This week in county government; Supervisors approve personal property tax relief measure; Fire chief announces retirement; Planners to consider Red Hill Road rezoning request
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 11 through July 16
For the latest information on county meetings including public meetings of boards, commissions, authorities, work groups, and internal county committees, click here.
Wednesday, July 13
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, an agenda was not publicly available.
Thursday, July 14
Louisa County Planning Commission, Public Meeting Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 7 pm. (agenda packet, livestream)
Planners will hold one public hearing to consider a request to rezone, from A-1 to A-2, 18 acres on Red Hill Road in western Louisa County. See below for more information.
Friday, July 15
Louisa County Board of Supervisors’ Economic Development Committee, Executive Board Room, Louisa County Office Building, 1 Woolfolk Ave., Louisa, 11 am. At publication time, an agenda was not publicly available.
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: Board approves tax relief from vehicle appreciation, okays Community Development Department fee hikes
The Louisa County Board of Supervisors convened for its lone July meeting Tuesday night, approving a temporary reduction in the personal property tax ratio for vehicles and green-lighting fee hikes for services provided by the Community Development Department. Check out the meeting highlights below. (meeting materials, video).
Supervisors approve tax relief from vehicle appreciation: With no discussion, supervisors approved a temporary reduction in the personal property tax ratio for vehicles that will save residents about $1.13 million on their tax bills this year.
The board unanimously passed a resolution trimming the ratio from 100 percent to 90 percent, effective through the end of the year. Setting the ratio at 90 percent essentially means that vehicles will be taxed at slightly less than their assessed value. The county said in an announcement that the reduction offers residents “temporary tax relief from vehicle appreciation associated with COVID-19's economic impact.”
According to the approved resolution, the county’s adopted budget estimated that personal property tax revenue would rise between 15 and 25 percent. But new figures from JD Power, the pricing guide the county uses for vehicle assessments, indicated that revenue would surge about 35 percent. Had the ratio remained at 100 percent, the increase would’ve meant an additional $1.13 million in county coffers and out of taxpayers’ pockets.
The resolution notes that, per JD Power, vehicles appreciated in value over last year’s assessments instead of depreciating, which it attributes to a shortage of new vehicles related to fallout from the pandemic.
Supervisors and the Commissioner of the Revenue’s office “explored possible options to lower the tax burden for Louisa residents,” according to the resolution, opting to lower the ratio. The county’s personal property tax rate of $2.43 per $100 of assessed value for personal vehicles won’t change and the ratio reduction will sunset on January 1, 2023.
According to Board Chair Duane Adams, the county received the latest JD Power valuations in the last several weeks and had a limited window to act as the Commissioner’s office prepares to send out personal property tax bills ahead of their early December due date. He said in a social media post that the board “went to work and figured out how we can give folks some cuts and relief on their personal property taxes.”
The ratio reduction doesn’t impact the FY23 budget, it simply allows residents to keep money that the county wasn’t anticipating but could’ve collected. The reduction comes just after the start of the new fiscal year, which kicked off July 1.
Board approves Community Development Department fee increases: Supervisors unanimously approved fee hikes for a variety of services provided by the county’s Community Development Department with some fees set to rise more than 200 percent.
Deputy County Administrator Chris Coon told the board that the department uses the fees to offset the cost of the services it provides and overhauling the fee schedule will bring it closer to “cost-neutral,” meaning the services pay for themselves and don’t require additional county funds. Coon said the fee hikes will also enable the county to hire an additional building inspector, noting that staff completed 14,289 building inspections last year compared to 5,967 in 2018, a 139 percent increase.
The fee increases range from eight percent to 329 percent and cover charges for residential building inspections for new construction and remodeling, site plan reviews, rezoning applications, other residential and commercial services, and telecommunication structures, among others. Not all fees will increase.
Coon told the Planning Commission in June that building permits for covered decks, porches, and landings will see the highest increase, rising some 329 percent. He said the county is hiking the minimum fee from $35 to $150, which is why the percent increase appears so large. Application fees for amendments to proffers and master plans will rise 200 percent, Coon said, from $500 to $1500. He said those increases, like many of the others proposed, will bring the county in line with what’s charged in surrounding localities.
Other charges set to go up 200 percent or more include permit fees for open decks, porches, and landings, which will rise 257 percent, based on an increase from $35 to $125 for the minimum fee, generator and generator mechanical permit fees, permit fees for tents over 900 square feet, and fees to provide electric to tents.
Supervisors removed a $100 application fee for placing land in or removing land from an agricultural and forestal district after voting to ax the fee earlier this year at the urging of the Ag, Forestal, and Rural Preservation Committee. The Planning Commission recommended that the board retain the AFD fee but Jackson District Supervisor Toni Williams motioned to approve the fee schedule overhaul sans the charge.
The Community Development Department last implemented a comprehensive overhaul of its fee schedule in 2010.
Williams proposes work group to address flooding concerns around Town of Louisa: Jackson District Supervisor Toni Williams proposed forming a work group Tuesday night to address concerns about flooding in and around the Town of Louisa.
Williams’ suggestion came after five community members spoke during the board’s public comment period about frequent flooding around Beaver Creek and Tanyard Branch, two waterways that flow along the town’s border. The residents, three of whom live in the town and two who reside in the county, blamed the flooding on stormwater runoff from development and the infrastructure required to support it. Several speakers said that neither the town nor the county want to take responsibility for the issue.
Williams’ proposal also coincided with a presentation on the regional Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan, currently under revision by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. According to Ian Baxter, a planner with TJPDC, the plan addresses the threats posed by various natural hazards, including flooding, to the six localities in the planning district and recommends specific actions, developed by each locality’s staff, to mitigate the impact of natural disasters when they occur. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requires that localities update the plan every five years to remain eligible for certain federal disaster relief programs and grants, Baxter said.
Williams criticized the plan as “a waste” and said it should take a more proactive approach.
“If (the plan) provides means to get work groups together to access federal funds to preemptively fix problems, that seems like a whole different thing that may be good. To say ‘no, it just gives us access to help pay for damage that has occurred as a result of a disaster’…that seems like a waste,” he said.
Williams then turned his attention to residents’ flooding concerns, suggesting that the county establish a work group that includes representatives from the Board of Supervisors, a member of Louisa’s Town Council, residents impacted by flooding, county planning staff, and TJPDC staff. He said the group’s goal would be to identify measures to address flooding around Beaver Creek. Louisa District Supervisor Eric Purcell, whose district includes the town, and Mountain Road District Supervisor Tommy Barlow, one of the county’s two representatives on the TJPDC, agreed to serve in the group.
During public comment, six speakers raised concerns about flooding with five specifically addressing flooding around Beaver Creek, which crosses Route 33 in the town and flows south into the South Anna River. Several speakers explained that their concerns about stormwater runoff have come to a head as the Town of Louisa considers rezoning about 11 acres to the east of Beaver Creek and the Tanyard subdivision for the Timber Oaks development, an up to 85-dwelling mixed-use community. They said that while the rezoning decision rests with Louisa’s Town Council, flooding in and around the town impacts both town and county residents. Council deferred action on the rezoning request at its June meeting and is expected to consider the request again at its July 19 meeting.
Michael Harris told the board that he’s lived in Tanyard for more than 25 years and watched flooding in Beaver Creek worsen with the town’s continued development. He implored the board to address the issue, noting that Tanyard residents pay taxes to both the town and the county.
“Louisa has a flooding problem and I ask you to help us, the residents of Tanyard, who pay both county and town taxes, to create a solution that allows us to live without threat of flooding and loss of investment in our homes. We have neighbors who must sandbag their property as well as others who have sustained damage to their basements due to flooding. My family built our home in 1995 and (Beaver Creek) used to flood above the creek bank a few times a year. Now it’s seven feet (deep) and about 150 feet wide. The time for finger-pointing is over,” he said.
Grant Routzohn, who lives along Club Road just outside of the Town of Louisa, echoed Harris. He said that Tanyard Branch crosses Club Road near his property and, due to flooding, he sometimes can’t get to and from his home. He pointed to stormwater runoff from the town’s development as a significant part of the problem.
“What the town does is causing flooding in the county. When they start building all these developments, Countryside being one and Timber Oaks being the one they are proposing now, all those things feed down Beaver Creek into the county,” he said, referencing the Countryside subdivision on the southwestern edge of the town and the proposed Timber Oaks development on the southeastern edge.
Two speakers, Harris and Patrick Henry District resident Chuck Miller, expressed concern about the county’s suspension from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Miller said that he recently tried to get flood insurance on his property but was told he couldn’t access it through the federal program because Louisa residents aren’t eligible. He asked why the county is suspended from the program and if it’s working toward reinstatement. Per board protocol, supervisors declined to answer his questions during the public comment period. Patrick Henry District Supervisor Fitzgerald Barnes told Miller to contact him for more information.
Louisa County was suspended from the program in 2016 after the Board of Supervisors declined to adopt amendments to the county’s floodplain ordinance required for participation. According to Louisa County’s website, the floodplain ordinance amendments would’ve “placed significant additional restrictions” on land classified as floodplain specifically relating to development and other activities.
County officials discussed the issue at four public meetings, per the website, and “numerous citizens voiced their concerns with errors in the federal floodplain maps as well as opposition to the required changes.” More than 30 residents spoke in opposition to the amendments at the Board of Supervisors’ October 3, 2016 public hearing including Purcell, then chairman of the county’s Planning Commission, and Garland Nuckols, mayor of the Town of Louisa, per the meeting minutes.
The board voted 5-2 to repeal the county’s entire floodplain ordinance and 7-0 to reject the changes required to remain in NFIP. At a special meeting later that month, the board adopted a new floodplain ordinance that didn’t meet FEMA’s requirements. Like Purcell, Mineral District Supervisor Duane Adams and Green Springs District Supervisor Rachel Jones weren’t members of the board at the time.
The National Flood Insurance Program provides flood insurance to property owners and renters as it is not typically included in homeowners’ insurance policies. While residents can purchase flood insurance outside of NFIP, rates are generally higher. Homes and businesses in high-risk flood areas with mortgages from government-backed lenders are required to have flood insurance. According to FEMA’s website, Louisa is the only county in Virginia that doesn’t participate in the program.
Craig updates board on library name change request, library services: Wendy Craig, Louisa County’s representative on the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library’s nine-member Board of Trustees, updated supervisors Tuesday night on a controversial request that the regional library system change its name. She also informed the board of some enhanced library services in the works for the locality.
Craig provided a brief recap of trustees’ June 27 meeting where they publicly discussed a request for a name change presented at their May meeting. A group representing descendants of enslaved laborers asked the board to change the library’s name, citing Thomas Jefferson and James Madison’s role as slaveholders. They argued that the library is perpetuating oppression by bearing the names of slaveholders and failing to live up to its stated values. Craig said that trustees listened to about an hour of public comment from community members who argued both for and against a name change but ultimately the decision to change the name doesn’t lie in their hands.
JMRL Executive Director David Plunkett informed trustees that the power to change the library’s name requires an amendment to a funding agreement between the organization’s five member jurisdictions-the City of Charlottesville and the counties of Louisa, Nelson, Albemarle, and Greene-and that any amendment to that agreement needs the approval of each jurisdiction’s governing body, Craig said. She noted that the funding agreement is set for review in the coming year and that trustees plan to discuss the name change request again at an upcoming meeting.
“We don’t have the authority to change the name. We could make a recommendation, perhaps. I think the main point is that we want to hear from our patrons. We want to make sure that a discussion is held, that we have open minds and ideas, that we are listening carefully to the people in our communities,” Craig said.
Both the Louisa and Greene County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed resolutions opposing a name change last month. Given the board’s opposition, Chair and Mineral District Supervisor Duane Adams pressed Craig on how she would vote if trustees opted to make a recommendation about a name change. Adams, who is vying for the Republican nomination in the 10th state Senate District, threatened to defund the regional library system if it opted to adopt a new name a day after the descendants’ group presented its request and before it became clear who had the authority to approve a name change.
“I am representing Louisa County not myself,” Craig responded, adding that she would vote as directed by the Board of Supervisors.
Cuckoo District Supervisor Willie Gentry, who serves as the board’s liaison to the library, said that he attended the June 27 meeting to listen to community input on the name change request and decide “which way to go even though we all voted against the change.” He said he didn’t hear anything to change his mind about the board’s initial decision.
Craig said that the name change discussion is important, but she doesn’t want it to sidetrack or handicap the organization.
“The library’s goal is to remain an inclusive, diverse, and free community resource,” she said.
Aside from the name change request, Craig updated the board on JMRL’s efforts to make the local library more user-friendly. She said the library has installed a book return box outside Walgreens in the Town of Louisa so patrons running errands in town don’t have to drive to Mineral to return books, noting that Gentry and his wife, Deborah, were the first patrons to use the box. She said the local branch is also adding an outside “book locker” so residents can access and return more resources when the library is closed. Inside the library, the branch plans to install a “privacy pod” where patrons can conduct tele-health visits, job interviews, and other appointments that require an internet connection and some privacy, Craig said.
Craig added that she and Louisa Branch Manager Ophelia Payne recently met with Green Springs District Supervisor Rachel Jones to discuss ways the library can better serve residents around Zion Crossroads and in the county’s far western end.
Supervisors discuss participation in VA250 Commission: Supervisors discussed the county’s potential involvement in the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission (VA250), a body established by the General Assembly to plan for and commemorate Virginia’s participation in American independence. The commission, whose planning effort kicks off this year and runs through 2026, is composed of legislative leaders, tourism and economic development officials, historians, and experts across a wide spectrum.
The commission sent a letter to the county touting the commemoration effort as an opportunity for Virginia and individual localities to draw in visitors by highlighting their role in American independence and asking the county to formally participate in its work. The letter requests that Louisa designate a liaison to work with the commission, form a local VA250 committee to plan events, and pass a resolution in support of the planning effort.
Localities taking those steps are eligible for state grant funding for anniversary-related events as well as access to traveling exhibits and teacher resources. Localities can also apply for American Rescue Plan Act funding that supports industries negatively impacted during the Covid-19 pandemic such as tourism, travel, and hospitality.
Supervisors didn’t make a formal decision to take part in the commission’s work, but Chair Duane Adams tasked Cuckoo District Supervisor Willie Gentry with working with county staff on next steps. Gentry, who serves as the board’s representative on the Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Committee, said that members are already exploring ways to promote the county’s role in the American Revolution.
He pointed to Jack Jouett’s famous ride from Cuckoo Tavern to Monticello to warn Thomas Jefferson of the impending arrival of British soldiers in 1781 and French General Marquis de Lafayette’s foray through western Louisa that same year as possible events the county could highlight.
Mountain Road AFD renewal approved: Supervisors held a public hearing and unanimously green-lighted renewal of the Mountain Road Agricultural and Forestal District. The district, established in 1992, includes more than 30 parcels and covers about 1,472 acres around Rolling Path and Harts Mill Roads in southeastern Louisa County. Two property owners initially requested the removal of a combined 287 acres with an additional 288 acres slated for removal just prior to the public hearing. The district previously covered more than 2,000 acres.
AFDs are a conservation tool that allow landowners engaged in farming and forestry to voluntarily prohibit development on their property. The districts require review and renewal by the Board of Supervisors every 10 years.
Fire and EMS chief announces retirement
After a nearly 50-year career in public service, Louisa County Fire and EMS Chief Robert Dube is calling it quits.
Dube, who has served as head of the county’s Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department since 2020, announced in a tweet Tuesday morning that he’s retiring effective July 29.
“I’ve tried this retirement thing a couple times already but this time I’m done. It’s been a great ride in the greatest job in the world,” Dube said.
Prior to his current stint as Louisa’s fire chief, Dube led the department from 2008 to 2011 and served as County Administrator from 2011 to 2014, helping the locality navigate the aftermath of a 5.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked the area in August 2011.
In a statement, Louisa County thanked Dube for his service and credited him with “effectively and proactively position(ing) the Department of Fire and Emergency Services to meet community needs.” The county noted that, during his current tenure, Dube oversaw the deployment of full-time staff at Trevilians Fire Station, planned and gained approval for the New Bridge Fire and Rescue Station, the first emergency services facility built with county funds, restructured the department’s leadership, and enhanced its training, among other accomplishments. The county also said that the relationship between career and volunteer staff has “flourished under (Dube’s) oversight.”
Beyond his tenure in Louisa, Dube worked in emergency services at the state level and at the local level in northern Virginia and Florida. He served as Deputy Director for Virginia Fire Programs, Fire Chief for the City of Alexandria, Deputy Chief for the City of Clearwater (FL), and filled several positions with Fairfax County. During his career, he earned accolades from the Office of the Governor, the Senate of Virginia, and the International Association of Fire Chiefs, among others.
A search to replace Dube is ongoing. The county posted an ad for the position on its website last week and the Board of Supervisors discussed the job opening in closed session at last Tuesday’s meeting under a Freedom of Information Act exemption that allows public bodies to discuss personnel issues in private.
While Dube is closing the door on a long career in emergency services, he is already looking for other ways to engage with the community. He filed to run for one of two seats up for grabs on Louisa’s Town Council this November.
Planners to consider rezoning request for 18 acres along Red Hill Road
The Louisa County Planning Commission will convene for its July meeting Thursday night with one public hearing on the agenda. Planners will hear public comment and consider whether to recommend to the Board of Supervisors approval of a request to rezone, from A-1 to A-2, 18 acres along Red Hill Road (Route 660) in the Green Springs Voting District (tax map parcel 8 3). The property is owned by The Meadows Four Brothers, LLC. Daniel Merrick signed on behalf of the entity on its land use application.
According to planning staff’s report, the applicant owns an approximately 286-acre parcel on Red Hill Road with 18 acres lying on the east side of the highway at the corner of Red Hill and Porter Town Roads. The applicant requests a rezoning for that portion of the property for potential residential development.
Rezoning the property from A-1 to A-2 would allow the owner to subdivide the 18-acre portion into six lots in accordance with Louisa County Land Development Regulations. Under A-1 zoning, parcels can’t be divided into more than three pieces, per staff’s report.
The remaining 268 acres across Red Hill Road would remain in A-1 zoning. That property and adjoining tracts owned by the applicant in Louisa and Albemarle are under conservation easement with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, which places restrictions on their development.
Staff notes that the property lies in an area designated as agricultural and very low density residential but it’s adjacent to the Gordonsville Growth Area Overlay District, home to Klockner Pentaplast and the Gordonsville Power Station. While staff suggests that increasing density in the area is not preferable, the report states that “the impact to the rural nature of the area is limited,” noting that much of the parcel will remain in A-1 zoning and subject to a conservation easement in perpetuity.
Staff recommends that the applicant provide a concept plan for the subdivision of the 18 acres and documentation that VDOT would be receptive to multiple driveways.
The Community Development Department and the applicant held a neighborhood meeting on May 11 to answer questions about the request. No community members attended other than the applicant.
Click here for contact information for the Louisa County Board of Supervisors.
Find agendas and minutes from previous Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission meetings as well as archived recordings here.
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