Piedmont Environmental Council has concern about some of the changes being proposed in Fauquier County's rewrite of the Plan for Commercial Wireless Facilities. This section of the County Comprehensive plan sets the policies and goals regarding how telecommunications facilities should be integrated into the landscape. Our two major concerns are about the vague language proposed and the fact that a new telecommunication zoning ordinance is being proposed at the same time.
Julie Bolthouse
Julie Bolthouse is The Piedmont Environmental Council's land use field representative for Fauquier County.
Waterloo Bridge Letter to BOS
The Fauquier Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on April 10th, 2014 regarding the Six Year Plan for Secondary Roads. The Six Year Plan outlines planned spending for transportation projects proposed for construction, development, or study for the next six years and is updated each year. The letter below is a request submitted by Piedmont Environmental Council that the long term rehabiliation of the Waterloo Bridge be included in the 2014-2015 through 2019-2020 Six Year Plan.
Save Waterloo Bridge!
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.
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.