This text was taken from an email alert sent out on April 11, 2025. Sign up for email alerts →
Dear Supporter,
A lot is going on in Orange County. Read on for updates on the Wilderness Crossing lawsuit, potential changes to agricultural zoning, and how the region is attempting to counter the area’s water woes with collaborative water supply planning.
This work, and our success in it, rests on your consistent action on important issues like these. It also couldn’t happen without financial support. Consider making a donation or becoming a PEC Member today.
Wilderness Crossing Lawsuit Update
On March 21, the lawsuit challenging Wilderness Crossing — the sprawling, 2,600-acre mixed-use, car-dependent development — had its first day in court. PEC is pleased that the Orange County Circuit Court judge accepted our amicus curiae brief in support of the plaintiffs, as well as another from partners in the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition. These briefs will now be part of the record the judge considers when he rules on whether the case should proceed to trial.
The plaintiffs — American Battlefield Trust, Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, Friends of Wilderness Battlefield and private citizens — are advocating for good governance and the protection of publicly-accessible open space and publicly-owned historic and natural resources. Our amicus brief bolsters that position while arguing that the public is entitled to a transparent process when our elected officials contemplate far-reaching land-use decisions, which can transform the region and the landscape.
In front of a mostly-full courtroom, the Orange County Circuit Court judge heard four hours of arguments.The defendants — Orange County, its Board of Supervisors, and the owners of the Wilderness Crossing site — are attempting to have the case thrown out in another bid to subvert public input and to shield Wilderness Crossing and the Board’s decision from public scrutiny.
While we do not expect to learn if the case will proceed to trial until early summer, the judge — in a nod to the attendees in the gallery — acknowledged the case had generated a great deal of public interest and that the concerns raised were important. He said he will carefully consider all the information in front of him and issue a reasoned, fair decision within the bounds of the law.
We thank those of you who attended the hearing and all of you for your continued engagement, and will keep you posted with further developments.
Changes to Agricultural Zoning District Likely
At the end of March, the Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission held the first of five planned joint work sessions on the county’s zoning ordinance update project. We hoped to finally see a draft of the six proposed new zoning districts, but because some board members had not yet had the opportunity to review the Planning Commission’s recommendations, the discussion was short on details.
While there have been some positive signals from the Planning Commission that the proposed changes will result in greater protection for farmland, we were concerned to hear that the developer and agriculture focus groups convened by the County’s consultant revealed a perceived negative impact of conservation easements. Conservation easements are a critically important tool for protecting Orange County’s rural landscape, which is made up of working farms, waterways, forestland and important natural and cultural resources.
The next joint work session, planned for sometime in May, is expected to focus on proposed zoning district standards, including lot size, building height, setbacks and frontage. Proposed “overlay” districts will also be discussed, including the Route 3 Corridor, Germanna-Wilderness Area, Madison-Barbour Rural Historic District, Monticello American Viticultural Area and Villages. Officials will discuss which uses will be allowed or prohibited under the new zoning rules in July, and in September will focus on community design standards. A full draft ordinance will be ready for a work session in November. The county will hold an open house in January 2026, with a “pre-adoption” joint work session to follow in February, followed by another public hearing and final adoption of the zoning changes in spring 2026.
We appreciate this commitment to a series of open work sessions, which bodes well for transparency and meaningful public engagement. Still, for an outcome that ultimately best serves the interests of county residents, everyone needs to stay engaged! We will continue to update you as things progress, and invite you to join me for the next work session as soon as it’s scheduled.
Planning for Current and Future Water Needs
Three significant events occurred in Orange County related to drinking water over the last year. First, residents were put under a “do not drink” order as a result of a contamination in the Wilderness Water Treatment Plant. Second, over low water concerns, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) denied the Rapidan Service Authority’s request to pull more water from the Rapidan in anticipation of Wilderness Crossing’s buildout. And finally, for the second year in a row, the county endured an impactful summer drought.
Against this backdrop, PEC is cautiously optimistic regarding the new statewide rules mandating regional water supply planning. The Rapidan-Rappahannock Regional Commission will guide the creation of a single regional water supply plan for Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock counties (forming the Northern Piedmont 1 region) alongside stakeholders that include PEC, localities, and other conservation organizations. The five-year effort officially kicked off Feb. 13.
We look forward to working with local officials and residents to achieve a sustainable plan informed by climate change and drought considerations, and will keep you posted on opportunities for public engagement.
I’m personally available if you have any questions or comments. Feel free to email or call me at the information below. And if you know anyone who would like to receive PEC updates about Orange County, please forward this email to them and let them know they can sign up for updates here.
Thank you,
Don McCown
Land Use Field Representative, Orange & Madison counties
[email protected]
(434) 977-2033 x7047
P.S. Congratulations to our partner, Historic Germanna, on being honored with the Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award! PEC worked in collaboration with our partners for over a decade, to preserve Siegan Forest, a wooded 172 acre property which the Rapidan River runs through. We provided integral technical and financial assistance to achieve this conservation success. And last summer, we were able to increase public access to nature in the area by opening a boat launch on the Rapidan River.