Adaptive Planning for Flooding and Coastal Change in Virginia: Next Steps for the Commonwealth

Virginia Coastal Policy Clinic:

“The Conversation Continues...

Described as a ‘game-changer’ for Virginia, last year the Virginia Coastal Policy Clinic hosted a forum for state and local government officials as well as coastal stakeholders to discuss the legal and policy challenges presented by coastal flooding.

Since this precedential gathering, much has happened across the Commonwealth:  

• The Virginia Secure Commonwealth Panel established a Sub-Panel on Recurrent Flooding.
• The Virginia General Assembly convened by joint resolution a study committee on recurrent flooding.
• Governor McAuliffe created the Governor’s Climate Change and Resiliency Update Commission.

 Join us at Adaptive Planning for Flooding and Coastal Change in Virginia: Next Steps for the Commonwealth, where the dialogue will move forward by sharing the resolutions made to date by Virginia’s decision makers; by providing discourse with and among national, state and local experts on barriers to future action; and by identifying the priorities for next steps as suggested by conference participants.

Looking forward to seeing you there,”

~ Virginia Coastal Policy Clinic

The Event is scheduled for December 5^th

Grayson passes zoning revisions

Grayson County:

“The Grayson County Board of Supervisors put its zoning ordinance concerns to rest last Thursday evening when they unanimously approved the Grayson Planning Commission’s revisions to the document. The commission, tasked by the supervisors with making the 75-page document more ‘user-friendly’ in February, met eight times in the last three months to dissect the ordinance and compose a ‘complete rewrite of the document from start to finish,’ according to Zoning Administrator Elaine Holeton.

Grayson County supervisors have approved the Planning Commission’s changes to the zoning ordinance, just a couple of months after directing the commission to end zoning in the county. Holeton said the revision focused on six areas of concern: improving the readability of the document, the addition of allowable uses in all zone districts, the analysis and adjustment of street setback and yard setback requirements for structures, general requirements for all zone districts, the exemption of agricultural buildings for zoning permit and an adjustment to the administration section to clarify the zoning process.

Holeton pointed out that the board would also be reviewing Grayson County’s subdivision ordinance. ‘This was included with your review because there was one section on planned unit developments which was moved by the zoning ordinance to the subdivision ordinance,’ explained Holeton.”

~Writes Patrick Smith of the Galax Gazette

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Sign of the (digital) times: Arlington zoning ordinance to dump outdated business uses

Arlington County:

“Time to face facts: Fotomat is gone for good and just isn’t coming back. And the Arlington zoning ordinance is about to be updated to reflect the changing world. ‘Film processing kiosk’ is among the zoning classifications that are being removed from the zoning ordinance because they represent ‘archaic’ uses, a county official told members of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce’s government affairs and economic development committee at a recent meeting.

Other uses being phased out include ‘tourist homes’ and ‘draying.’… Update of the county’s zoning ordinance is being undertaken in phases.”

~Writes InsideNova

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Visit www.arlingtonva.us to learn more about the zoning changes

Gloucester supervisors mull repealing highway development guide

Gloucester County:

“The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously 5-0 Tuesday night — board members Phil Bazzani and Chris Hutson were not in attendance — to authorize the Planning Commission to hold a public hearing on repealing a county ordinance that guides development along the Route 17 corridor. The request by Supervisor John Meyer to repeal the Highway Corridor Overlay District stems from a consistent theme by members of the board since January to roll back local government regulation.

Meyer has targeted the Highway Corridor Overlay District because he says it is costly to developers and has slowed business growth. The district, approved by the Board of Supervisors in 1998, is designed to impose certain aesthetic conditions and has primarily been used along Route 17 from Gloucester Point to the Court House. Meyer said there are several compelling reasons to repeal the district. ‘We desire to minimize regulatory constraints on business,’ he said.”

~Writes Matt Sabo of the Daily-Press

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Opinions mixed on new subdivision ordinance

Carroll County:

“One Carroll County supervisor had concerns about road standards for a new kind of subdivision and a citizen made several objections at the April 14 board meeting, but all other speakers and county officials addressing proposed changes to the subdivision ordinance supported the new ideas.

Carroll supervisors dealt with several subdivision ordinance modifications at the March meeting, but put on hold decisions involving the creation of a class C subdivision and flag lots. A class C subdivision designation, as proposed, places limits a development to five lots on a minimum 1.5 acres each, accessed by a minimum 18-foot-wide street. Flag lots involve a way of getting access to a tract of land that does not have public road frontage.

When the time came for the April joint public hearing with the planning commission, most of the speakers said that these standards would help with development in Carroll. But citizen Janet Tate launched into her concerns even before the public hearing, during citizens’ comment time, by bringing up statistics about narrow and winding roads that serve housing developments.”

~Writes Christopher Brooke of the Galax Gazette

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Board OKs tower amendment, nixes scenic protection language

Nelson County:

“After months of deliberation and a lengthy discussion March 11, the Nelson County Board of Supervisors narrowly approved an amendment to the county’s communication tower ordinance. The board approved a repeal of almost all sections of the previous ordinance, Article 20 in the zoning code, and replaced them with new language that will reduce the requirements for a tower’s minimum setback from Virginia Scenic Byways and the Blue Ridge Parkway and serve as a comprehensive overhaul of previous tower classifications.

But the ordinance does not include proposed requirements that Nelson County Planning & Zoning Director Tim Padalino argued would help protect undeveloped mountain scenery in the county.”

~Writes Katherine Lacaze of Nelson County Times

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Hearing set on massive zoning overhaul for Northampton

Northampton County:

“Northampton County’s Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission will hear what the public thinks about its proposed massive overhaul of the zoning ordinance at a joint hearing scheduled for March 11 at 7 p.m. at Northampton High School. Economic Development Director Charles McSwain received marching orders from the Board of Supervisors shortly after being hired just over a year ago to streamline zoning requirements as a way to promote business development. ‘The Board (of Supervisors) wanted a new code that is more enabling,’ McSwain said last October.

One provision garnering significant public interest is a modification that would effectively cut in half the area regulated under the Chesapeake Bay/Atlantic Preservation district, which applies Chesapeake Bay Act requirements to the entire county. McSwain, who also oversees the county’s planning department, noted the shoreline would still be protected on the sea side by 100-foot-wide ribbon of conservation zoning along the shore, except ‘where there are existing, developed, water-dependent communities,’ such as Willis Wharf and Oyster.

The proposal would no longer regulate properties east of U.S. Route 13, unless they drain into the Chesapeake Bay. The proposal would also delete the district as an zoning overlay district, and place it in a separate section of the land use code with a different name: Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area.”

~Writes Connie Morrison of Delmarva Now

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Planning commission eyes changes to duplex zoning

Nelson County:

“The Nelson County Planning Commission is considering proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance that would allow a higher density of duplexes in agricultural zones. At its meeting Feb. 26, commissioners discussed proposed amendments that would alter the density requirement for specific duplexes, or two-family detached dwellings, in agricultural zones so they could be constructed on 2-acre parcels of land, as opposed to the current requirement of 4-acre parcels.

George Krieger, director of the Nelson County Community Development Foundation, proposed the amendments. Duplexes with four or fewer bedrooms and two or fewer baths are an “important tool in providing affordable housing” for low- to moderate-income residents in the agricultural zones of the county, Krieger told the commission.”

~Writes Katherine Lacaze of Nelson County Times

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Berryville Nixes Chickens In Town

Town of Berryville:

“Following a rare tie vote Tuesday night, the Town Council will not continue work on an ordinance that would have allowed Berryville residents to keep from four to eight chickens in backyard coops. After a report by council member Mary Daniel on the wording of a proposed ordinance to regulate egg-laying hens, Mayor Wilson Kirby asked for a vote on whether to continue ‘moving forward’ with the ordinance.

Kirby said he had talked to many residents, and all were uniformly against allowing their neighbors to keep chickens. Under the ordinance, the number of chickens would have been regulated by the size of residential lots. Town Manager Keith Dalton said it appeared that only a few lots could have more than the minimum of four hens and the largest flock could only be eight. Roosters would have been forbidden to limit noise.

Kirby said he was concerned about the expected $1,000 expense to advertise the new ordinance and have it vetted by town attorney Robert Mitchell. ‘I haven’t met one person who is in favor of chickens in Berryville,’ Kirby said. ‘Everybody is against it.’ Several of the newer subdivisions in town, governed by homeowners associations, bar chickens by covenants.”

~ Writes Val Van Meter of The Winchester Star

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Strasburg seeks input on new zoning guide

Town of Strasburg:

“Strasburg residents and business owners get a chance Monday to learn about new zoning and development rules under consideration. Town officials plan to hold a public meeting on the draft of the Unified Development Ordinance at 7 p.m. in the municipal building, 174 E. King St. Economic Development and Planning Manager Kimberly Murray said Thursday that town officials and the consulting firm will hold the meeting as part of the public rollout of the large document…

Town Council would not vote to adopt the regulations until March 11 at the earliest. As Murray explained, the ordinance is an attempt to streamline the process through which developers obtain permits needed for projects. The ordinance sets up a clearer timeline for the approval process, giving developers an idea of what they needed to provide to the town staff and when. The ordinance also calls for the town and developer to discuss the proposal before the application process begins. The ordinance also formalizes the technical review committee's involvement in the process, Murray said.

The new ordinance also would include regulations designed to prevent situations like the failed housing project on U.S. 11 once called Cedar Valley. Murray said the ordinance contains language that requires a developer clean up a site if a project falls through.”

~ Writes Alex Bridges of the NV Daily

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Hearing on tower changes revealing

Nelson County

“A proposed amendment to the Nelson County Zoning Ordinance pertaining to wireless communication towers was determined to be severely lacking at a recent Nelson County Board of Supervisors meeting. Last Thursday, the board held a public hearing on a proposed amendment to the Nelson County Zoning Ordinance that deals with the repeal and replacement of sections of Article 20, regarding communication towers.

Tim Padalino, the Nelson County Planning & Zoning Director, highlighted some of the important changes for the supervisors, including adjustments to tower classifications; application procedures; required minimum setbacks from the Blue Ridge Parkway, Skyline Drive and other Virginia Scenic Byways; removal and reporting of facilities; and the application fee schedule. Under the proposed replacement section, the new category for personal wireless service, or Class C facilities, would be similar to what currently is the Class IV category for personal wireless service facilities, with a few significant changes. Several speakers at the public hearing said there were problems with the proposed replacement sections.”

~Writes Katherine Lacaze of the Nelson County Times

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Albemarle panel makes tweaks to steep-slopes ordinance

Albemarle County

“Thanks to a simplified review process, it soon may be easier and cheaper for some residents in growth areas of Albemarle County to develop on steep slopes. At the same time, other, more-sensitive slopes will get additional protections.

‘There are probably individuals who are re-grading their yards, putting in sheds and terracing their lawns without appropriate building permits because it is a hassle to get,’ said Bill Fritz, the county’s chief of special projects. ‘Hopefully, by making the ordinance easier to comply with, people will comply with it.’

Earlier this week, the Planning Commission recommended approval of ordinance changes reclassifying critical slopes in the growth areas as either managed or preserved. In addition to simplifying the permit process, the ordinance will cut costs to both the county and residents.”

~Writes Effie Nicholaou of Charlottesville Tomorrow

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Senator backs zoning referendum bill

Grayson County

“Grayson supervisors’ effort to put the future of zoning before county voters now has a sponsor in the General Assembly. A three-member majority of Grayson County supervisors voted Jan. 9 to direct county staff to pursue a special referendum vote on the issue of repealing the county’s zoning ordinance, which requires General Assembly approval.

Sen. Bill Carrico is sponsoring legislation in the General Assembly that would allow Grayson to put its zoning law to a public vote. Sen. Bill Carrico is sponsoring legislation in the General Assembly that would allow Grayson to put its zoning law to a public vote. On Jan. 17, Senate Bill 668 was presented to the General Assembly by Sen. Bill Carrico of Fries. The bill, if passed, would require Grayson County Circuit Court to order the referendum vote on or before Aug. 15, 2014. The referendum vote would be held in conjunction with the 2014 general election in November, and would ask qualified voters the question, ‘Shall the county repeal the existing zoning ordinance for the County of Grayson?’ Citizens would vote either ‘yes’ or ‘no.’”

~Writes Patrick Smith of the Galax Gazette

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New Farm Brewery Legislation

General Assembly

“The Senate has overwhelmingly approved SB 430, which creates a new farm brewery license and sets out the privileges of this new license and the state and local license tax. It limits application of local zoning ordinances to farm breweries in a manner similar to farm wineries, but goes further by limiting local restrictions on parking and access. The bill utilizes language that exists in current Code provisions related to farm wineries, allowing yet-to-be defined “usual and customary” activities at such breweries unless the activity causes substantial impact on the health, safety or welfare of the public. It prevents minimum parking, road access or road upgrade requirements for these new breweries if they are on land zoned agricultural, unless there is a substantial impact. It provides no clear thresholds and safeguards to ensure farm breweries are growing a sizable quantity of local agriculture products that can be used in the manufacture of beer. This bill overrides local efforts to involve the public in adopting zoning regulations for agricultural-related operations and activities.”

~Writes David Blount TJPDC Legislative Liaison

Washington County, Va., leaders consider natural gas extraction

Washington County

“At least one more workshop will be held to iron out some concerns that Washington County Planning Commission members have about the draft ordinance governing natural gas extraction in the county.

The issue has been under discussion for several years, and members of the Land Use Steering Committee voted in November to pass the draft ordinance on to the Planning Commission. The draft was introduced last spring to the steering committee. ‘We did look at this for two-plus years, and we’ve learned a lot,’ said commission member Bill Cantor, who served on the steering committee.

Planning commission members voted unanimously to work on the ordinance at least once before passing the draft on to the Washington County Board of Supervisors, which ultimately will decide whether to enact the ordinance. The draft outlines the area where gas can be drilled, an area designated for agriculture south of the North Fork of the Holston River, and includes much of Rich Valley Road. It also outlines preliminary environmental studies to be conducted and the requirements for companies to get a special exception permit to operate a gas well in the county.

Some of concerns to be addressed by the commission are what the cost of the special exception permit application should be, whether companies should have some kind of pollution insurance and what control the county would have over policing the areas to be drilled, if applicable.”

~Writes Allie Robinson Gibson of the Bristol Herald Courier

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Adult store rules may get tougher than first proposed

Pittsylvania County

“Pittsylvania County is considering an ordinance that would impose even tougher restrictions on adult establishments than originally proposed. County residents can speak out on the possible ordinance during a public hearing to be held during the Pittsylvania County Planning Commission meeting at 7 p.m. on Feb. 4 in Chatham.

The proposed rule would dictate that an adult store or similar business must operate in the light industrial district with a special-use permit and cannot locate within 2,500 feet (about a half-mile) of a school, church or day care center or within three miles of another adult establishment.

A previously-proposed ordinance would have required 1,000 feet from a school or church and two miles from another adult store. It was recommended for approval by the planning commission in December, but the board of supervisors referred it back to the commission on Dec. 17.”

~Writes John R. Crane of the Go Dan River

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Debate Over Residential Studio Units Continues

Fairfax County

“Fairfax County residents have yet to agree on the specifics of residential studio units and are continuing the debate on several aspects of the proposed amendment.

As of Jan. 6, the Planning Commission proposed amendment defines residential studios as efficiency units that make up a multiple-family residential building, or part of a building, in which 80 percent of the units must be for those who do not make more than 60 percent of the median income of the area. In the Washington, D.C. area, that is $45,000.

The Residential Studio Unit Amendment has also been amended to remove residential studio units from consideration in lower density R-E through R-8 districts, where single family detached homes are allowed.”
~Writes Janelle Germanos of The Connection

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Planners recommend allowing use of freight containers

Gloucester County

“The Gloucester County Planning Commission voted last Thursday night to recommend that freight containers used exclusively for storage be regulated as accessory structures.

In making its recommendation to the Gloucester Board of Supervisors, the commission ended its multi-month discussion of the use of cargo containers, temporary storage buildings, and temporary family health care structures. The supervisors will now schedule their own public hearing on the matter.”

~Writes the Bill Nachman of the Gazette-Journal

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