what happens when the lake starts to stink? How many years of cleanup will be required before the goldmine returns to full operation,” he said.
Harry Looney, speaking on behalf of the 850-member Lake Anna Civic Association (LACA), said that the organization doesn’t oppose STRs but supports limits that comport with “state septic system permit and state building code levels of occupancy.”
“With the HAB issues we experience each year at Lake Anna, we are especially sensitive to the issue of septic system overuse and, as important, overcrowded rental homes, with individuals sleeping in rooms without proper egress, pose significant safety issues to the visitors of the county,” Looney said.
Some speakers warned the commission against allowing STRs as a by-right use in residential zoning, saying that it runs counter to current code.
“The present ordinance doesn’t allow commercial activity in R-zoned districts and STRs are clearly a commercial entity. The new zoning proposal would allow by-right STRs. This contradicts the current code and does not help solve the problem. It exacerbates it,” lake resident Dennis Wallingsford said.
But several speakers who operate short-term rentals at the lake said that an occupancy cap and other rules would unfairly single them out and urged the county to permit the use by-right, noting that the rentals are a boon for county coffers and local businesses.
Daniel Kauffman said that, as an STR owner, he too wants to keep the lake clean, and he understands the need for some septic system regulations. But he said the occupancy cap doesn’t make sense and pointed to the ripple effect of short-term rentals on the local economy.
“Short-term rentals are really valuable to this county,” Kauffman said. “The real income is from the people visiting the county because they spend money at all the local businesses. There’s also a lot of money that goes into the cleaning fees. We pay our cleaning team $300 to $500 per time to come and clean the home.”
Kate Killham, another STR owner, said the proposed ordinance would implement “reasonable” regulations. She said imposing a two-person per bedroom occupancy cap and mandatory septic system pump outs, which were included in a draft considered by county officials last year, unfairly singles out STR owners and that proponents of such regulations are playing a game of “what if.”
“You might hear from residents who claim that failing septic systems from rentals will compromise water quality. However, all they offer is supposition not evidence. Even LACA’s own research does not show that failing septic systems are to blame for HAB despite what LACA leadership might say,” Killham said. “Community what ifs are not conclusive, and they have yet to present anything but supposition.”
Substitute proposal
After rejecting the draft ordinance considered during the public hearing, commissioners turned their attention to crafting a substitute proposal.
Most notably, the commission’s recommendation requires a CUP for short-term rentals across all county zoning designations except resort development (RD) and agricultural districts (A-1, A-2). The county wouldn’t impose rules on STRs in agricultural zoning to comply with an opinion that Attorney General Jason Miyares published earlier this year, which essentially says that localities can’t use their zoning code to regulate short-term rentals on agricultural land because the use is considered agritourism.
In RD zoning, which includes Spring Creek at Zion Crossroads, Cutalong at Lake Anna and several other areas, STRs would be allowed by-right with restrictions. Those restrictions have been beefed up significant from the rejected draft, drawing mostly on a proposal submitted by Commission Chair John Disosway. The restrictions include a two-person per bedroom occupancy cap, which exempts children under two and allows for two additional people.
Disosway said that an occupancy cap is just as important to ensure fire safety as it is to guard against septic system failure.
“The last thing I want to read about in the paper is a fire at a weekend rental on the lake with grandchildren and children (in an) unfamiliar (space who) could not find their way out. Six dead,” he said.
The restrictions also require STRs owners in RD zoning to register with the county and pay a $50 fee unless they’re a licensed real estate agent or represented by a realtor, submit a property management plan to the county, and provide at least one designated parking space per bedroom and space for a trailer, among other rules.
The Board of Supervisors has the final say on STR regulations. At the publication time, supervisors hadn’t advertised a public hearing to consider either proposal.
BOS preview: Supes to consider tax breaks for data center equipment, discuss proposed roaming livestock ordinance
The Louisa County Board of Supervisors will convene for a busy meeting Monday night. Check out a meeting preview below.
Supervisors to consider tax breaks on data center equipment: As part of a blockbuster economic development deal with Amazon Web Services, the Louisa County Board of Supervisors on Monday will consider lowering the county’s business personal property tax rate for some computer equipment and adopting a depreciation schedule that rapidly decreases the equipment’s taxable value.
The county announced in late August that AWS plans to invest $11 billion by 2040 to build two data center campuses in its newly created Technology Overlay District, a special zoning designation approved by supervisors in April that’s designed to attract tech sector development. The project is part of a planned $35 billion investment by AWS to build data centers across Virginia, a deal that Governor Glenn Youngkin announced in January.
One of the campuses, dubbed the Lake Anna Technology Campus, will be built on 150 acres at the corner of Kentucky Springs Road and Haley Drive adjacent to the North Anna Nuclear Power Station. The other, called the North Creek Technology Campus, is slated for 1,400 acres south of Route 33 across from the Northeast Creek Reservoir.
The 11 data centers planned for the campuses will house servers and networking equipment that support AWS’s cloud computing and streaming services. At full buildout, likely to take 15 years, the facilities are expected to employ about 275 people, according to Economic Development Director Andy Wade.
The board will hold a public hearing and vote on whether to set a special business personal property tax rate (BPP) for data center equipment at $1.25 per $100 of assessed value—down from the current rate of $1.90 —and adopt a depreciation schedule that would allow the county to tax the equipment at just half of its original cost when it’s new. The schedule would permit a levy on 35 percent of the equipment’s cost when it’s two years old, 20 percent in year three, 10 percent in year four and five percent in year five and every year thereafter until it’s replaced. Wade said that the equipment typically has a five-to-six-year lifespan.
At its September 5 meeting, the board approved an initial performance agreement with AWS that broadly lays out what both parties are expected to bring to the table. The county intends to offer AWS both the BPP tax breaks and infrastructure and performance grants while AWS plans to make at least an $11 billion capital investment by July 1, 2040 including paying for off-site infrastructure to support the facilities.
Wade told the board that even with the BPP tax breaks, the data centers are expected to generate $25 million in local tax revenue annually at full buildout. About two-thirds of that revenue would come from the BPP while a third would come from real estate taxes. The company is expected to start building the facilities as soon as next year with one potentially in operation by 2025.
But data center revenue is tricky to predict and Wade’s estimate could be reduced or altered by several factors. Given the accelerated depreciation schedule, the revenue the county pulls in via the BPP could be significantly impacted by how often the company replaces its equipment.
In addition, the performance agreement, which runs through 2050 to align with a state incentives package, obligates the county to provide Amazon with both infrastructure grants over the first 20 years (beginning in 2026) and performance grants over the last five. County officials say that the grant money would be derived from new revenue generated by the campuses via real estate and personal property taxes, but the performance agreement doesn’t detail what percentage of that revenue the company would receive.
Legislation passed by the General Assembly last session to cement Amazon’s investment in the state establishes a $140 million grant fund available to data center developers that meet certain capital investment and job creation goals. The fund is essentially available only to AWS and the state plans to provide grant money on a proportional basis to localities where the company invests. The grant money is earmarked for infrastructure, workforce development and other project-related costs and requires localities to provide two dollars in matching funds for every dollar invested by the state.
Wade said the performance agreement would be amended at a future board meeting to show what percentage of tax revenue would be returned to the company, noting that the state hasn't issued guidance on how the grant fund will work and the county is still negotiating with Amazon on some incentives.
Wade said that the BPP proposal is similar to what other counties are offering the tech giant. King George County recently rezoned nearly 900 acres to accommodate a proposed AWS data center campus. In 2019, the county lowered its business personal property tax rate from $3.25 to $1.25 for data center equipment.
The Culpeper County Board of Supervisors, however, which rezoned property last year for an AWS facility, rejected a proposal earlier this year to set a special data center rate, retaining its $3.50 BPP. The county has become a hotbed for data center development in the last several years thanks, in part, to its proximity to Northern Virginia, an area dubbed “the data center capital of the world.”
Virginia law allows localities wide latitude to discount its BPP for data center equipment. The state also exempts data center operators from paying sales and use taxes, a perk AWS is expected to enjoy at least through 2050.
Supes to discuss draft livestock running at large ordinance: Supervisors will discuss a proposed ordinance aimed at reining in habitually roaming livestock, a hot topic at recent county meetings.
After more than a dozen goats and sheep roamed from their Hasher Lane home on to Interstate 64 in late July, the board at its August 8 meeting adopted an emergency ordinance that made it unlawful for livestock or poultry “to be allowed by the owner to run at large intentionally or knowingly.” The ordinance empowered county officials to impound the animals and subjected violators to potential fines and criminal charges. The board set a September 5 expiration date for the rules.
While the ordinance met stiff resistance from some farmers who worried it would unfairly penalize them, supervisors insisted it was necessary to address an imminent threat to public safety. Prior to the Hasher Lane herd making it to the interstate, animal control officers had been called to the area more than 450 times because of the roving animals. County officials said they had no immediate tools to rein in the livestock without the temporary ordinance.
To address ongoing issues with roaming livestock, the board formed a committee, including farmers and county officials, to consider a permanent ordinance. Beyond the problems on Hasher Lane, residents and county officials have cited other issues with habitually at-large farm animals including goats wandering along the Route 208 corridor, pigs routinely roaming around the Quail neighborhood, and chickens disrupting life in at least one subdivision.
The committee tentatively agreed on a draft ordinance during a late August meeting, which significantly tweaks the temporary ordinance. While the temporary ordinance made it unlawful for livestock to roam “knowingly or intentionally,” the committee changed the language in the new proposal to read “routinely, intentionally, and knowingly.” The change was made to ease farmers’ concerns about their livestock occasionally getting out due to a damaged fence.
County officials said that if a farmer’s fence was damaged and they refused to fix it, allowing animals to repeatedly roam, they could be subject to the ordinance. But they wouldn’t be penalized if efforts were made to keep animals in. Jackson District Supervisor Toni Williams, who owns some 500 farm animals, emphasized that the county wasn’t trying to harm its many responsible farmers, but needed to address a small group of people who habitually allow their animals to run at large.
The draft retains key enforcement mechanisms included in the temporary ordinance—it states that violating the rules could result in a Class 4 misdemeanor and a $250 fine—but it doesn’t include a provision that counts each animal as a separate violation and caps fines at $2,000. The new proposal allows for a single $250 fine whether five or fifty farm animals are caught running at large. Like in the temporary ordinance, county officials would have the authority to impound the roaming livestock and hold them at least until the owner’s court date.
While the committee seemed to find common ground on some issues, several members expressed unease about putting any new restrictions in place that could potentially harm responsible livestock owners and implored the county to consider what it could do under existing law.
The committee decided to circulate the draft for feedback from farmers and other stakeholders. And Williams asked County Attorney Helen Phillips to contact the attorney general’s office for an interpretation of a state law that allows for animal seizures in cases of cruelty and abandonment.
The committee tentatively set a September 18 public hearing for the draft ordinance, but the board will only discuss the issue Monday night.
Board to consider supplemental appropriations to LCPS for CTE center design, additional teachers: Supervisors will consider approving a pair of supplemental appropriations, totaling nearly $900,00, for Louisa County Public Schools.
In the first, the board will consider allocating $637,536 to complete design work for a planned 54,000-square foot career and technical education center adjacent to Louisa County High School. Supervisors previously appropriated $1.9 million for design work for both the CTE center and a 500-seat addition to Louisa County Middle School, using one-time state grant funding. But Superintendent Doug Straley told the School Board at its September 5 meeting that the funding wasn’t enough to cover the design work for both structures. The school board subsequently approved a $2.2 million contract with Richmond-based RRMM Architects to design the CTE center and manage its construction. The same firm is designing the middle school addition.
Supervisors haven’t appropriated money for either the addition or the center, but they earmarked $26 million and $25 million respectively for the buildings in the FY25 Capital Improvement Plan.
According to a summary provided by RRMM, the CTE center could cost between $24.5 million and $27.3 million, and an optional 1,800-square foot “industrial maintenance” addition could cost as much as $740,000. The facility is expected to feature more than 29,000 square feet of CTE educational space including a 3,600-square foot culinary space, a 3,600-square foot welding classroom, and a 2,680-square foot multi-purpose space, among other classrooms. It will also include a roughly 4,500-square foot Pre-K wing with two classrooms and a dining area.
Supervisors will also consider a $261,550 supplemental appropriation to cover salaries and benefits for three new LCPS teachers, hired prior to the 2023-24 school year. The proposed resolution notes that the teachers were needed due to growing enrollment and that the division received additional state funding last year because of its rising student population.
Supes to consider memorandum of understanding with IDA for water tower payments: Supervisors will consider approving a Memorandum of Understanding with the Louisa County Industrial Development Authority. In the MOU, the IDA agrees to pay the county $4.9 million plus interest for the construction of a 750,000-gallon spheroid elevated water tank at the Shannon Hill Regional Business Park. Landmark Structures has been contracted to erect the tower at a cost of $5.6 million and the county will pay for the project up front.
The MOU stipulates that the IDA will draw on proceeds from land sales and potential revenue from a utility-scale solar project to pay the county back. The IDA agrees to pay the county $447,000, which it recently received from land sales, by January 1, 2024 then draw on solar lease proceeds to make annual payments, assuming it receives the latter revenue.
The IDA leased the 1200-acre Cooke Industrial Rail Park to Two Oaks Solar, LLC, a subsidiary of the Israeli firm, Energix, in 2021 for development of a 118 MW utility-scale solar facility and a 50 MW battery storage system. According to the lease agreement, the IDA is expected to receive $700 an acre for usable land annually for the project’s 35-year lifespan. The authority will use some of that money to pay back a note on the property, which it purchased in 2014. Additional revenue will be used for the water tower, per the MOU.
When the board discussed the arrangement at its September 5 meeting, Louisa District Supervisor Eric Purcell expressed concern that the IDA planned to rely, in part, on solar revenue to reimburse the county. He said the solar project isn’t a done deal because PJM, the regional authority that oversees the grid, hasn’t issued a report on its feasibility.
Jackson District Supervisor Toni Williams said that the finance committee, which recommended the arrangement, did so understanding that there was an “inherent risk” that the solar revenue might not materialize. But he said the plan was put in place to ensure that, if it did, the authority uses its money to support economic development.
The tower is part of a larger project, estimated to cost just over to $28 miliion, to bring wet utility infrastructure to the park, a 700-acre industrial site that the county is developing just off Interstate 64 in south-central Louisa. The board appropriated the money for the project in its FY24 capital budget, intending to rely on an $11.5 million state grant and debt issuance to initially cover the cost.
In a separate but related action, the county is preparing to issue up to $20.5 million in debt for the infrastructure and to pay for two turf athletic fields adjacent to Louisa County Middle School, per a resolution on Monday’s agenda.
The board included $3.4 million for the fields in this year’s budget. They’ll be built on school property and serve both youth and scholastic sports.
Board to discuss “Technology Overlay District and Solar Zoning:” Supervisors will discuss “Technology Overlay District and Solar Zoning,” according to the meeting agenda. The meeting materials don’t include any additional information about the item.
Supervisors adopted an ordinance establishing the Technology Overlay District in April. The TOD is essentially a special zoning designation designed to attract tech sector businesses, which implements specific development standards. It permits a variety of tech sector uses by-right including data centers, advanced manufacturing, and research and development facilities.
While the TOD permits solar generation, solar facilities that produce 2 MW or more of power that leaves the district require a Conditional Use Permit if they’re the sole user of a parcel.
Board to hear presentations from Firefly, four other organizations and agencies: Supervisors will hear five presentations including a much-anticipated update from Firefly Fiber Broadband, which is partnering with the county to deliver fiber access to unserved and underserved residents by 2025.
Firefly CEO Gary Wood and representatives from the company’s partners, Rappahannock Electric Cooperate and Dominion Energy, last briefed the board on the status of the project at its March 20 meeting. During that presentation, Wood said that Firefly was making progress, connecting customers to fiber in parts of southern Louisa County and completing make-ready work in other areas. But he said that work had been slowed by labor shortages and supply chain issues.
In 2021, Louisa County partnered with Firefly, a wholly owned subsidiary of Central Virginia Electric Cooperative, and the area’s two other electric providers—Dominion and REC—to expand broadband access to the county’s unserved areas. Firefly is serving as the internet service provider and, outside of CVEC territory, connecting to infrastructure owned by its partners.
Firefly’s Regional Internet Expansion Project (RISE), an initiative aimed at bringing fiber to parts of 13 central Virginia localities, is the main vehicle the company is using to connect the county. The project is expected to install more than 1,100 miles of fiber and cost about $70 million in Louisa County alone. Supervisors committed $9 million in local funds to the effort in 2021—a second $3 million installment was included in this year’s capital budget—and Firefly received a $79 million state grant. More than $22 million of that money will help provide broadband access to some 11,000 homes and businesses in Louisa.
In a separate initiative, Firefly has already provided fiber access to some 4,100 customers in CVEC territory, which covers a large swath of western Louisa County. The company has laid 320 miles of fiber and invested more than $14 million in that project aided by a $550,000 tax abatement from Louisa County and federal CARES Act funding.
To learn more about Firefly’s county-wide fiber initiative, visit the company’s website. The site is periodically updated to reflect the company’s latest estimates for when connections could begin around specific substations.
The board will also get updates from the Commission on Aging, a citizen-led panel that advises the county on the needs and concerns of aging residents, and Louisa Clean, a grassroots group dedicated to cleaning up the county’s roadsides.
In addition, Louisa County Water Authority General Manager Pam Baughman and Virginia Department of Transportation Residency Administrator Scott Thornton will deliver their respective agencies’ quarterly reports.
Board to consider updates to county's financial policies and Procurement Policy Manual: Supervisors will consider approving updates to the county’s financial and procurement policies.
According to the proposed resolution, updates to the counties’ financial policies are needed “to ensure consistent administration and compliance.” The changes apply to all financial policies including the county’s budget, financial reporting, external agency funding, capital improvement projects and debt issuance.
With respect to the procurement manual, the proposed resolution says only that updates and revisions are required “from time to time.” The board initially adopted a procurement ordinance in 2005 and adopted the procurement manual in 2019.
Lawsuit challenging LA Resort rezoning moves forward
A lawsuit challenging the Louisa County Board of Supervisors’ decision to rezone a prime piece of real estate on Lake Anna for luxury condominiums and a hotel will move forward.
Circuit Court Judge Timothy K. Sanner on Tuesday ruled that the plaintiff, Lake Anna property owner Candace Dowling, has a legal right to sue the county. Sanner overruled a request by County Attorney Helen Phillips to dismiss the case. Phillips argued that Dowling didn’t have standing to bring the suit because her petition failed to demonstrate that she would be uniquely harmed by the board’s action.
Dowling suit’s stems from the board’s 6-1 vote at its January 17 meeting to rezone, from general commercial to Planned Unit Development, 15.2 acres just west of the Route 208 bridge in the Lake Anna Growth Area. The rezoning clears the way for LA Resort, LLC, the property’s owner, to build a mixed-use development featuring an up to 96-unit residential condominium building, a 130-key hotel, restaurant, and marina fronting Mitchell Creek, a narrow cove just south of Route 208 that’s lined with single-family homes. The board also approved a Conditional Use Permit that allows 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 what’s allowed for hotels.
Dowling, her husband, David, and another relative own a 2.66-acre parcel across Mitchell Creek Cove from the subject property.
In her petition, Dowling argues that supervisors violated state and county code in approving the rezoning and that, if the LAR project moves forward, she would be specifically harmed. She contends that those harms include “impaired waters endangering my health and that of my family when swimming, kayaking, and boating, diminished property values due to the unsightly views from my property, and increased safety risk due to the significant increase in quantity of boats in the area.”
Sanner’s ruling only means that Dowling has a right to challenge the county in court, it doesn’t address the merits of the case. He gave the county 21 days to respond to Dowling’s petition. A hearing is expected to be scheduled after that.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Sanner said that, per court precedent, plaintiffs seeking to challenge local land use decisions must meet two criteria: own or occupy property in close proximity to the property in question and demonstrate that they would suffer “particularized harm” different from the general public. He said that Dowling clearly met the first criteria and that she’d adequately convinced him that she met the second, He cited recent decisions by the Virginia Supreme Court that take an expansive view of “particularized harm,” giving citizens wider latitude to challenge local officials’ decisions.
Phillips contended that, because Dowling only owned one-third interest in her property, she couldn’t show that she would be uniquely harmed, but Sanner quickly dismissed that argument.
Phillips also insisted that Dowling failed to show that she would be harmed in a way different from the general public. She said that if water quality at the lake is, in fact, impaired by the development, as Dowling argues, it would impact many lake users. But Sanner sided with Dowling, noting that she would experience impacts from the development differently than people who live across the county at Zion Crossroads even if they occasionally used the lake.
Sanner’s decision reversed a June 4 ruling in which he essentially agreed with the county’s demurrer asking that the case be dismissed. But, he gave Dowling, who's representing herself, 21 days to amend her complaint. He told her that, as a pro se litigant who isn’t a licensed attorney in Virginia, she could only argue on behalf of herself and couldn’t make arguments about how the board’s decision would impact her neighbors. Dowling filed an amended complaint in late June.
Note to readers: Engage Louisa works hard to bring you the latest local government news. While we mainly focus on county government—there are only so many hours in the day, after all—we recognize that there’s a lot going on beyond the walls of the Louisa County Office Building including in our county’s two towns, the Towns of Louisa and Mineral. With that in mind, we’re excited to bring you this update from the Mineral Town Council by Mineral resident Chris Guerre. -Tammy
Mineral Town Council discusses fire hydrant issues and more
by Chris Guerre
On Monday, September 11, the Mineral Town Council met for its regular monthly meeting. All council members and Mayor Ed Jarvis were in attendance, except for Council Member Blair Nipper who participated remotely.
Reese Peck, town manager, reported that the town is behind schedule on its current computer and IT projects, and updates to the town's website are on hold until the council appoints a clerk. The town has been without a clerk—the only staff position the town is required to maintain pursuant to the Code of Virginia—since late last year.
During a closed session near the end of the meeting, Peck and the council discussed the town's administrative vacancies and its applicants for clerk and town attorney. Reconvening in open session, the council then voted unanimously to offer a contract to one of the applicants for the town attorney position.
Shannon Hawkins, the town's DMV Select manager, submitted her monthly written report to council but was unable to attend the meeting. Peck commended Hawkins and the DMV Select staff members for processing more than $1 million in transactions last month. A large portion of these transactions are proactively sought after and secured by Hawkins, through vehicle titling work done for private corporations. Under the terms of its contract with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, the town retains 4.9 percent of the gross receipts that Mineral's Select DMV processes. For the month of August, that amounted to $49,787.37 in revenue for the town.
During her Police, Fire & Rescue Committee report, Council Member Becky McGehee reiterated that the town needs to address its inoperable fire hydrants and suggested that new hydrants be installed instead of waiting on parts needed for repairs. In addition to the hydrants that are out-of-service, the town has also acknowledged that some of its hydrants are being serviced by water lines less than six inches in diameter.
McGehee said that she has been told “the county is supposed to flush the hydrants.” Peck added that the town “used to have an inventory [of its fire hydrants], but it is out-of-date,” and Council Member Blair Nipper said that many of the “hydrants need to be painted.” Jarvis said after the meeting that he is “not sure how much the town has been involved in testing, flushing, and maintaining the hydrants in the past,” but he “is working on how the town's administration and the county's Fire and EMS department can collaborate to remedy the issues.”
During his report to council, Jarvis employed one of his few unilateral mayoral prerogatives, creating a Town Revitalization committee and appointing members Nipper and Bernice Kube to the new initiative. Council discussed how the goals of the committee might differ, or not, from the work already being done by the Beautification committee and the town's Planning Commission.
New business addressed by the council, at Peck's recommendation, included unanimous votes to continue revising the town's administrative personnel manual, adding paid time off policies, and revising its short and long term disability and annual and sick leave provisions. Council also voted to approve new job descriptions for DMV Select staff.
Council's next regular monthly meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 10 at 6:30 pm.
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