This week in county government; Supervisors talk budget, bridge, buoys and more; Planning Commission to consider Lake Anna condos, hotel
This week in county government; Supervisors talk budget, bridge, buoys and more; Planning Commission to consider Lake Anna condos, hotel
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, October 10 through October 15
For the latest information on county meetings including public meetings of boards, commissions, authorities, work groups, and internal county committees, click here.
Wednesday, October 12
James River Water Authority, Fluvanna County Public Library, 214 Commons Blvd., Palmyra, 9 am. (agenda packet)
Louisa County Water Authority, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 6 pm. At publication time, a meeting agenda was not publicly available.
Thursday, October 13
Short-Term Rental Work Group, Extension Conference Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 10 am.
Louisa County Planning Commission, long-range planning work session, Public Meeting Room, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 5 pm. (agenda packet, livestream) The work session will focus on the county’s gateways and transportation needs as well as potential changes to county code involving civil penalties for code violations.
Louisa County Planning Commission, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 7 pm. (agenda packet, livestream)
Additional information about Louisa County’s upcoming public meetings is available here.
Interested in taking your talents to one of the county’s numerous boards and commissions? Find out more here including which boards have vacancies and how to apply.
BOS roundup: supervisors talk budget, bridge, buoys and more
The Louisa County Board of Supervisors convened for a pair of meetings last Monday, discussing the county’s capital budget, the approval process for buoys at Lake Anna, safety issues with a one-lane steel truss bridge in Green Springs, and much more. Check out highlights from both meetings below. (work session video) (regular meeting materials, video)
Supervisors eye millions of dollars in capital projects: Barely three months into Fiscal Year 2023, supervisors are already eyeing the county’s budget for FY24 and beyond.
The board held a brief budget work session Monday afternoon to discuss the Capital Improvement Plan, a roadmap for spending on big-ticket items like school buildings, water and sewer infrastructure, broadband deployment, fire stations, and more.
County staff and the board’s finance committee said the meeting was designed to raise awareness about the numerous capital projects on the county’s plate. A preview of potential projects shared at the meeting includes 17 items totaling nearly $111 million. It focuses on building construction, renovations, and infrastructure.
“I just don’t want anyone to be surprised when we start budget season,” said Board Chair Duane Adams (Mineral) who serves on the committee with Jackson District Supervisor Toni Williams.
Williams said that there are several factors in play as supervisors plan for future spending on large projects, some of which could require the county to take on additional debt. Those factors include economic uncertainty, interest rates, and the possibility that the county could draw new businesses that generate revenue.
“We are trying to put all the puzzle pieces together for the near-term,” he said.
Staff and the finance committee divided its list of potential projects into three categories: ongoing projects, revenue-generating projects, and non-revenue generating projects. County Administrator Christian Goodwin said staff and the committee didn’t prioritize the projects to give the entire board an opportunity to weigh in on their priorities for the coming fiscal years.
Ongoing projects
The committee anticipates roughly $26.4 million in spending for ongoing projects including $15 million to complete the James River Water Project, nearly $9 million for broadband deployment, and $2.4 million for building renovations.
The county has already contracted almost $38 million in debt for the James River Project and another $8 million with Fluvanna County via the James River Water Authority. The project, launched in 2013 and expected to be complete between 2025 and 2027, will pipe millions of gallons of water from the river to feed development along the Interstate 64 corridor.
JRWA applied for a grant from the Virginia Department of Health to help pay for the project’s unfinished components including a water pump station and intake along the banks of the James and a roughly four-mile stretch of pipeline to connect the station to an existing water main. The authority also has the option of issuing bonds to cover the cost.
In 2021, the county committed about $9 million for broadband deployment via its partnership with Firefly Fiber Broadband. Supervisors included a roughly $3 million down payment on the project in its FY23 budget, which it paid out of the county’s general fund. The broadband project is expected to deliver fiber access to every unserved resident in the county by 2025.
The county received $7.3 million in federal pandemic relief from the American Rescue Plan Act that supervisors earmarked for expanding and upgrading local government offices. They purchased an office building in the Louisa County Industrial Park and green-lighted extensive renovation projects. The finance committee anticipates $2.4 million for renovations at unspecified county facilities.
Revenue generating projects
The county could spend more than $37 million on what staff and the finance committee consider “revenue generating capital projects,” investments in infrastructure that could draw businesses that bulk up the tax base. Those projects include $9.8 million to purchase and upgrade a wastewater treatment facility at Lake Anna and nearly $28 million for water and sewer infrastructure at the Shannon Hill Regional Business Park, a 700-acre industrial site that the county is developing just off Interstate 64.
Supervisors are considering buying the Lake Anna sewage facility from Lake Anna Environmental Services to support development along the Route 208 corridor. The plant can handle 20,000 gallons of wastewater per day, but it’s permitted to discharge 99,000 gallons daily. The county’s potential investment would expand its capacity to 300,000 gallon per day, according to Goodwin. LA Resort, LLC has agreed to pay $1 million toward the estimated $10.8 million upgrade as part of its effort to win approval for a mixed-used lakefront development just west of the Route 208 bridge (See article below).
Staff and the committee anticipate spending nearly $23 million to bring water and sewer infrastructure to the Shannon Hill site and another roughly $5 million on a raised water storage tank. Since its approval in 2018, local officials have touted the park as a future home for distribution centers, data centers or other businesses that provide jobs and contribute significant revenue to county coffers. To offset the infrastructure’s hefty price tag, the county is applying for a $16 million grant from the state’s Business Ready Sites program. The Industrial Development Authority could tap revenue from a land sale and solar lease to pay for the water tank.
Non-revenue generating projects
The spending preview includes more than $47 million for “non-revenue generating” items with Louisa County Public Schools requesting more than $33 million and the county’s Fire and Emergency Services Department requesting about $5.4 million.
The schools’ ask includes $15.1 million for an addition to Louisa County Middle School that would accommodate 400 students and about $15 million for a Career and Technical Education Center and adjacent parking. The FEMS request includes funding for new fire and rescue stations at Zion Crossroads and Ferncliff, estimated to cost $2.4 million each, an addition to the Louisa Volunteer Fire Department, and renovations at the Bumpass Volunteer Fire Department. The latter two projects could cost $625,000.
Both the FEMS and school projects are listed in the county’s five-year Capital Improvement Plan. Staff and the finance committee anticipate issuing bonds to cover school construction.
The list of non-revenue generating projects also includes $8 million for a new aquatic center and $2.8 million to place turf surfaces on two fields, the football field in “The Jungle” at Louisa County High School and a practice field behind the middle school that’s used by several youth sports leagues. Supervisors considered placing a bond referendum on the ballot this November to pay for new sports fields but axed that proposal in August.
While most board members didn’t weigh in on their capital spending priorities, Green Springs District Supervisor Rachel Jones made clear that funding an addition to the middle school tops her list.
“I’ve had multiple teachers come up to me and ask me when the (middle school) addition is coming,” she said. “They’ve told me that they have students they’re using closets for as small, remedial classrooms.”
Jones added that some classrooms are housed in mobile units, called pods, outside the main school building, which presents its own set of challenges.
“In the pouring rain on Friday, you had to walk down five pods to what I call the outhouse pod, which is a pod that just has bathrooms in it with no ventilation so you can imagine what it smells like,” she said.
Supervisors pushed back funding for the middle school addition from FY24 to FY25 during the last budget cycle, citing concerns about soaring construction costs.
Williams assured Jones that the middle school is a priority but noted that the county must factor in construction costs and interest rates as it prepares for the project. He expects the board will appropriate money “in the near term” so the division can draw up plans for the addition.
“The county is in a very strong financial position right now because of years of diligence and work and not just spending like a drunken sailor,” Williams said. “The schools have been a great partner in that. They understand that just because somebody has to learn in a pod for a year or two, because we didn’t have the finances ready to go for the middle school, it’s not the end of the world.”
During budget discussions earlier this year, Patrick Henry District Supervisor Fitzgerald Barnes pushed his colleagues to consider building a second middle school instead of an addition. But Barnes didn’t bring up the idea at Monday’s work session.
According to figures from the 2021-22 academic year, the middle school enrolled 1,212 students with the capacity for 1,200. An addition would expand its capacity to 1,600.
Given the county’s continued growth, some residents see an addition as a temporary fix. Patrick Henry District Planning Commissioner Ellis Quarles called it “a band-aid” when the commission reviewed the CIP during the FY23 budget process. The long-range CIP, which forecasts 20 years of capital spending, doesn’t include any new schools.
Supervisors appropriate $3.65 million in ARPA funds: After a public hearing in which no community members weighed in, supervisors unanimously approved the appropriation of $3.65 million in federal pandemic relief, which they plan to spend on “building renovation projects,” per the approved resolution.
The county received the money from the American Rescue Plan Act’s Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery program. According to federal guidelines, localities are authorized to spend the money to respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency or its negative economic impacts, to meet the needs of workers performing essential work during the public health emergency, to fund government services to the extent of county revenue loss due to the pandemic, and to make necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure.
The county received $7.3 million in local fiscal recovery funding in two tranches with the first arriving last year and the second arriving this year. Of the first $3.65 million payment, the county used about $2 million to purchase the former Virginia Community Bank headquarters in the Louisa County Industrial Air Park and a 4-acre adjoining lot. The county allocated the bulk of the remaining money to renovate the building—the future home of the Human Services Department—and to remodel part of the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office.
County officials also plan to tap the second round of ARPA funds to accommodate LCSO’s needs, per a discussion at Monday’s budget work session. It’s unclear what other projects will benefit from the funding.
Other county and state agencies, including the Louisa County Health Department and Registrar’s Office, need new accommodations. The Louisa Medical Center, just across Woolfolk Avenue from the County Office Building, reverted to county ownership in 2019 and could provide space for those services. The Health Department has operated out of leased mobile units adjacent to the Betty Queen Center for about a decade while the registrar occupies a small space in the County Office Building.
Supervisors move for public hearing on buoy application process: Supervisors voted unanimously to advertise a public hearing for a proposed change to county code that would lengthen, from 30 to 90 days, the local portion of the application process to install a buoy on the public side of Lake Anna.
County Administrator Christian Goodwin told the board that the Lake Anna Advisory Committee recommended the change so it could play a larger role in green-lighting new buoys. The committee is a cross-jurisdictional panel that includes representatives from Louisa, Spotsylvania, and Orange counties, the three localities home to Lake Anna shoreline.
Goodwin said that, under the current process, LAAC reviews buoy applications before county officials gather input from stakeholders and make a recommendation to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources on whether a buoy warrants approval. County code gives local officials 30 days to forward a recommendation to DWR.
Lengthening the evaluation period to 90 days would allow LAAC, which meets once every other month, to weigh in later in the process and provide stakeholders more time to comment, Goodwin said. Spotsylvania County is also considering lengthening its application process to 90 days, per LAAC’s request.
“Everybody wants (the approval of new buoys) to be in the hands of the parties that are most familiar with the lake,” Goodwin said, noting that DWR has the final say on approval but relies heavily on the county administrator’s recommendation. Once an application is forwarded to DWR, the agency has 30 days to make its decision, per state code.
Buoys are an important navigational tool for boaters, marking natural and artificial hazards. Louisa County’s buoy application guidelines state that the county primarily focuses on “the issue of potential wake hazards and public safety” when reviewing applications. The guidelines note that state law “doesn’t permit the placement of a no-wake buoy simply because someone wants to slow down boat traffic.”
VDOT, county to discuss future of Hamilton Road bridge: At the recommendation of VDOT Residency Administrator Scott Thornton, the board directed county staff to meet with VDOT to consider the future of an aging one-lane bridge on Hamilton Road in the Green Springs National Historic Landmark District.
Neighbors have raised concerns about the circa 1917 steel Pratt truss bridge, questioning the structure’s safety and noting that it isn’t wide enough to accommodate some emergency vehicles. Thornton said that VDOT maintains the bridge to ensure it’s serviceable but, at some point, “the maintenance needs are going to outpace the maintenance funding.” Once it gets to that point, he said, the bridge would be shut down for safety reasons.
Thornton said that VDOT attempted to address concerns about the bridge eight years ago, but walked away from the process because stakeholders, including Green Springs residents and the National Park Service, couldn’t agree on how to move forward. He suggested that VDOT officials and county staff determine the needs for the area and what changes would be acceptable to residents and other stakeholders.
Because of its historic designation, Thornton said that any plans to replace or rehabilitate the bridge must go through the National Historic Preservation Act’s Section 106 process to open all avenues for potential funding. The process allows the public to weigh in on federally assisted projects that could impact historic properties.
Green Springs District Supervisor Rachel Jones said she’s heard from constituents along Hamilton Road who are worried about the bridge and that it’s time for VDOT and county to tackle the issue.
“I would like for us to have a different outcome than eight years ago when all parties ceased (communicating) and the bridge remained in this condition,” she said.
Supervisors to reconvene affordable housing committee: Earlier this year, Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger secured $775,000 in federal funds for Louisa County to invest in a mixed-income affordable housing community. But it remains unclear where the community will be built and what form it will take.
Supervisors took a small step toward answering the many questions surrounding the project Monday night, agreeing to reconvene its affordable housing committee to look for possible locations. Cuckoo District Supervisor Willie Gentry and Patrick Henry District Supervisor Fitzgerald Barnes said they’d continue to serve on the committee.
The committee was first formed last summer after Spanberger submitted a funding proposal—with supervisors’ backing—for Ferncliff Place, a mixed-income neighborhood that the county hoped to build in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville. The community was expected to include some 80 homes with 25 reserved for residents making between 25 and 60 of the area’s median income.
But the development’s proposed location, roughly 13 acres of county-owned land at the corner of Route 250 and Mallory Road across from the Ferncliff Business Park in Barnes’ district, sparked the ire of neighbors who complained that the property is ill-suited for dense development. They cited concerns about the destruction of wetlands, increased traffic, and public safety.
Amid a hotly contested re-election campaign, Barnes proposed that the board form a committee to evaluate the property and other potential locations. The committee provided its lone report to the board last September in which Barnes said the project wouldn’t be built on the Ferncliff parcel and Gentry said they hoped to find land in or around the Town of Louisa.
With the passing of a $1.5 trillion federal appropriations package last March, Spanberger announced that Louisa would receive funding for Ferncliff Place. Barnes said at the time that the county still planned to build a project similar to what was articulated in the original proposal though not at the previously proposed location. Monday’s meeting marked the first time the board publicly discussed the funding since Spanberger’s announcement.
Goodwin said that the Fluvanna-Louisa Housing Foundation has an idea about where the county could locate some affordable housing and noted that the board needs to start planning to use the federal funds. In an email to Engage Louisa, Goodwin said the county has until September 2030 to spend the money.
Barnes said that he has long been a champion of housing affordability but expressed frustration with the backlash from some residents. He said he’s willing to keep working on the project as long as it’s a serious effort to get something done.
“Every time I bring up the words ‘affordable housing,’ it’s like the grinch that stole Christmas. People are so negative about people having the opportunity to own a home,” he said.
Board approves MOU for Blue Ridge Shores dam replacement: Supervisors unanimously approved a Memorandum of Understanding between Louisa County and the Blue Ridge Shores Property Owners Association in which the county agrees to apply for a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on the POA’s behalf.
According to the approved resolution, the Blue Ridge Shores POA is preparing to replace its dam, spillway, and a bridge at an estimated cost of $4.4 million. The POA could obtain 75 percent of the funding for the project via a FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure in Communities (BRIC) grant, but the grant requires a local government entity to apply for the money.
Under the MOU, Louisa County agrees to co-sponsor the grant application on the condition that it does not incur any financial responsibility for the project.
County Administrator Christian Goodwin said the POA has the resources to cover the grant’s required local match and would reimburse the county for any administrative costs associated with the grant application.
During the meeting’s public comment period, Curt Heidel, general manager of the Blue Ridge Shores POA, thanked the board for considering partnering with the community.
“We know this project will protect much of the county from the possible loss of life if a dam breach occurred and Blue Ridge Shores, as a private community, understands and accepts that it is our financial responsibility for this project. We just need the county to partner with us in order to apply and qualify for the grant,” Heidel said.
Board adopts legislative platform ahead of 2023 General Assembly session: Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the county’s legislative platform for the 2023 General Assembly session, which kicks off in early January and spans just 46 days.
Supervisors annually discuss the platform with the county’s delegation in Richmond, currently composed of Delegate John McGuire (R-56) and Senators Bryce Reeves (R-17) and Mark Peake (R-22). At publication time, the county hadn’t announced a date for this year’s meeting.
The platform includes seven legislative priorities, several of which supervisors advocated for in the past. Cuckoo District Supervisor Willie Gentry said that he’d like to add an additional item that raises concern about the Virginia Department of Transportation’s communication with counties.
Gentry said he reached out to the agency with a question about one of its policies six months ago and still hasn’t received an answer. He also expressed concern about the level of input the county has over its secondary roads.
“I don’t think VDOT is taking us seriously,” he said, noting that, as a retired VDOT administrator, he doesn’t blame the problems on local staff.
Goodwin suggested that Gentry work with him to craft language to potentially add to the platform.
As approved, the platform includes the following priorities.
Undergrounding: The county asks state lawmakers to support “undergrounding,” meaning placing overhead power lines underground. The county argues that while undergrounding is expensive and can lead to higher bills for ratepayers, placing even a small portion of overhead lines underground could significantly increase grid resilience.
Supervisors opted to prioritize grid improvements after Winter Storm Frida walloped the county last January, leaving some residents without power for more than a week.
“From my standpoint and I think many people who were impacted severely by the January storm, if we can save our power crews from fixing just one downed line, that’s another downed line they can be fixing instead of that,” County Administrator Christian Goodwin said.
Small Modular Reactors: In a second priority related to the energy sector, supervisors express support for the study and promotion of small modular nuclear reactors (SMR). Unlike traditional reactors, which are custom-built on-site and cost billions of dollars, SMRs could be fabricated in factories and far cheaper to assemble.
The reactors, still years away from commercial viability, are designed to produce up to 300 MW of power, about a third of the production capacity of one of the twin reactors currently operating at Dominion’s North Anna Nuclear Power Station. Proponents tout the technology as safe, cost effective, and scalable, contending that SMRs could play a key role in Virginia’s transition to a carbon-free grid. They also argue that their development could lead to new economic development opportunities across the state.
Governor Glenn Youngkin last week called for the development of a commercial SMR in southwest Virginia in the next 10 years, labeling the effort Virginia’s “moon shot.” His 2022 Energy Plan says that the commonwealth is well positioned “to become the nation’s leader in SMR technology,” pointing to several Virginia-based companies that are at the forefront of the nuclear technology industry.
Jail costs: During the biennial budget cycle last spring, the state increased from $12 to $15 the per diem rates for state-responsible inmates in regional jails. The county again advocates for more state support for regional jails albeit from a slightly different angle.
As Goodwin explained it, the county encourages the state to pay a set percentage of jail costs, which can fluctuate from year to year and are tallied in an annual jail cost report.
“Rather than asking for an increase on a per diem basis, (we are) looking at indexing these costs as a percentage of actual costs. According to the jail cost report, the actual average statewide per-prisoner per day cost is $100.32 so we could index that cost at a certain percentage,” he said. “If we were to say local per diems will be 20 percent of that cost, in a year like this one, you’d get $20.32 cents rather than our current per diem rate. The nice thing about that is if those costs go up going forward, we get a higher amount. If those costs go down, you get a lower amount.”
Broadband: The county supports continued state and federal aid to localities for broadband deployment and efforts to bolster cooperation among utility providers and other entities in expanding connectivity.
Thanks to an influx of federal pandemic relief from the American Rescue Plan Act, the General Assembly, in 2021, made an historic investment in rural broadband, allocating about $700 million to the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative to provide grants for broadband expansion in unserved areas. Louisa County, via its partnership with Firefly Fiber Broadband, is directly benefiting from more than $20 million in VATI funds. Firefly has pledged to deliver fiber access to every unserved resident in Louisa by 2025. Supervisors committed $9 million in local funds toward the effort.
Freshwater Harmful Algal Blooms: Supervisors request that lawmakers continue to support efforts to mitigate fresh water Harmful Algal Blooms, a persistent problem in the upper end of Lake Anna and other waterways. The biennial state budget includes $1 million to develop a Lake Anna-specific HAB mitigation plan, thanks largely to legislation that Peake carried last session.
The blooms, which include toxin-producing cyanobacteria detrimental to human health, prompted the Virginia Department of Health to issue no swim advisories for parts of Lake Anna in each of the last five summers. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality recently included the lake on its list of impaired waterways because of the blooms.
Equal Revenue Authority: A perennial plank in the county’s legislative platform, supervisors support counties’ right to raise the same revenue as cities. Under current law, cities have expanded taxing authority.
State funding flexibility: In another priority that regularly appears on the county’s legislative agenda, supervisors support allowing localities flexibility in the use of state revenues to compensate employees. The platform notes that when the state funds a compensation increase for employees, it occasionally compels localities to provide the same increase for staffers whose salaries it doesn’t fund. The county calls this an “unfunded mandate” and ask for the power to makes its own decisions on how compensation funding is dispersed.
Board approves CUP amendment for utility-scale solar facility: Supervisors voted 6-0-1 to green-light an amendment to a Conditional Use Permit, approved in 2021, that cleared the way for Aura Power Development, LLC 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 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.
The property is owned by Louisa District Supervisor Eric Purcell and his father, Charles, via Mine & Hemmer LLC. Eric Purcell abstained from voting on the amendment request.
Charles Purcell told supervisors 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 and prompting the request to amend the CUP.
According to media reports, PJM has been unable to keep up with the crush of applications for projects looking to connect to the grid, particularly from the renewable energy sector. The bottleneck has impacted the development of solar facilities across the eastern United States and prompted PJM to reorganize its application process. Charles Purcell said it’s unclear when Mine & Hemmer will obtain its interconnection agreement.
Supervisors approve renewal of Shelton’s Mill AFD, addition to South Anna AFD: Supervisors voted unanimously to renew the Shelton’s Mill Agricultural and Forestal District and to approve Anthony and Sarah McLoughlin’s request to add 40 acres to the South Anna AFD.
Created in 1992, the Shelton’s Mill AFD 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 South Anna AFD covers more than 40 parcels and over 500 acres in south-central Louisa County. The McLoughlin’s added two forested parcels (tmp 56-73, 56-74) located on the southeast side of Courthouse Road (Route 208) just south of Holly Springs Drive (Route 800).
Ag/Forestal districts are a conservation tool that enable 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. Adding land to or removing land from an AFD also requires county approval.
Community Development Director Josh Gillespie told the board that the county is in the process of installing 25 road signs that identify its 15 AFDs. The signs are designed to raise awareness about the districts and land conservation.
Planning Commission to consider condos, hotel at Lake Anna
Luxury condominiums and an upmarket hotel could be coming to a prime piece of real estate on Lake Anna.
The Louisa County Planning Commission on Thursday will hold a public hearing and consider whether to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve LA Resort, LLC’s request to rezone about 15.2 acres (tmp 30-3A, part of tmp 30-3) just west of the Route 208 bridge from commercial (C-2) to Planned Unit Development (PUD). The rezoning would clear the way for LAR’s plan to develop a mixed-use community featuring up to 96 owner-occupied condos, an up to 130-room hotel, and up to 10,200 square feet of commercial space including a restaurant and ancillary retail.
Michael Grossman and Michael Garcia, the Prince William County developers leading the project, unveiled plans for the development during a community meeting in late August hosted by the Louisa County Community Development Department. The meeting drew about 20 community members who peppered the developers with questions about the project’s potential impact on traffic both on and off the lake, county services, and the character of the neighborhood, setting up what could be a contentious rezoning process.
Grossman said that LAR sees an opportunity to deliver two lodging options not readily available on the lake: a high-quality hotel and luxury condominiums that appeal to people who enjoy lakeside living but don’t want to maintain a single-family home.
“(We) live in northern Virginia and we decided that we wanted to spend more time with our families on Lake Anna. We started visiting and we determined that we didn’t necessarily want to have a house to take care of, we wanted to look for a residential condominium. That kind of led us down this journey to where we are today,” Grossman said, referring to himself, Garcia, and a third LAR partner. (The project’s fourth investor already resides at the lake, Grossman said).
As proposed, the residential portion of the development would feature an up to 96-unit condo building with dwellings ranging from two to five bedrooms. Grossman said he expects the units will attract active adults from northern Virginia and people who already live on the lake looking to downsize.
LAR’s land use application notes that there’s significant market demand for “luxury residential single-level living condominiums offering an experience tailored towards affluent retirees, active adults, and vacation/2nd home buyers” and the development seeks to “address these underserved market segments.”
With that in mind, the residential building’s amenities would include a lounge, gym, pet grooming facility, and community gathering area. Exterior amenities would include an expansive pool with a pavilion/grill area, fire pits, playground, dog walk area, and trails. Grossman suggested some of the condos could sell for about $1 million.
An up to 130-room hotel, a 150-seat restaurant and bar, and ancillary retail would comprise the development’s commercial component. Grossman said that the developers are talking with hoteliers interested in locating at the site, targeting upper-mid scale to upscale chains like Home2Suites and Residence Inn. He added that it’s likely the hotel and restaurant would be owned and operated by the same company.
To accommodate residents and guests, the property would include extensive lakeside amenities including a beach, paddle sports area, and about 130 boat slips, both covered and uncovered. According to a preliminary master plan, it would feature up to 62,560-square feet of overwater structure with docks and boathouses extending up to 150 feet from the lake’s shore. Grossman said that Dominion Energy, who controls the lake, has provided informal approval for LAR’s shoreline plan.
The developers plan to situate the condominium building closer to the lake, with each unit enjoying a lake view, and place the hotel closer to Route 208. As proposed, both buildings could reach 80 feet in height, which is permitted by-right for some commercial development in a PUD but not for the residential building. LAR is requesting a Conditional Use Permit to allow the building to exceed the 60-foot height limit, according to its land use application. The restaurant would be housed in a separate building that doesn’t exceed 60 feet.
According to a traffic analysis, the development is expected to generate 2,382 vehicle trips per day. The Virginia Department of Transportation has already approved an entrance on the western end of the property, designed for a previous site plan projected to have higher traffic counts. A letter from VDOT states that the development warrants a full left and right turn lane on Route 208, which should be installed during initial development of the project.
The property doesn’t have access to public water via the Louisa County Water Authority so it would source its water supply from an on-site system that includes a minimum of two community wells with an expected capacity of 100,000 gallons per day. The Virginia Department of Health has tentatively approved four possible well sites.
LAR has agreed to pay $1 million toward the county’s purchase and upgrade of an existing wastewater treatment plant, owned by Lake Anna Environmental Services, that currently serves Lake Anna Plaza across the street. The developer entered a Memorandum of Understanding with the county in February 2021, stating its intention to chip in for the facility if the county ultimately acquires it.
The plant has the capacity to process 20,000 gallons of wastewater per day but it’s permitted to discharge 99,000 gallons daily. The county’s upgrade could expand its capacity to up to 300,000 gallons per day, according to county staff. LAR’s proposal is conditioned on the county buying and upgrading the facility.
According to a fiscal impact report prepared by Magnum Economics on Louisa County’s behalf, the development would have a positive impact on county coffers, netting about $205,000 in annual revenue in the decade after uconstruction.
Magnum estimates that the development would generate about $1.1 million in total revenue in years two through 10 including roughly $56,000 a year in sales tax, $58,000 in meals tax, $78,000 in transient occupancy tax, and $770,000 in real estate and personal property taxes. Meanwhile, county expenditures related to the development, including costs associated with the purchase and operation of the wastewater treatment plant and public safety expenses, would reach about $896,000 a year over the same timeframe.
Magnum bases those projections on several key assumptions including that the development would have an assessed taxable value of $93 million, that the hotel would annually generate about $4.1 million from lodging and that the restaurant would generate $1.5 million in food and beverage sales, figures provided by Louisa County’s Economic Development Department.
Magnum also assumes that the county’s annual public safety costs will rise about $130,000, based on the 96 residential units, and that the development won’t include any children that attend Louisa’s public schools.
With respect to the wastewater treatment plant, the analysis assumes a $10.8 million investment to upgrade the facility to a 300,000-gallon per day discharge capacity, $150,000 in annual operating costs, and about $616,000 annually to pay off the project. Beyond LAR’s project and Lake Anna Plaza, the plant would have the capacity to serve continued development along the Route 208 corridor.
In addition to the rezoning and the CUP, the developers are requesting a modification to the county’s design and architectural guidelines to allow the use of high-quality composite siding, instead of stone or brick, with stone veneer and/or stucco as a secondary material. The developers argue that using brick or stone as a primary material “would reduce the warmth and welcoming nature desired for the development” and that composite siding is easier to maintain.
The applicant also requests a special exception from the Board of Supervisors exempting the development from including a dry hydrant in its common area. The developers would instead implement a standpipe system connected to the community water system with shoreline discharge connections at each dock.
Louisa County planning staff recommend approval of the rezoning and the Conditional Use Permit, noting that the project conforms with 2040 Comprehensive Plan’s Future Land Use Map, which designates the area for mixed-use development. Staff recommends approval of the design modification request and denial of the special exception.
Click here for Engage Louisa’s previous coverage of LA Resort’s proposal.
Planning Commission to hold public hearing on buffer requirement: In February 2021, supervisors axed a requirement that by-right subdivisions in agricultural zoning (A-2) include a roadside buffer. Now, some supervisors are pushing to make that move retroactive.
The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing and consider whether to recommend that supervisors repeal the buffer requirement for all A-2 subdivisions regardless of when they were created.
Louisa District Supervisor Eric Purcell said at the board’s September 19 meeting that supervisors opted to remove the requirement last year, so he sees no point in keeping it in place for subdivisions created prior to the provision’s repeal.
“I just don’t think it’s anything the county needs to be involved in. We saw fit to do away with (the buffer requirement) and now you have a bifurcated system where you are trying to enforce things that happened prior to a date and you are not worried about things that happened after a date. That doesn’t make any sense,” he said.
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