The Waterloo Bridge is a valuable piece of the history of Culpeper and Fauquier Counties that was closed to traffic by the Virginia Department of Transportation due to safety concerns in early 2014.
Julie Bolthouse
Julie Bolthouse is The Piedmont Environmental Council's land use field representative for Fauquier County.
Cultural and Natural Resources Comp Plan Update
The County is updating the Cultural and Natural Resource sections of the Comprehensive Plan and they need your input to establish a real community vision.
Concerns Regarding Opal Service District Draft Plan
The Opal Steering Committee has been meeting for about a year and has developed a plan that is ready for public review. Although PEC supports aspects of the plan, we also have several concerns about what the plan proposes.
Comprehensive Plan Amendments Happening in Fauquier
It can be easy to tune out these updates, but revisions to the ‘Comp Plan’ can mean drastic changes to the look, feel, and functionality of your county, town, and day-to-day life. This is because the Comp Plan is the community’s most important document regarding land use, growth, development, transportation, and resource utilization.
Facts about the Opal Gateway Project
The day before the Board of Supervisors November 14th public hearing the applicant proposed changes that were only made available to the public hours before the hearing. The changes are peripheral in nature. Although the amount of land being added to the service district and rezoned commercial has decreased, the project layout is the same. Instead of the RV Park being a part of the service district and the commercial rezoning, the rural agricultural (RA) zoning will be modified to allow a travel trailer park with water and sewer still being supplied from the service district public infrastructure.
Fauquier Farm Winery Ordinance
On February 14th the Board of Supervisors voted to adopt the amended special exception application for Barrel Oak. The vote was 4 to 1 with Supervisor Holder Trumbo voting in opposition.
Adaptive Reuse Ordinance
An Adaptive Reuse Ordinance has been drafted that alleviates our concerns about this undermining rural zoning in Fauquier. The changes are carefully crafted to support innovative small businesses who reuse historic structures, differentiate between the use of reception and restaurant, and addresses what happens if the structure is destroyed.
County Discusses Ordinance and Comprehensive Plan Overhaul
The Orange County Circuit Court ruled that the County does not have the authority to enact a subdivision ordinance with time-phased divisions of land. This invalidates the current ordinance and allows for the immediate division of all agricultural lands into 2 acre lots unless the Board takes action immediately to establish protections of the rural area. Please speak at the Oct. 4th public comment period on proposed changes and send your concerns to the Planning Commission and your representative on the Board of Supervisors.
Business Parks?
Update: On December 13th the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to pass the new Business Park zoning district. Nothing has changed since November, the vote was only put off to December due to a procedural issue. The district although envisioned to be utilized primarily in the Service District, can still be approved for sites in Villages.
A Tactical Training Facility in Orange?
A proposal is before the Planning Commission for a tactical training facility along with new zoning language that will allow such uses in agricultural and industrial zoning districts. The Commission is holding a public hearing on Sept. 20 at 7:15pm to discuss the change to the zoning language. In the name of economic development, this complex amendment is being fast-tracked through the process to pave the path for the Global Dynamics Security application. Fortunately the Global Dynamics Security applicant has asked for an extension to the Oct. 18th Planning Commission meeting. The specific application will not be considered at the Sept. 20th meeting.
Update: Residents showed up in droves protesting the zoning text amendment on September 20th. After residents had expressed their concern about the proposed change, the Planning Commission voted to recommend denial. On September 25th the Board of Supervisors voted to deny the zoning amendment. At this time, we believe there will be no further consideration of the Global Security Applicaiton or related changes to the ordinance.