Strong Communities

PEC believes that the work of protecting natural resources and the work of building better communities are integral to each other. 

The Future of Greene County

Greene County Public Hearing for 2015 Comprehensive Plan Update. On November 19, residents will have the opportunity to share their ideas about Greene’s future with the county Planning Commission. The commission is holding a “public hearing” to hear from residents as it begins its review of the county’s Comprehensive Plan. The current Plan was approved in 2010. This may be the only chance residents have to voice their opinions to the whole commission and influence what actually gets revised in the Plan.

County Rewriting Telecommunication Plan

County Rewriting Telecommunication Plan

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. 

It’s Time (Once Again) to Speak Up for Orange County!

Back in October, facing a packed public meeting room, the Board of Supervisors decided to postpone their vote on a new vision that calls for more sprawling residential and commercial development in Orange. The Board said they'd take the issue up at their December 17th meeting, and that date is fast approaching! If passed, the proposed Comprehensive Plan would threaten the County's agricultural character, lead to more traffic along Rt. 20, Rt. 15, and Rt. 3 — and ultimately, result in higher taxes. This text was taken from an email sent out on December 13, 2013.

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.

Orange County Considers Major Changes to its Comprehensive Plan

The draft being considered is a severe departure from Orange’s current Comprehensive Plan, creating brand new classifications such as Town Suburban Residential and recommending expanded commercial activities both south of Orange on Route 15 and along most of the Route 3 corridor (including lands within the Wilderness Battlefield National Park along Route 20).