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Northampton County

Northampton County Passes New Zoning Ordinance

Northampton County has a new zoning ordinance, after three years of revisions and hearings, according to DelMarVaNow.com.

The new zoning ordinance will hopefully bring a good balance of land-use into the county and protect.

This has been an important issue for homeowners in Northampton, who want to perserve the quality of living, but need more economic development and jobs.

"Northampton County has adopted a new zoning ordinance that works to channel development toward existing population centers, protect U.S. Route 13 by limiting highway development and ensure a more harmonious mix of differing land uses, ending a three-year process of revisions and hearings.

The document incorporates many changes to a previous proposal detractors said was unduly restrictive on commercial and agricultural interests. Still, ordinance opponents during a public hearing Tuesday said it remained prohibitory.

'I think this new zoning is anti-business,' said Montagne Cree, a real-estate agent.

'We should be encouraging it, not throwing hardships and roadblocks in everybody’s way.'

'Our community needs ordinary jobs for ordinary people,' said Bill Parr, who owns a real-estate sales agency. 'Solving the problem starts at your table tonight.

Five members of the Board of Supervisors, however, felt the ordinance and accompanying map accommodated the county’s delicate balance of environmental, residential, commercial and agricultural interests better and more fairly than the previous ordinance, approved almost a decade ago."

Read the full story.

Posted on Thursday, October 22, 2009 - 6:45pm

Chesapeake Bay Reports Call For More Livestock, Runoff Regulations

Last week federal officials released parts of a strategy to restore the Chesapeake Bay, according to NewsDay.com.

The report focuses on expanding regulation of large-scale animal farms and municipal stormwater runoff. Although details of the expanded regulations have not been decided, the report did mention that federal leadership and "muscle" would be used when necessary to enforce the new regulations.

This report, along with others wll be used to develop a bay restoration strategy scheduled for release on Novemeber 9th.

Because many of the Virginia localities in the Chesapeake Watershed are heavily farmed areas, many Virginia property owners could be affected. Property owners will need to ensure that their rights are protected in the process of restoring the Chesapeake Bay.

"Federal officials on Thursday began revealing the building blocks of a strategy to restore the Chesapeake Bay, using federal leadership to encourage states to cut pollution and federal muscle, when necessary, to ensure it happens.

Among recommendations in draft reports from federal agencies: expanded regulation of large-scale animal farms and municipal stormwater runoff, and requirements that increases in pollution be offset by reductions from other sources.

The details, such as how many more animal feeding operations would be regulated, have not been decided, but 'the message here is that there will be, there is a commitment at EPA to increased enforcement and increased oversight of state programs,' EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said Thursday.

The reports will be used to develop a bay restoration strategy, scheduled for release Nov. 9, that was mandated by an executive order issued earlier this year by President Obama.

The EPA said it was working with Chesapeake Bay states and the District of Columbia to establish limits for nitrogen, phosphorus and sediments. States would have to develop detailed plans on how to reduce levels of those pollutants from sources such as farms, highways and lawns. The EPA said it would step in if states don't take sufficient action.

While large operations such as industrial chicken farms would be regulated, the EPA said it would also expand regulation of municipal stormwater programs to include high-growth areas.

Jackson said the goal was to use federal leadership, and 'federal muscle when necessary.'

Agriculture is responsible for about half the pollution entering the bay, but Jackson noted there is more turf grass in the bay watershed than corn acreage and the region is much different from when bay restoration efforts began decades ago."

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Posted on Monday, September 14, 2009 - 10:50am

Business Leaders and Residents Urged to Press for Hampton Roads Rail

The Virginian-Pilot reported on a recent meeting in Norfolk concerning high-speed rail coming to Hampton Roads. The pressure is on for area business leaders and residents to start voicing their support for rail service as the state highway department has a shrinking revenue and growing maintenance needs that will prevent improvements to area highways.

Rail is a great solution to this problem, especially high-speed rail which is quick, affordable to passengers and cost-efficient. The federal government is giving away funds to help areas like Hampton Roads improve transportation. Currently Virginia has submitted applications to receive part of the money and is competing with areas in North Carolina to receive the Southeast's portion of the federal money.

Rail is going to happen across the country. Now it is up to business leaders and residents to speak up to ensure it comes to Hampton Roads.

"Business and community leaders need to start lobbying now for higher-speed trains to South Hampton Roads, a rail advocate told a gathering of the Downtown Norfolk Council on Wednesday.

Although a state study on passenger service will not be released for several weeks, businessman Brad Face, a founder and co-chairman of Virginians for High Speed Rail, said, 'I'd immediately start making noise.'

The political momentum for expanding fast trains out of Washington is focused south through Richmond and Petersburg then on to North Carolina.

It's not on bringing it to Hampton Roads 'because we haven't gotten our act together in Virginia,' Face said.

'We have to redirect the political momentum,' he said.

The federally designated Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor includes both North Carolina and Hampton Roads links.

The Obama administration has set aside more than $8 billion in federal stimulus money to start building a national high-speed train network and has proposed another $5 billion over five years.

Virginia has applied for stimulus money for the Washington-to-Petersburg link. The state is also requesting money in a second round of federal funding for a Hampton Roads connection."

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Posted on Friday, September 4, 2009 - 5:07pm

Cape Charles Residents Wonder About Services and Taxes

Recently Cape Charles officials met with Northampton County officials to discuss why Cape Charles residents comprise about 9 percent of the county's population, but pay 22 percent of the county's real-estate taxes.

Homeowners in Cape Charles can appreciate their town officials speaking out on their behalf. County officials responded by saying residents can not expect to receive dollar-for-dollar return on their taxes because that is not how the Commonwealth operates, and that Cape Charles residents receive many county-wide and regional services.

"Cape Charles residents comprise about 9 percent of the county's population and pay 22 percent of real-estate taxes in Northampton County.

The Board of Supervisors held a rare joint meeting with the Cape Charles Town Council on Thursday to discuss county tax revenues generated by the town and what services town taxpayers can expect in return.

'Is Cape Charles going to continue to be the cash cow?' Town Councilman Larry Veber asked.

'We've raised our water, we've raised our sewer, we've raised our garbage,' Veber said of the cost of town services. 'Now we've raised taxes. Residents ask me, "What do we get in return?" Help us understand so we can go back to our people and say, "This is what we've got, folks."'

Members of the board of supervisors, while acknowledging the county needs to find new revenue sources, cautioned against expecting dollar-for-dollar services for their tax investment. Officials also said the county is trying to lessen the tax burden dependence on real-estate and personal property taxes, which account for 80 percent of county revenues, by creating new revenue streams.

The county has not yet adopted a policy, but County Administrator Katie Nunez suggested a healthy tax approach is to move toward 70 percent residential vs. 30 percent commercial."

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Posted on Wednesday, September 2, 2009 - 7:50pm

Free Pesticide Disposal Service for Southside Residents in 2009

A free service offered by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service, and the Virginia Pesticide Control Board will dispose of harmful pesticides at no cost to residents and businesses in their southside service area, according to a recent article in the Progress-Index.

The program assists agricultural producers, licensed pesticide dealers and pest control firms, golf courses and homeowners with the proper disposal of unwanted pesticides. The program is available at no cost to eligible participants. 

To administer the Pesticide Disposal Program, Virginia is subdivided into 5 regions. A pesticide disposal program is conducted annually in localities within each of the regions. Once all 5 regions have been served, the program will start another cycle. The Southside region is being serviced by the program for the remainder of 2009.

Participants should complete a pesticide disposal registration form ahead of time and return the completed form to VDACS, PO Box 1163, Richmond VA 23218. The form is available online, or by contacting Pesticide Disposal Program at (804) 786-3798.

"The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Virginia Pesticide Control Board invite farmers, pesticide dealers, pest control firms, homeowners and golf courses to participate in the 2009 pesticide disposal program, which collects unwanted, outdated, or banned pesticides and disposes of them in a safe manner. VDACS, through its Office of Pesticide Services, provides this service at no cost to participants in the designated localities.

The program is funded through pesticide product registration fees collected by OPS.

Since its inception, Virginia's Pesticide Disposal Program has collected and destroyed nearly 1.5 million pounds of outdated and unwanted pesticides, completely eliminating the environmental threat they could have posed."

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Posted on Thursday, August 13, 2009 - 12:40pm

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Posted on Monday, June 15, 2009 - 12:00am