This week in county government; Planning Commission oks Red Hill Road rezoning request; Campaign finance report roundup
This week in county government; Planning Commission oks Red Hill Road rezoning request; Campaign finance report roundup
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, July 18 through July 23
For the latest information on county meetings including public meetings of boards, commissions, authorities, work groups, and internal county committees, click here.
Wednesday, July 20
Community Policy Management Team, Executive Board Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 1 pm. At publication time, an agenda was not publicly available.
Other public meetings:
Tuesday, July 19
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.
Planning Commission recommends approval of Red Hill Road rezoning request
The Louisa County Planning Commission voted 6-1 Thursday night to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve a rezoning request for 18 acres along Red Hill Road that would allow additional residential development just outside one of the county’s designated growth areas. (meeting materials, video)
The property, located south of the Town of Gordonsville in the Green Springs Voting District, is owned by Daniel, Thomas, Gordon, and Randolph Merrick via The Meadows Four Brothers LLC.
The Merricks own an approximately 286-acre parcel that straddles Red Hill Road (tax map parcel 8-3) with 18 acres lying on the east side of the road at the corner of Red Hill and Porter Town Roads just south of the Gordonsville Growth Area Overlay District. The applicant requests to rezone that portion of the property from agricultural (A-1) to agricultural (A-2). The remaining 268 acres on the other side of Red Hill Road (Route 660) would retain A-1 zoning. That land and adjoining tracts owned by the applicant in Louisa and Albemarle are under conservation easement with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, which limits their development.
Senior Planner Tom Egeland reminded the commission that, according to Louisa County Land Development Regulations, property owners can divide land zoned A-2 seven times as long as it meets certain requirements while property zoned A-1 can only be divided into three pieces. Rezoning the 18 acres on the east side of Red Hill Road would allow the applicant to create a maximum of six lots on that portion of the property with the parent parcel on the other side of the road counting as the seventh division, Egeland said. Alternatively, the owner could divide portions of the property on either side of the road in accordance with Louisa County’s zoning code and restrictions laid out in the VOF easement, which limits the landowner to four divisions for all the tracts under easement.
Currently, the county doesn’t know how the Merricks plan to divide the land, according to Egeland, though staff has recommended that the applicant submit a concept plan for the property and documentation that VDOT would be receptive to multiple entrances.
Attorney Torrey Williams, representing the applicant, told the commission that his clients haven’t submitted a plan to the county because they don’t know what they want to do with the land beyond separating the 18 acres into a free-standing parcel. He said that separating the 18 acres under A-1 zoning would count as one of three permitted divisions and cause his clients to lose a division right permitted under the conservation easement. To remedy that, the applicant is seeking A-2 zoning for the eastern portion.
“Their goal is to have an 18-acre free-standing parcel. Will I look you in the eye and say they’ll never put five or six lots on (the 18 acres)? No. Can I look you in the eye and say they are ready right now to do it? No,” Williams said.
That explanation didn’t satisfy Cuckoo District Planner George Goodwin, who complained that the applicant’s failure to produce a plan left commissioners without the information necessary to analyze the rezoning’s impact.
“I’d much prefer to see the applicant give it some more thought as to what their business model is, be able to give us a conceptual plan so we have something to do our analysis on. We have no basis for analysis of the impact on fire, EMS, schools,” he said.
Williams countered that his clients aren’t looking at the land with the eye of businessmen rather they are “four brothers trying to figure out what they want to do.” He said that, following a pre-application meeting with county planning staff, the Merricks completed some due diligence on the parcel including a survey and soil work, but they didn’t follow all the steps necessary to create a subdivision because they are unsure how they want to move forward. He added that if they pursue subdividing the property in the future, they must meet the county’s requirements and get VDOT’s approval for entrances.
Williams said that the rezoning fits within the character of the neighborhood and wouldn’t detrimentally impact the county. He pointed to the industrial activity to the north of the property and the abundant residential development surrounding it. Of the 61 parcels along Red Hill Road, 58 are zoned A-2, he said, with much of that property subdivided into relatively small lots with single-family homes. Williams also pointed out that when the Merricks approached VOF about placing their land in a conservation easement, the organization indicated that they weren’t interested in including the 18 acres on the east side of the road.
“Is this Zion Crossroads? No. Is this the Historic Green Springs District? No. What it is is an interesting amalgamation of different uses of land,” Williams said. “Having the property zoned A-2, no matter if it stays an 18-acre parcel or if it gets divided into two, three, four, five lots some time down the road, it’s not out of character with this area.”
Egeland told the commission that the property lies in an area designated as agricultural and very low density residential but it’s adjacent to an industrial portion of the Gordonsville Growth Area that’s home to Klockner Pentaplast and the Gordonsville Power Station. While Egeland suggested that increasing density in the area isn’t preferable, he said that “the impact to the rural nature of the area is limited,” noting that more than 250 acres of the parcel would remain in A-1 zoning allowing for significant agricultural and forestal use.
Both Egeland and Williams recounted the history of A-1 and A-2 zoning in Louisa, noting its relevance to the Merricks’ request. Williams said that when the county undertook a mass rezoning in 1996, it allowed property owners to choose if they wanted their land designated A-1 or A-2. If landowners didn’t reply, the Board of Supervisors assigned the more restrictive A-1 zoning, he said. Egeland said that staff couldn’t find evidence that the Merrick family responded to the county’s inquiry during the mass rezoning. Williams said that choosing the property’s zoning likely fell through the cracks as the family dealt with the death of their father and their mother’s health issues.
That story struck a chord with Jackson District Commissioner Cy Weaver, who said he had a similar experience to the Merricks because his mother didn’t “check the box.” He urged the commission to approve the rezoning request.
“My mother was in an automobile accident…she was not able to make a decision and she did not check the box. I had to go before the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors to get my property changed from A-1 to A-2 and all I had to mention was ‘this could’ve been done had she been able to check the box.’ I think we need to go ahead and approve this. Let them check the box now,” Weaver said.
Other commissioners agreed with Williams’ assertion that the rezoning fits within the character of the neighborhood no matter the applicants’ specific plans for dividing the land.
“This family has owned this land for a long time. Mom and Dad pass away and leave it to their kids. The kids put it in this (conservation) easement. They’re fine stewards of the land. I think this is exactly what we are looking for in this county,” Louisa District Commissioner Manning Woodward said. “They want to take 18 acres of over 250 acres that’s already split off by Red Hill Road that the conservation people didn’t want. It makes perfectly good sense whether they want to put six lots on this or two lots or whatever.”
Aside from Williams, no community members spoke for or against the rezoning request during the public hearing.
On a motion by Green Springs District Commissioner Jim Dickerson, planners voted to recommend approving the request with Goodwin the only opposing vote. The Louisa County Board of Supervisors has the final say on the rezoning. At publication time, a date for a public hearing had not been set.
Who’s funding the candidates: campaign finance report roundup
The Virginia Department of Elections on Friday released the latest fundraising numbers for candidates vying for seats in the state Senate and House of Delegates in 2023, providing an early glimpse into contenders’ money-raising prowess in what’s expected to be a hotly contested election season.
All 140 seats in Virginia’s General Assembly are up for grabs on new maps in November 2023 and, already, a host of candidates have filed to seek their party’s nomination. And, in a unique twist, there’s still a chance that candidates running for House of Delegates could end up on the ballot as soon as this November depending on the outcome of a federal lawsuit asking for elections this year.
Eleven candidates potentially running to represent parts of Louisa County filed campaign finance reports for the fundraising period, which ran from January 1 through June 30. Here’s a quick look at the latest filings for candidates who could represent parts of Louisa County in the General Assembly.
To learn more about how the decennial redistricting process impacted Louisa County, click here.
Fueled by local money, Adams off to hot start in 10th District Senate race: If anyone wondered whether Louisa County Board of Supervisors Chair Duane Adams had the fundraising chops to compete with the heavyweights in Richmond, the newcomer to state politics likely answered that question with his latest campaign finance report.
In what’s expected to be the marquee race among local nominating contests next spring, Adams got off to a hot start in the battle for the Republican nomination in the newly drawn 10th Senate District, hauling in more than $177,000 from 135 contributions in the first half of 2022. He outpaced both 56th District Delegate John McGuire and Hanover County GOP Chair Jack Dyer, his rivals for the nomination, tallying the 6th highest fundraising total among all state Senate candidates, according to the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP).
Dyer pulled in nearly as much cash as Adams, amassing almost $172,000, but $100,000 of that came from a personal loan to his campaign. McGuire, typically a prolific fundraiser, didn’t file a report for the Senate race, apparently using his delegate campaign committee as his chief fundraising vehicle. He brought in nearly $56,000 with a chunk of that transferred from his campaign in the 7th Congressional District. McGuire dropped out of that race this spring after redistricting moved the 7th north to the outskirts of northern Virginia.
No Democrat has filed to run in the 10th, a solid Republican District with no sitting incumbent. The district includes most of Louisa County and western Hanover at its northern edge and stretches south encompassing all or part of 10 localities. Governor Glenn Youngkin won the 10th by 36 points last November, per a VPAP analysis.
Adams drew much of his $177,341 in cash contributions from central Virginia with about 70 percent coming from residents and businesses with close ties to Louisa County. Midlothian businessman and Louisa County native Harold “Hal” Purcell was Adams’ top contributor, chipping in $25,000 via Mount Hill Investments LLC. Carter Fine Lake Properties, a firm registered to Lake Anna developer Lionel Carter, was his second largest donor, gifting $11,000. Bio-Cat, a Zion Crossroads biotechnology company, and Cutalong Consolidated LLC, a Utah firm developing the Cutalong resort community at Lake Anna, both donated $10,000. Vision Mortgage of Charlottesville, and Tiger Lily Capital, a Charlottesville investment firm, also contributed $10,000 each.
Two of Adams’ colleagues on the Louisa County Board of Supervisors pitched in sizable contributions. Louisa District Supervisor Eric Purcell donated $6,000 and Jackson District Supervisor Toni Williams chipped in $2,500. Atkins Land and Timber LC, an entity registered to Purcell’s father, Louisa attorney and developer Charles Purcell, donated $5,000.
Adams also received $5,000 gifts from Lake Anna builder Ed Blount and a pair of local companies registered to David Allen Powell, AAP1 LLC and N&S Construction LLC. Louisa resident William Woody, who lost his bid for the Patrick Henry District seat on the Board of Supervisors by just four votes last November, contributed $3,000. Woody and Blount contributed $1,000 and $1,500 respectively to Adams’ campaign during the previous fundraising period.
Adams spent $23,403 during the filing period and, as of June 30, had $167,284 in the bank. Since launching his campaign in late December, he’s raised over $191,000.
“I’m honored by the outpouring of support that we are seeing in this campaign. The continued flow of generous contributions from our supporters, despite the record high inflation putting a strain on everyone, shows that people are fired up to take back the Senate next year,” Adams said in a social media post announcing his fundraising haul.
Dyer, who launched his campaign in March, collected $171,976 off 26 contributions with $100,000 of that coming from a personal loan. The Virginia Contractor Procurement Alliance was his largest donor, gifting $17,500. Gulf Seaboard General Contractors and F.T. Evans donated $10,000 each. Dyer spent $18,991 and ended the filing period with $152,985 cash on hand.
For his part, McGuire posted modest fundraising numbers. Via his House of Delegates campaign committee, he brought in $55,862 from 41 contributions, $40,000 of which appeared to be transfers from a previous campaign. Henrico real estate developer Randolph Reynolds was his largest contributor, donating $5,000. McGuire spent $92,964, more than half of which was listed as donations or transfers to Friends of John McGuire. He ended the filing period with just $1,027 cash on hand.
Laufer pulls in the most cash in HD55: The battle for the Republican nomination in the 10th state Senate District isn’t the only contest off to a hot start. Democrats in the newly drawn 55th House of Delegates District also appear eager to show off their fundraising chops.
Part of the new 55th is currently represented by Republican Rob Bell, who resides in the district. But the district leans Democrat based on results from previous elections, encompassing most of solid blue Albemarle County and slices of western Louisa and northern Nelson. The district is considered a must-win for Democrats in their fight to regain control of the House of Delegates. Bell hasn’t announced whether he plans to run for re-election in the district but, with his deep political ties in the area and ability to raise plenty of cash, he’d be a formidable opponent for any Democratic challenger.
Three Democrats have already jumped in the race: Amy Laufer, a former member of the Charlottesville School Board, Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Chair Donna Price, and Emergency Room nurse Kellen Squire. Squire lost to Bell in a bid for House of Delegates in 2017 in Bell’s current district, the Republican-friendly 58th.
Laufer, a proven fundraiser who hauled in over $1.6 million in a failed bid for state Senate in 2019, claimed an early lead in the money chase among her fellow Democrats. In just a month on the campaign trail, she collected $61,731 from 126 contributions with Nelson County real estate developer Hunter Bourne donating $10,000, her largest cash gift. Laufer transferred $7,327 from her senate campaign and both the Clean Virginia Fund and Morrill Family Investment chipped in $5,000. She spent just $1,425 and closed the fundraising period with $60,305 cash on hand.
Squire, who filed to run in March, brought in $41,531 from 442 contributions with most donors giving $100 or less. Charlottesville activist and artist Kay Ferguson contributed $20,000, Squire’s largest donation. He spent $12,696 and, as of June 30, had $28,834 in the bank.
"Having earned the enthusiastic support of so many is truly humbling and one of the biggest honors of my life,” Squire said in a media release. “It underscores how many people understand exactly how critical this race is going to be.”
Since launching her candidacy in April, Price pulled in $11,798 off 40 contributions with $4,500 of that coming from a personal loan to her campaign. Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney James Hingeley, Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Bea LaPisto-Kirtley, Katherine Imhoff, formerly a lobbyist for the Piedmont Environmental Council, and Daniel Woodlief each contributed $1,000. Price spent $4,568 and closed the fundraising period with $7,230 cash on hand.
Bell, whose plans for the race remain unclear, raised $5,345 from 9 contributions. The Virginia Trial Lawyers PAC was his top donor, chipping in $2,500. Bell spent $7,818 and closed the reporting period with $73,780 in the bank, much of that left over from his 2021 campaign.
Quiet fundraising period in HD59: While the race is the newly drawn 59th House of Delegates District has already attracted two Republican and one Democratic contender, it’s off to a quieter start than its neighboring district based on the latest round of fundraising reports.
The new 59th includes most of Louisa County, western Hanover, and a slice of Henrico around Glen Allen. Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) won the district by almost 33 points last November, per a VPAP analysis.
Republican Philip Strother, a Henrico lawyer who owns a winery in Fauquier County, and Democrat Rachel Levy, a Hanover educator, have both filed Statements of Organization to run. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Delegate Buddy Fowler, who currently represents the 55th District, also plans to run in the 59th though he hasn’t formally filed paperwork with the Virginia Department of Elections.
Fowler’s home was drawn into the 60th House District along with Delegate Scott Wyatt, a fellow Hanover County Republican. Fowler told the Times-Dispatch that he recently moved to Beaverdam, which lies in both the current 55th and the new 59th. Both Levy and Strother have questioned Fowler’s residency in the new district. Fowler and Levy faced off in the 55th last November with Fowler winning re-election to his fifth term by about 12,000 votes.
Fowler topped both of his potential challengers in fundraising, collecting $22,783 from 72 contributions. Dominion Energy’s Political Action Committee was his largest donor, contributing $2,500. Fowler spent $8,929 including a $1,000 contribution to the House Republican Campaign Committee. He ended the filing period with $41,559, much of that left over from last year’s delegate race.
Strother, a fellow Republican, filed a campaign finance report with the Virginia Department of Elections but it didn’t show any contributions or spending. Strother announced his candidacy in March and, as of June 30, had no money in his campaign coffers.
Levy, the lone Democrat in the race, also launched her campaign in March. As of June 30, she garnered $1,746 from 24 contributions including a $932 transfer from her previous campaign. Levy spent $242 and ended the filing period with $1,504 cash on hand.
Deeds posts modest fundraising numbers ahead of bid in SD11: While the other three General Assembly races covering parts of Louisa County have attracted multiple contenders, only one candidate has signaled they’ll run in the new 11th Senate District. Senator Creigh Deeds (D), who currently represents the 25th District, has said he plans to seek election in the 11th, a Democrat-friendly seat that includes the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle, Nelson, and Amherst counties and a slice of western Louisa. Deeds’ Bath County home isn’t in the district but, according to media reports, he’s said he’ll establish residency in Charlottesville, noting that 60 percent of the residents in the new 11th reside in his current district.
Deeds posted modest fundraising numbers in the first half of 2022, raising $45,869 from 56 donations. Clean Virginia Fund contributed $10,000 and the Virginia Trial Lawyers PAC gave $7,000, his largest cash gifts. Deeds spent $24,881, donating $10,000 to the Senate Democratic Caucus and $7,200 to Upland Virginia Land Trust. He ended the fundraising period with $100,175 cash on hand.
Candidates with races on the ballot in 2023 will next file campaign finance reports by January 17, 2023 for a 6-month reporting period running from July 1 to December 31, 2022.
News of note: HAB advisory for parts of lake; Straley appointed to state council; IDA rezoning request; Spanberger legislation clears House
HAB advisory issued for parts of Lake Anna: The Virginia Department of Health issued a Harmful Algae Bloom advisory for parts of Lake Anna late last week after testing found high concentrations of cyanobacteria that can be detrimental to human health.
The advisory warns residents and visitors to avoid contact with water in the upper and middle sections of the North Anna and Pamunkey branches (including Terry’s Run) until the algae concentrations returns to acceptable levels. The branches stretch across parts of the western end of the lake in Louisa, Orange, and Spotsylvania counties. Click here for the VDH advisory and here for an interactive map.
Tests conducted on July 7 found unsafe levels of cyanobacteria in six locations. The bacteria can cause skin rash and gastrointestinal illness including nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. People and pets are advised to avoid activities that may involve ingesting water like swimming, windsurfing, and standup paddle boarding. Follow up monitoring is planned for early August.
Algae blooms can occur when warm water and nutrients combine to make conditions favorable for algae growth, according to the advisory. Most algae species are harmless, but some species may produce irritating compounds or toxins. VDH advises people to avoid discolored water or scums that are green or blueish-green because they are more likely to contain toxins.
Harmful Algae Blooms have plagued the western end of the lake over the last five summers, shutting down swimming at Lake Anna State Park’s main beach in 2019. Local and state officials are working to devise strategies to address the blooms.
Lawmakers included $3.5 million in the biennial state budget adopted in June to study freshwater HAB in Virginia with $1 million specifically allocated for Lake Anna. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, in cooperation with other state agencies, is expected to use the money to develop and implement a Lake Anna-specific mitigation plan.
Locally, the Lake Anna Civic Association has launched a "Kick the HAB" pilot program, which is testing an HAB treatment at four sites.
Youngkin names Straley, Diehl to state boards: Governor Glenn Youngkin named two men with Louisa County connections to state boards last week in a recent round of gubernatorial appointments.
Youngkin named Doug Straley, superintendent of Louisa County Public Schools, to the commonwealth’s Apprenticeship Council and Clark Diehl, president of Chips Inc., to the Board of Forestry. Diehl resides in Albemarle County while Chips, a wood products manufacturer, is located along Route 250 at Zion Crossroads.
In his role on the Apprenticeship Council, Straley will help determine standards for apprenticeship agreements and advise the state on apprenticeship-related instruction delivered by public schools, among other duties. The council is composed of 11 members, four each from employer and employee organizations as well as the Commissioner of the Virginia Employment Commission, the Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System, or their designated representatives, and a local superintendent from a school division that provides apprenticeship-related instruction. Louisa County Public Schools offers apprenticeships as part of its Career and Technical Education program through a partnership with the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry. Straley will serve a three-year term.
Diehl will join the 13-member Board of Forestry for a 4-year term as a representative from the pine lumber industry. The board acts as an advisory body to the governor and the Department of Forestry on the state of forest resources in the commonwealth and their management. Diehl’s business, Chips, has operated in Louisa County since 1976 and currently has 30 employees.
IDA requests rezoning for 62 acres in Louisa County Industrial Air Park: The Louisa County Industrial Development Authority filed a land use application earlier this month requesting to rezone, from Industrial medium (I-2 GAOD) to agricultural (A-2 GAOD), about 62 acres in the Louisa County Industrial Air Park.
The application, submitted to the county on July 7, is short on details, however. In a brief description of the request, Economic Development Director Andy Wade states that the IDA seeks to rezone the property (tax map parcel 41-191) “to accommodate an agricultural operations business engaged in year-round production of crops.” Wade notes that the parcel is served by public water and sewer as well as natural gas, all of which are required by the end user, and that crop production is a by-right use for A-2 property per Louisa County Land Development Regulations. He said that the project’s primary water source would be rainwater and stormwater collected in a harvesting pond.
Access to the site would be off School Bus Road with no more than five commercial trucks expected to visit the property each day, according to Wade. He said that VDOT has approved the site’s proposed entrance and the IDA has agreed to incorporate signs directing commercial truck traffic to the new intersection at Route 22 and School Bus Road. Traffic has emerged as a key concern for some county officials during previous rezoning and Conditional Use Permit requests for property located between the Towns of Louisa and Mineral as the area frequently experiences congestion during peak travel times.
The IDA would proffer a minimum setback of 75 feet around the property including a minimum 50-foot vegetative buffer, Wade said.
Wade also noted that the project “presents an opportunity to enhance the horticulture programs offered in the Career and Technical Education programs” in Louisa County Public Schools.
In an email to Engage Louisa, Wade declined to provide additional details about the proposal, saying only that the IDA is “targeting an agricultural user” and that more information would be made publicly available as the rezoning request moves forward. At publication time, the county had not yet advertised a public hearing for the request in front of the Louisa County Planning Commission.
Spanberger legislation, inspired by Louisa County resident, passes House of Representatives: Federal legislation inspired by a Louisa County veteran cleared the House of Representatives last week with bipartisan support.
Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger announced in a press release Thursday morning that the House voted to pass her amendment to the Honoring our PACT Act, legislation aimed at extending health care benefits to veterans suffering from the impact of toxin exposure. The amendment would press the Department of Veterans Affairs to compile additional research on the negative health impacts of jet fuel exposure. The information would enable lawmakers to take steps to ensure veterans suffering from diseases due to exposure to jet fuel receive VA support and benefits.
The amendment was drawn from Spanberger’s William Collins Jet Fuel Exposure Recognition Act, which she introduced last year. Spanberger named the bill in honor of William G. Collins, a U.S. Air Force veteran and Louisa County resident living with Parkinson’s disease. The VA does not currently recognize Collins’ condition as having a connection to his service, according to Spanberger’s press release.
“Tonight, we are one step closer to making sure America’s veterans suffering from the long-term impacts of jet fuel exposure receive the benefits and support they deserve. This step would not have been possible without the advocacy of veterans like William G. Collins, a former U.S. Air Force fire chief from Louisa County living with Parkinson’s disease,” Spanberger said. “This legislation would make sure we have the backs of veterans like Mr. Collins, whose years of constant exposure to jet fuel put him at risk. By requiring the VA to fully understand the health threats associated with these exposures, we can prevent veterans and their families from struggling to keep up with the bills or to receive the service-connection recognition they deserve. These men and women sacrificed so much to keep our nation safe, and we need to keep our promises to them.”
The Honoring Our PACT Act, which cleared the House 342-88, now heads to the Senate for a final vote then to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.
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