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 zoningLand use under discussion in Stafford County
Of greater concern, perhaps, are the areas outside of that corridor currently zoned for agricultural use. With a minimum lot size of three acres, those properties can be seen as ripe for development, and there is some concern that suburban sprawl could be an unintended result of the zoning classification. This is an issue that homeowners need to consider -- and on which they should weigh in. Should county officials work to maintain the county's traditional agricultural character? If so, how can that be accomplished without damaging the property rights of land owners? Read more in the Free-Lance Star.... Posted on Tuesday, July 27, 2010 - 7:13pm
Orange County court battle continues over proposed Walmart store
A hearing in August will focus on two issues: a statute-of-limitation claim made by the county involving Orange zoning laws, and whether certain documents sought by the plaintiffs are off-limits based on attorney-client privilege. More than 250 historians, Civil War preservationists and celebrities have taken a stand against the store. Read more from the Associated Press.... Posted on Tuesday, July 13, 2010 - 9:05pm
Fredericksburg's Planning Commission recommends approval of The Haven at Celebrate VirginiaThe Haven at Celebrate Virginia, a proposed 232-unit luxury apartment complex, has been granted preliminary approval from Fredericksburg's Planning Commission. The City Council now must vote on the matter. The Planning Commission recommended The Haven be allowed to have gates restricting access to residents and guests. The city's Comprehensive Plan doesn't allow gated communities. Read more at the Free Lance-Star.... Posted on Monday, April 19, 2010 - 4:46pm
Richmond City Council to consider Manchester rezoning
The new zoning designations will allow a mix of residential and commercial uses in areas that are presently zoned industrial. The change will eliminate the need for developers to apply for special permits to build in the area, and homeowners can expect to see new construction with varied uses. The revitalization could bring in new businesses and residents, potentially raising property values. Read more in the Richmond Times-Dispatch....
Posted on Monday, March 22, 2010 - 2:38am
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." Posted on Thursday, October 22, 2009 - 6:45pm
Clarksville Town Council Approves Changes to Boundary Adjustment Map
The growing town of Clarksville is hoping to expand the town limits, according to VaNcNews.com By expanding its boundaries the town will expand its tax base and revenues, and the expansion would also help the town maintain its water and sewer infrastructure. The town is already providing some services to this area, and hope that the changes will be a voluntary border adjustment adopted by at least 75% of current homeowners in the proposed area to be included in the town limits. This could be great news for all Clarksville homeowners by postively affecting their taxes. "The Clarksville Town Council voted to make changes to its Boundary Adjustment map that will include close to 15 new property owners in the proposed annexation process. The action came after Council convened a special session Tuesday following a scheduled workshop meeting. 'The revisions approved cuts a little bit out that was in the last one but also adds a few folks,' said Town Manager Melinda Moran. 'The area that is being added is on the east side of the Business 58 bridge. As you go north up Route 15, Uppy’s and the trailer park on the west side are in the town limits. Across on the east side there is only one property that is currently in the town limits. The map was changed to come across from the north where the trailer park is. There are about 15 property owners that it will affect.' Moran said the town was now in the process of sending notices out to the affected property owners. 'It is not a legal requirement to notify them, but it is the right thing to do,' she said. The changes in the Boundary Adjustment Map will have no immediate effect on the property owners, but mean that if the town is successful in its annexation plans, the included properties will then fall within town limits." Posted on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 - 2:45pm
Public Weighs in on Newtown-area Work
Earlier this week about 100 residents and business owners talked about how the city should move forward with redeveloping Newtown and light-rail, according to The Virginian-Pilot. This is a topic that homeowners in the area should be concerned about because of the possiblities of improved local economy and property values that could come from enhanced transportation. "How to redevelop 450 acres next to Norfolk was the subject Thursday night as the Beach sought input from the public, though the obvious subtext was whether the city should pursue light rail. The land, which planners call the Newtown "strategic growth area," sits near the Norfolk light-rail station, which is under construction just across the city line at Newtown and Kempsville roads. As about 100 residents and business owners talked around tables strewn with maps and colored sticky dots, light rail clearly was on their minds. A planned flyover of Interstate 264 to link Greenwich Road and Cleveland Street is also a major element in planning the future of the mostly industrial area. That new link would directly connect the Newtown area with Pembroke and Town Center, a high-profile city redevelopment effort. On light rail, opinions were mixed. Virginia Beach is buying the old Norfolk Southern rail line that crosses the city for $40 million. The City Council has not taken an official stance on light rail, but planning for it is moving ahead." Posted on Friday, October 2, 2009 - 7:29pm
Hanover Supervisors Pursue Land Use Balance
Every five years Hanover officials review the comprehensive plan and make revisions, and it's time for that to happen again, according to The Mechanicsville Local. Some officials are concerned that the county did not grow as much as it did in the previous fiscal year. Which raises questions about what kind of future developments should occur in the county. What resources, services or products could Hanover offer that would entice people to live in the county? For now it seems county officials aren't going to make major adjustments to the comprehensive plan, but will continue to do more analyzing and discussing. Homeowners in Hanover should take note of these stats and how the Board of Supervisors is figuring out the development and agriculture land use balance because these decisions could affect property values. "The best of both worlds. In pursuit of an ideal balance, the Hanover County Board of Supervisors — upon receiving an update on the comprehensive plan — is looking at how development and agriculture coexist. Michael Crescenzo, Planning Department director, said the county had experienced a growth rate of 0.9 percent for Fiscal Year 2009 as compared to 1.3 percent in 2008 as part of a status report he presented at last Wednesday’s regular meeting. He said the estimate is based on issuance occupancy and does include the Town of Ashland." Posted on Friday, October 2, 2009 - 6:58pm
Preservation Groups File Suit to Block Walmart in Orange
Some foes of Orange county's supervisors' decision to grant a special-use permint for a Walmart Supercenter have filed suit in hopes of blocking the project, according to an article on Fredericksburg.com. The suit has been filed by various supporters of Wilderness Battlefield including organizations and residents. Area homeowners are anxious on how this will play out, and if the box store will be coming into the county. "Opponents of the Walmart Supercenter planned in the Wilderness battlefield area filed a legal challenge yesterday to block the project. The lawsuit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Friends of Wilderness Battlefield and residents of Orange and Spotsylvania counties contests the Orange supervisors' Aug. 25 decision to grant a special-use permit for a 240,000-square-foot retail development. The 138,000-square-foot Walmart would anchor the retail center on a 51.5-acre parcel northwest of the intersection of State Routes 3 and 20 and a quarter-mile from the entrance to Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. The legal challenge contends the Board of Supervisors' 4-1 decision was 'flawed in numerous respects.' It claims that supervisors "brushed aside" mounting concerns about the negative impacts the store would have on the battlefield and park. Calling the Walmart project 'oversized and inappropriate,' National Trust President Richard Moe said his 250,000-member group joined the lawsuit 'to protect the Wilderness battlefield, the national park and the citizens of Orange County. 'It's our obligation to challenge big-box development on this vulnerable site, which would compound earlier land-use planning missteps and eventually would radically urbanize the rural gateway to the national park,' Moe said.' Orange Board of Supervisors Chairman Lee Frame and Supervisor Mark Johnson said yesterday afternoon they were not aware of the lawsuit and could not comment." Posted on Thursday, September 24, 2009 - 10:40pm
Bristol Residents Along Property Line Don’t Like Cemetery Gravesite Plans
According to the Bristol Herald Courier, residents along the Susong Cemetery are unhappy with plans to add burial plots within a few feet of their backyards. Many of the residents claim that when they bought their home neighboring the cemetery they were told that the property next to their yards would not be used for burials. Most of the homeowners signed a petition asking city leaders to impose a 25-foot buffer zone and some type of plant screening.
"Some Elmo Street residents are upset about a Susong Cemetery Association plan that would bring gravesites within a few feet of their backyards. Resident Landon Mann said Tuesday he’s considering legally challenging plans to sell burial plots along a 75-foot-wide strip of cemetery property that abuts his property. The land, between the cemetery’s northern boundary and Walnut Drive, abuts the property of more than a dozen Elmo Street homes. 'We were told, when we bought property here, that [cemetery] land would never be used for burials. It would only be used for parking for funerals,' Mann said, adding he has no paperwork to back up that assertion. Neighbor Chassie Van Pool, who’s lived in her Elmo Street home for 12 years, said she also understood the land wouldn’t be used for burials. 'I just don’t like it, They [trustees] should have come by. I don’t think that’s enough space between my fence and that [cemetery],' Van Pool said. Current zoning prescribes a 10-foot buffer zone between the cemetery and adjoining property. The first burial in the new section is scheduled for today. On Monday, Mann presented a petition to the city’s Planning Department, asking city leaders to impose a 25-foot buffer zone and some type of plant screening for separation. Residents of 13 of 15 Elmo Street homes signed the petition." Posted on Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - 7:35am
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Stafford County supervisors are poised to adopt a new comprehensive development plan in September, the first in 20 years. Officials hope to direct development to the center of the county along Interstate 95.
