This week in county government; Supervisors move ahead with through truck traffic restriction requests, approve three rezonings; BOS and PC roundups
Engage Louisa is a community newsletter aimed at keeping folks informed about Louisa County government. It’s free, non-partisan, and powered by volunteers. We believe our community is stronger and our government serves us better when we increase transparency, accessibility, and engagement.
This week in county government: public meetings, Sept. 12 through Sept. 17
For the latest information on county meetings including public meetings of boards, commissions, authorities, work groups, and internal county committees, click here.
Tuesday, September 13
Louisa County Electoral Board, Executive Board Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 5:30 pm. The public is invited to attend in person or via telephone, 540-967-4565. (agenda)
Wednesday, September 14
James River Water Authority, Fluvanna County Public Library, 214 Commons Blvd., Fluvanna, 9 am. (agenda packet)
Zion Town Center Neighborhood Meeting, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 4 pm. The community development department will host a neighborhood meeting to provide an opportunity for the applicant to answer questions about proposed changes to the Zion Town Center Planned Unit Development. (land use application)
Louisa County Water Authority, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 6 pm. At publication time, an agenda was not publicly available.
Thursday, September 15
Industrial Development Authority, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 8:30 am. At publication time, an agenda was not publicly available.
Other meetings:
Monday, September 12
Mineral Town Council, 312 Mineral Ave., Mineral, 7 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.
Board moves ahead with requests for through truck traffic restrictions on four county roads
The Louisa County Board of Supervisors opted to move ahead Tuesday night with its effort to implement through truck traffic restrictions on four county roads amid resistance from both Virginia Department of Transportation officials and members of Mineral Town Council. VDOT officials say they don’t have data to support the restrictions and members of the Town Council object to a proposed alternate route that would send trucks through the town. (meeting materials, video)
Following public hearings, supervisors voted unanimously to request that VDOT bar through tractor trailers from Chopping Road (Route 623), Chalklevel Road (Route 625), and Mansfield Road (Route 613), recommending that trucks are instead sent along Zachary Taylor Highway (Route 522) and Davis Highway (Route 22) through the Town of Mineral.
The board also moved to request a restriction on much of Shannon Hill Road, recommending that trucks are sent along Interstate 64, Courthouse Road (Route 208), and Jefferson Highway (Route 33). The restricted route would terminate at 5821 Shannon Hill Road, the address of the Shannon Hill Regional Business Park, meaning that trucks traveling to and from the park would be barred from using the road beyond a half mile segment between the facility and the interstate.
The decision to formally request the restrictions comes after preliminary evaluation by VDOT staff, who argued there’s insufficient crash data to justify them, and several public hearings, including on Tuesday night, where residents expressed mixed views about removing through trucks from secondary roads and rerouting them down 522 through Mineral.
The county formed a work group last year that studied the issue and ultimately recommended the restrictions and alternate routes, citing the heavy volume of through truck traffic on narrow county roads and the proximity of primary highways suited to handle them.
VDOT Residency Administrator Scott Thornton said that the proposed restrictions and alternate routes will next undergo additional evaluation by staff in the department’s Culpeper District, who will make a recommendation on approval or denial for each request. The power to implement restrictions ultimately lies with the Commonwealth Transportation Board. Supervisors can ask the board to consider each restriction even if it’s denied at the district level, according to Thornton.
County officials have expressed frustration with VDOT’s resistance to the restrictions, arguing that a heavy reliance on crash data is a reactive approach and lacks common sense. Mineral District Supervisor Duane Adams and Cuckoo District Supervisor Willie Gentry, who served in the county’s work group, have suggested they’ll invite VDOT’s commissioner and members of the CTB to Louisa County to see the roads for themselves. Gentry is a retired traffic engineer and former VDOT administrator.
“I hope we can get VDOT in a position where they are more proactive than reactive when it comes to these secondary roads being used by through truck traffic because I think it puts our citizens at risk. I think it puts truck drivers at risk,” Adams said.
If implemented, the restrictions would bar tractor trailers that don’t have a point of origin or destination along the restricted routes from using them. Truckers’ GPS systems would flag the restrictions and wouldn’t send them down the roads. As part of the restriction process, the county is required to propose a “reasonable” alternate route that trucks can instead use.
Chopping Road, Chalklevel Road, and Mansfield Road
Chopping Road residents have repeatedly expressed concerns about tractor trailer traffic on the narrow, roughly four and a half mile secondary road that connects Routes 22/208 and 522. They say that truckers’ GPS sends them down the road when they’re traveling from Interstate 95 to 64 because it’s a slightly shorter route than Route 522, a primary road designed to handle truck traffic. Residents contend that the corridor has grown increasingly dangerous in recent years, recounting how large trucks nearly run other vehicles off the road.
Their concerns prompted Adams, who represents the area, to first propose a truck restriction last year. The county suggested an alternate route that would’ve sent trucks down Routes 522 and 33 through Mineral and held a public hearing last November to gather community input.
Members of Mineral Town Council objected to the alternate route and said that the town wasn’t consulted about the proposal. They argued that removing trucks from Chopping Road would exacerbate traffic safety issues in the town given its tight turns and raised railroad crossing.
The county then formed its work group to consult with VDOT and study the issue. The group included impacted residents and representatives from the county and town. It held a meeting in May and June, neither of which were attended by town officials.
During a contentious June meeting, traffic engineers from the Culpeper District said that they didn’t have data to recommend a restriction on Chopping Road, pointing to the road’s crash history over the last five years.
From 2017 to 2021, only three of 37 crashes on Chopping Road involved trucks. Two of those were box trucks, which wouldn’t be impacted by the restriction as proposed. The third involved a tractor trailer that ran off the road and into a field. VDOT engineer Troy Austin said that the accident appeared to be an issue with the road’s insufficient shoulders and suggested improvements, like widening the road and adding paved shoulders, that would make it safer for all vehicular traffic.
County officials opted to push ahead with the request and proposed an alternate route that sends trucks along 522 through Mineral to Route 22, requiring them to make two tight right turns in the town. Austin said that the alternate route would require mitigation measures to make it suitable for increased truck traffic, specifically at the stoplight at Route 22. Thornton said Tuesday night that any upgrades required for the alternate route must be completed before a restriction could be implemented.
Supervisors also opted to request restrictions for Chalklevel and Mansfield Roads because they fear removing trucks from Chopping Road could push them to another secondary route ill-suited to handle them.
Tuesday’s public hearing was, in some ways, a replay of the previous hearing last November when the board first considered barring through trucks from Chopping Road and sending them through Mineral albeit on a slightly different route.
Mayor Pamela Harlowe and members of the Mineral Town Council again opposed the alternate route and the board rehashed a decades-old plan to build a short bypass around the town. That plan was floated some 30 years ago when then-Delegate V. Earl Dickinson, a Mineral resident, chaired the House Appropriations committee and highway funding flowed a little more freely to Louisa County.
Harlowe and Councilors Ed Kube and Ed Jarvis said that sending trucks through Mineral isn’t a suitable alternative, pointing to two difficult turns that trucks must navigate in the town including the right turn at the stoplight on to Route 22 that trucks struggle to make.
“The bottom line is, if VDOT is going to allow the county to close these roads, they’re going to have to come up with a better solution as it relates to that traffic light,” Jarvis said.
Kube said that the need for a direct connector between Interstate 95 and 64 has been an issue for decades and urged VDOT and the county to “dust off” old plans, like the bypass, to figure out a way to get trucks around the town.
He also contended that the proposed alternate route is a threat to the town’s historic character.
“I’d like to express my sincere and significant concern that the Mineral Historic District, which is both a national and state of Virginia recognized historic district, is being endangered, in my view, by the proposed actions of the County of Louisa and possibly by VDOT,” he said.
Jackson District Supervisor Toni Williams asked if the county could apply for Smart Scale funding for a short bypass. Smart Scale is the commonwealth’s primary vehicle for divvying up money for local transportation projects and uses a data-driven process that, in part, bases funding allocations on the safety record of intersections and roadways.
Thornton said the board could apply during the next Smart Scale application cycle two years from now. He estimated a short bypass connecting 522 and 22 could cost $30 million because it would require an overpass over the railroad tracks.
Other speakers focused squarely on the problems on Chopping Road, insisting that the road isn’t suited for tractor trailer traffic and recalling the state’s investment in upgrading 522 so it could handle commercial traffic.
Chopping Road resident David Rogers said that he was there “to save lives,” expressing frustration with VDOT’s approach to traffic safety and accusing the department of telling residents that “enough people haven’t died” for the agency to act.
“Chopping Road never was meant to handle this kind of truck traffic. This road was built in 1800. The only thing that’s been done to it is it’s been paved and had some lines put on. The road holds water in certain spots, it has curves, poor visibility, and no shoulders,” Rogers said. “522 was made for (trucks). You spent a lot of money on 522. Send the trucks down 522.”
Before voting to formally request the restrictions, Adams acknowledged town officials’ concerns but said the county has limited options to remove through trucks from secondary roads where they don’t belong.
“(The Town of Mineral) is not a great alternative. It has its own challenges, but it is the only alternative,” he said.
Shannon Hill Road
Residents along Shannon Hill Road, a roughly 10-mile highway connecting Routes 33 and 250, have also raised concerns about tractor trailer traffic, arguing that the road is frequented by cyclists and has grown more dangerous with continued development.
Traffic safety on the road emerged as a key sticking point during the approval process for the Shannon Hill Regional Business Park, a 700-acre industrial site that the county is developing just off the interstate. Residents argued that the curvy corridor is already unsafe and can’t handle more traffic, especially large trucks.
The county’s through truck traffic work group recommended a restriction for the road despite resistance from VDOT officials who said they have even less data to justify removing trucks from Shannon Hill than Chopping Road.
While he didn’t offer specific numbers, Austin said in June that, over the last five years, there were more accidents on Shannon Hill than Chopping Road, but few involved trucks. He also said that Shannon Hill Road is wider.
In addition, he and Thornton noted that removing trucks from the entire road wouldn’t impact tractor trailers traveling to the business park because they aren’t considered through traffic.
For that reason, the county opted to revise its request ahead of Tuesday’s public hearing. The restricted route would now terminate at the business park to ensure that trucks can only access it from 64. Before the restriction could be implemented, the county must install infrastructure enabling trucks to turn around at the park, Thornton said.
In another effort to keep large trucks off the road, Adams said that the county plans to prohibit trucks doing business at the park from using most of the road by placing a restriction in the Conditional Use Permits for businesses that locate there.
“The county has always been very firm in (keeping trucks going to the park off Shannon Hill Road),” he said.
Three residents who live in close proximity to Shannon Hill Road and travel along it regularly urged the board to move forward with the request.
John Disosway, the chair of the county’s Planning Commission, said that he’s commuted down Shannon Hill Road for 30 years, noting that the road is narrow, has several bad curves, and lacks sufficient shoulders. He said that both cyclists and farmers on tractors frequent the corridor and removing large trucks would make it safer for all roadway users.
“The increase in both the amount of traffic and the size of large trucks has reduced the margin of safety on Route 605. There’s no compelling reason for through truck traffic, including log trucks, flatbed trucks and semi-trucks, on 605 with the existence of Routes 208 and 522,” he said.
Supervisors approve three rezoning requests
The Louisa County Board of Supervisors found plenty to agree on Tuesday night, unanimously approving a trio of rezoning requests. (meeting materials, video)
Clearing the way for greenhouse at Louisa County Industrial Air Park: With limited discussion, the board approved the Industrial Development Authority’s request to rezone, from industrial (I-2) to agricultural (A-2), about 62 acres on the southern end of the Louisa County Industrial Air Park. The rezoning clears the way for an unnamed business to construct and operate a large greenhouse that will produce, as Economic Development Director Andy Wade put it, “lots of lettuce.”
Wade said that the end user plans to build a roughly 500,000-square foot greenhouse with a hydroponic growing system that uses recycled stormwater collected in a retention pond at the site. A conceptual plan shows a building area that covers nearly 12 acres including a 387,502-square foot growing area, a 32,291-square foot germination area, and a 99,459-square foot head house. A letter from Building Inspector John Grubbs suggests the facility could include accessory buildings for packaging and distribution.
The IDA currently owns the property and intends to sell it to the end user. The authority hasn’t made a formal announcement about exactly who that business is, nor has it detailed the project’s economic impact.
Wade said that he worked with the potential end user to secure a suitable location for the greenhouse in Louisa County, first exploring properties zoned agricultural where crop production is permitted by-right.
The business is a heavy user of both natural gas and electricity and desired access to public water and sewer, Wade said. Supplying those utilities to prospective sites zoned agricultural proved cost-prohibitive, prompting the IDA to offer its property (tmp 41-191) and request a rezoning. The industrial park is served by the required utilities and each has stated that they have the capacity to accommodate the business, he said.
The property, located between Route 33 and School Bus Road just south of Freeman Field, will be accessed off School Bus Road (Route 767) where the Virginia Department of Transportation has already approved a proposed entrance. No more than five trucks—a combination of box trucks and tractor trailers—are expected to visit the site each day, according to Wade. The IDA agreed to incorporate signs directing commercial truck traffic north to the new intersection at Route 22 and School Bus Road.
Ed Jarvis, who manages the Louisa County Airport, said that the entrance will serve both the greenhouse and part of the airport after the facility completes a planned expansion.
The IDA also agreed to install a 50-foot-wide vegetative buffer comprised of mixed evergreens around much of the site and to include a minimum 75-foot setback from non-Industrial Development Authority-owned property and a 50-foot setback from IDA-owned land. Both the buffer and setbacks exceed what’s required in current code for both A-2 and I-2 zoning. The buffer won’t apply to the airport’s property, Wade said, because officials prefer to keep the area clear in case of an aviation emergency.
While Wade hasn’t offered details about how many people the greenhouse would employ, he told the Planning Commission that the property’s end user is interested in collaborating with Louisa County Public Schools’ Career and Technical Education program on a plant systems course.
In its review of the project, the commission recommended that the IDA firm up a commitment with the end user to collaborate with the school system and that the county request a speed limit reduction to 35 miles per hour for commercial truck traffic on School Bus Road. Cuckoo District Commissioner George Goodwin said the road has several blind curves including one close to the site’s proposed entrance.
Community Development Director Josh Gillespie said that the end user has sent correspondence reiterating its interest in working with the CTE program and noted that a speed limit reduction first requires a speed study, which must be requested by the board. The board didn’t ask for the study Tuesday night.
The plan to build a vast greenhouse about two miles east of the Town of Louisa has sparked concern among some residents, who worry stormwater runoff from the structure could further exacerbate flooding in and around the town. The county recently formed a work group to address occasional flooding along Beaver Creek and Tanyard Branch, waterways that run along the town’s eastern and southern border. After heavy rains, water from the creeks has inundated yards and roads, particularly in the Tanyard subdivision.
Vicky Harte, a Tanyard resident whose property has been impacted by the flooding, acknowledged the company’s plan to collect runoff for use in crop production but said more information is needed about stormwater management at the site.
“This is a large site and no documentation was provided regarding the runoff not being captured by the basin. As you know and I know, there is controlled runoff and uncontrolled runoff and uncontrolled runoff, which is typically not quantified, is what’s causing all of our issues. So more information is needed as to how the remaining runoff is going to be captured,” she said.
Supervisors approve Red Hill Road rezoning: Supervisors voted 7-0 to rezone 18 acres along Red Hill Road, allowing for a slight increase in residential development just outside one of the county’s designated growth areas.
The property, located outside 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 asked 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) will 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.
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 allows 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.
Alternatively, the owner can 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.
Attorney Torrey Williams, representing the applicant, 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 for the parcel permitted under the conservation easement. To remedy that, the applicant sought A-2 zoning for the eastern portion.
Williams said that the Merrick brothers haven’t decided what they plan to do with the land beyond separating the 18 acres into a free-standing parcel. They have completed some due diligence on the property including a survey and soil work, he said, but they don’t currently have a plan to create additional residential lots.
“Can I tell you that the Merricks will never divide this property further? No. Can I tell you their intention right now is to divide it further? No. I can’t,” he said.
Regardless of the Merricks’ plans for the property, Williams argued that the increased residential development the rezoning allows 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, Williams said. He added that 104 residential lots feed onto the road including a 17-lot and 50-lot subdivision.
“The request we are making will not make this property out of character with the zoning that is already in effect and the development that is already ongoing,” Williams said.
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. At the Planning Commission’s request, the applicant submitted an email from VOF making clear that the parcel was excluded from the easement and VOF had no say in its development.
Both the Planning Commission and county staff recommended approval of the rezoning with staff noting in its report that while increasing density in the area isn’t preferable, “the impact to the rural nature of the area is limited.”
Rezoning lake parcel from commercial to residential: Louisa County will allow a home to be built on a roughly one acre lot overlooking Lake Anna after all.
Supervisors voted 7-0 to approve Gene and Sharon Hile’s request to rezone, from commercial (C-2) to residential (R-2), a 1.1-acre parcel (tmp 15E-1-A2) on the west side of Zachary Taylor Highway just south of the 522 bridge. They also approved a special exception, permitting construction of a residential dwelling on a lot smaller than the 1.5 acres now required in most R-2 zoning. (The county raised the minimum lot size for some residential development last year).
The Hiles purchased the property in 2016 with plans to build a lakeside home. They’d been told by a realtor, based on correspondence from the county, that the property was split-zoned for commercial and residential use.
But, in March, county staff said that the parcel was zoned commercial and a residence could only be built as an accessory to a business. Staff suggested the site could be used for a bed and breakfast.
But supervisors expressed concern with the parcel’s commercial viability given its size, tricky topography, and limited access, issues attorney Torrey Williams, the applicant’s representative, homed in on during his presentation to the board.
Williams noted that, unlike the large commercial development across the street, home to Tim’s restaurant and other lake-centric businesses, the lot has not installed access off 522. It’s situated on a peninsula overlooking the lake just south of the bridge where a guardrail runs along the highway. To reach the parcel, Williams said, vehicles must travel down a gravel road off Estes Lane that crosses a residential lot and a subdivision’s common area. He added that the lot drops off significantly, making it difficult to install infrastructure for commercial development.
Beyond the lot’s physical features, Williams argued that a rezoning and special exception are justified because they fit within the character of the community and the county’s future vision for the area.
According to the Future Land Use Map in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan, the property lies in an area designated for low-density residential development, Williams said, and is near four subdivisions. He noted that there are 220 parcels zoned residential within a mile of the property, 80 percent of which are lots smaller than 1.5 acres.
“A residential use here is just common sense,” Williams said.
The Planning Commission voted to recommend that the Board of Supervisors deny the request, in part, because of concerns about how the rezoning would impact an adjoining 1.4-acre lot that’s also designated for commercial use and faces similar access issues.
Williams submitted a letter from Jeff Garnett, who owns the parcel via Cochran’s Landing, LLC, stating that he supports the Hiles’ request.
Before casting his vote in support of the rezoning, Louisa District Supervisor Eric Purcell said that he couldn’t see the harm in voting for it because it would cause less disruption to the neighborhood than commercial development.
“When you have a less intensive use, someone is trying to do less, cause less traffic or less potential adverse effects on the area, I don’t see what that harms,” he said.
BOS roundup: Hawk to lead Fire/EMS
Check out more news from a busy Board of Supervisors meeting that marked the unofficial end of summer. The board returns to its regular bimonthly meeting schedule this month after holding only one meeting in July and August. (meeting materials, video)
Board appoints Hawk to head Fire/EMS: Supervisors appointed Kristin Hawk as the county’s new chief of fire and emergency medical services. Hawk has worked in the fire and EMS department for 14 years, serving as a medic, lieutenant, assistant chief, and, most recently, as deputy chief of administration. (press releaase)
“It is truly an honor to be selected as the next chief of fire and emergency medical services for Louisa County,” Hawk said just after Board Chair Duane Adams announced her appointment. “I look forward to continuing to move the department forward, both career and volunteer.”
Hawk replaces Robert Dube, who served two stints as head of the county’s fire and EMS department before retiring in late July. She’s the first woman to serve in the job.
Dominion updates supervisors on Belcher Solar Facility: Dominion Energy lobbyist Sarah Marshall briefed supervisors on the company’s effort to fix erosion and sediment control issues at its 88 MW Belcher Solar Facility off Waldrop Church Road.
Runoff from the project has caused significant damage to neighboring farms, particularly along Bickley Road on the south side of the sprawling 1300-acre site. In March 2021, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality fined Dominion $50,000 for the unauthorized discharge of sediment into Harris Creek on the other side of the property.
Marshall said that Dominion is making progress in its effort to effectively handle stormwater runoff, noting that vegetation has been established on more than 80 percent of the project area and the company is preparing to move from wet ponds to dry ponds with smaller orifices, which will help control the flow of stormwater.
Mineral District Supervisor Duane Adams asked Marshall if Dominion is confident that the steps it’s taking will “address the erosion and sediment issues that are happening below the site.”
“Absolutely,” Marshall said, adding that the company has already seen “minor” improvements.
At the request of Patrick Henry District Supervisor Fitzgerald Barnes, who represents the area, county staff played a video recorded in August by an adjoining property owner that showed a muddied waterway and significant erosion. The video’s narrator attributed a “huge washout” along the creek’s banks to “heavy stormwater that’s being sent down from the solar site.”
“My number one concern is that, at the end of the day, we provide a way to prevent any future runoff from going in those areas,” Barnes said. “This has really made it tough on the farmers with their cattle, their way of life. I hope we can get this under control.”
Marshall responded that conditions at the site are improving but there’s still work to be done. She said she’s confident that, as Dominion implements the next steps in its stormwater management plan, neighboring property owners’ concerns will be resolved.
County prepares to fix boundary issues with Goochland: Louisa and Goochland counties are preparing to fix anomalies along their shared border that will impact where some residents vote, pay taxes, and send their children to school.
County Administrator Christian Goodwin told the board that there are about 10 parcels physically located in one county but legally considered part of the other. A letter to impacted landowners from Goodwin and Goochland County Administrator Victor Carpenter describes the parcels as “islands” that are “surrounded by properties that are in the opposite locality.”
Goodwin said that most of the parcels are physically in Goochland but officially considered part of Louisa. The counties are beginning the process of placing the properties in the county with which they geographically align.
Officials from both counties will hold a public information session for affected property owners on Thursday, September 29 at 7 pm at the Goochland Fire Station #6, 4810 Three Chopt Rd., Louisa. The session will address how proposed changes will impact residents “from a public safety, educational, voting, tax and legislative perspective,” according to Goodwin and Carpenter’s letter.
Louisa and Goochland’s efforts to fix decades’ old issues along their boundary began several years ago. The counties agreed to a boundary line adjustment in 2019 with plans to address the “island” parcels after the 2020 census.
Board approves resolution supporting Safe Streets and Roads for All program: Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution directing county staff to work with the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission on planning efforts to identify roadways that could benefit from grant funding from the Safe Streets and Roads for All program, a $5 billion federal initiative established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The program will provide grants for regional, local, and Tribal initiatives aimed at preventing roadway deaths and serious injuries no matter the mode of transportation.
The commission plans to apply for money through the program to create a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan covering the six localities in the TJPDC. Developing the plan, which would include an analysis of safety data, evaluation of existing processes and policies, a robust stakeholder engagement process, among other elements, is a prerequisite to tapping into funding for specific projects.
TJPDC estimates that the total grant request could reach $650,000. The grant requires a 20 percent local match. Per PDC staff, the match shouldn’t exceed $30,000 for any locality in the district.
PC roundup: commission approves AFD renewal, addition and CUP amendment for solar site
The Louisa County Planning Commission held three public hearings Thursday night, recommending that the Board of Supervisors renew one agricultural and forestal district and add two parcels to another, and greenlighting the extension of a building permit deadline for a utility-scale solar site. (meeting materials, video)
AFD renewal, addition: Commissioners voted unanimously to recommend that the Board of Supervisors renew the Shelton’s Mill Agricultural and Forestal District. Created in 1992, the district encompasses seven parcels covering about 277 acres along Holly Grove Drive (Route 610), Owens Creek Road (Route 663), and Gammon Town Road (Route 664) in southeastern Louisa County.
The commission followed that up with a unanimous vote to approve Anthony and Sarah McLoughlin request to add two parcels (56-73, 56-74), totaling 40 acres, to the South Anna AFD. The forested property is located on the southeast side of Courthouse Road (Route 208) just south of Holly Spring Drive (Route 800).
The South Anna AFD currently covers more than 40 parcels and over 500 acres in south-central Louisa County.
AFDs are a conservation tool that allow landowners engaged in farming and forestry to voluntarily prohibit development on their property. They require review and renewal by the Board of Supervisors every 10 years.
Solar site building permit extension: Commissioners unanimously recommended to the Board of Supervisors approval of an amendment to a Conditional Use Permit, approved in 2021, that cleared the way for Aura Power Development to construct and operate an up to 94 MW solar array on parts of a 448-acre tract off Chopping Road (Route 623) near the Town of Mineral. The property is owned by Louisa District Supervisor Eric Purcell and his father, Charles, via Mine & Hemmer LLC.
The amendment extends the deadline to obtain a building permit for the solar facility for five years, from November 22, 2026 to November 22, 2031, and provides the opportunity for future extensions.
Charles Purcell told the commission that Aura hasn’t entered into an interconnection agreement with PJM, the entity that manages the movement of wholesale electricity in all or part of 13 states, impeding the project’s ability to move forward.
PJM has been unable to keep up with the abundance of applications for projects looking to connect to the grid, particularly from the renewable energy sector, Purcell said, causing delays that have impacted solar facilities across the commonwealth. He noted that PJM recently reorganized the way it processes applications and it’s unclear when Mine & Hemmer will obtain its interconnection agreement.
Staff confirmed delays in PJM’s application process and recommended approval of the extension.
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