by Neil Richard
The Board of Supervisors opened their August 21st meeting at 7:14pm.
There was no Public Comment.
John Jenkins began his report by jokingly saying he thanked everyone for their comments. In a more serious tone he did thank those in the audience for attending. He attended a George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC) meeting on August 20th and that ended his report.
Jeff Bueche began his report by saying school recently started. He thanked all the educators and those who worked through the summer to get ready for the school year and wished them luck. On the 14th he attended the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors Joint Meeting to discuss the upcoming updates to the County's Comprehensive Plan. The current Comprehensive Plan is from 2013 and is required by state law to be reviewed and updated. On the 16th he attended a Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) Summit. He ended his report by moving to appoint Renee Parker to the Social Services Board of Directors. Her appointment was approved.
Cathy Binder attended the same joint meeting with the Planning Commission on the 14th as well as the VACo Summit on the 16th. She also hosted a Town Hall with Ruby Brabo regarding the purchase and plans of the former Cameron Hills Golf Course. She added that nothing is currently before the Board and that she enjoyed meeting with citizens and hearing their concerns.
Richard Granger reported that he also attended the joint meeting with the Planning Commission on the 14th and the VACo Summit on the 16th. From the joint meeting, he noted that he appreciated the streamlined process for plat approvals and thanked Jenkins for mentioning the Board's desire to remove the Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area from the future Comprehensive Plan. For the VACo Summit, he noted several education statistics, including that state aid for education has fallen in recent years and that instructional pay increases have slowed since 2009. He also attended a meeting on the 16th where he learned about the REAL ID rules and how they would impact residents in Virginia.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.
Chief Lynd gave the Board an update on the Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) or drone program. He said they had purchased a DJI M210 and already taken delivery. Unfortunately, he said the FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) system was on back order. Despite this, he said they had already flown several missions, including the recent J. C. Bean Sprouts fire and the collapsed roof at the old King George Pharmacy next to Rankin's True Value. He said several team members have taken and passed their FAA certification tests and several more are in the process. Lynd said Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) have been developed and refined.
Lynd said they have already met several benchmarks, including a meeting with Dahlgren officials. He said they had a good discussion with them and their no-fly zones as well as made sure they had an open line of communication. Lynd said the department's FAA exemption application has been approved as well. Going forward, he said they will continue training, conduct a lost person exercise, and schedule a demonstration for the Supervisors.
Granger thanked him for reaching out to the base and making sure communication lines were open with them. He asked how many pilots were planned to which Lynd said they hoped to get six pilots to ensure 24 hour coverage.
Next, Darren Coffey and Shaina Schaffer of the Berkley Group gave a presentation on the Mixed Use Development (MUD) ordinance. Coffey joked that it was hopefully more fun than the water and sewer update but probably less exciting than the drone update. Schaffer gave the basic timeline of events since they started the project in November of 2017. After researching existing MUD rules, architectural guidelines, best practices, and more, they presented a proposed ordinance to the Planning Commission and held a Public Hearing on June 12, 2018. The Planning Commission voted to forward the proposed MUD ordinance to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation to reject the ordinance.
Their presentation continued with a few highlights of the proposed MUD rules where density could be 18 units per acre or five units per acre for single family homes. These density limits would be allowed by-right under the new rules and could be increased if the developer allows for more open space. Additionally, the MUD rules would require specific landscaping guidelines to be followed, increased pedestrian movement, bike lanes, and underground utilities.
Granger asked if the updated Comprehensive Plan removed the Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area, would the proposed MUD ordinance be in conflict by specifying the Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area as an area where mixed use was allowed. Coffey said the new MUD ordinance could be amended to reflect any changes in the Comprehensive Plan.
A long discussion regarding the traffic issues in Dahlgren, the base security concerns, and the general consensus to limit development in the area ensued. Additionally, there was back and forth discussion among the Supervisors and Eric Gregory, County Attorney, regarding the legalities of potential conflicts between the proposed Mixed Use Development ordinance and the future Comprehensive Plan. This conversation boiled down to Gregory saying that the Comprehensive Plan was a guiding document, not a legal set of rules. While it should be used to guide development, it was not strictly the only limiting factor in allowing, or disallowing, development. That fell to the zoning ordinances. With the Board's plan to update the zoning ordinances after the Comprehensive Plan is updated, there could be a short period of time where an approved MUD ordinance is in conflict with the updated Comprehensive Plan, thus opening the Board to a potential conflict.
After more discussion, the Board seemed to want to move forward with the Public Hearing for a proposed MUD ordinance with the expectation that it would remove the Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area before being passed. Gregory and Coffey felt that this would not be a substantive or more restrictive change that would require the ordinance to go through the public hearing process from the beginning. The Board also felt that by doing this, they could use the Courthouse Primary Settlement Area, the only other area being considered for Mixed Use Development, as a pilot for future iterations.
While the conversation was lengthy, Bueche did ask a crucial point for the future MUD rules. Seeing Chief Moody in the audience, he asked if the County had the ability to respond to an emergency in a building that's three stories, which is the highest allowed under the proposed MUD rules. Moody said that King George had a 35 foot extension ladder but had no ladder truck. However, he did say they rely on mutual aid and that there are several in the area they could ask to use. Moody cautioned that for an ordinance like this that allowed a 35 to 45 foot structure, public safety needs to be brought to the table to discuss things like sprinkler systems, rescues from a third story, and deploying water from a height greater than the 45 foot peak. He also said that as the County develops more, and taller buildings go up, there needs to be a discussion about getting an aerial asset here in the County so that there was no need to rely on outside help.
In the end, the Board voted to hold a Public Hearing on September 18th regarding the proposed Mixed Use Development ordinance.
Chief Lynd then asked for approval to participate in the NACo Disaster Services program. The Board approved.
Wilma Ward, Director of Finance, asked the Board to approve the purchase of a new school bus to replace the one damaged in an accident. The Board approved.
Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, asked the Board to approve a new County Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) Policy that would allow the County to charge for the amount of staff time it takes to meet the FOIA request. The Board approved.
Eric Gregory, County Attorney, then gave an update on the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) the County had entered into for the upcoming construction of the new Route 301 bridge. Gregory said the revisions would result in a loss of park land at Wayside Park and Barnesfield Park and that VDOT would mitigate that loss of land by transferring land to the County. Additionally, land held by Virginia Tourism Corporation, would be impacted, resulting in them acquiring a part of Barnesfield Park, therefore increasing the amount of land lost by the County and increasing the amount of replacement land VDOT would be replacing it with. The Board approved of the amendments to the MOA.
Dr. Young gave his report by stating he wanted to partner with the University of Mary Washington by creating an internship program for students to work for the County. He said the cost, $8,000 for four students, would be covered by the staff compensation budget. The Board approved.
With no Closed Session, the meeting adjourned at 8:12pm.
Meeting Attendees:
John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Chairman, Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Absent:
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on September 4, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
The Board of Supervisors opened their August 21st meeting at 7:14pm.
There was no Public Comment.
John Jenkins began his report by jokingly saying he thanked everyone for their comments. In a more serious tone he did thank those in the audience for attending. He attended a George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC) meeting on August 20th and that ended his report.
Jeff Bueche began his report by saying school recently started. He thanked all the educators and those who worked through the summer to get ready for the school year and wished them luck. On the 14th he attended the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors Joint Meeting to discuss the upcoming updates to the County's Comprehensive Plan. The current Comprehensive Plan is from 2013 and is required by state law to be reviewed and updated. On the 16th he attended a Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) Summit. He ended his report by moving to appoint Renee Parker to the Social Services Board of Directors. Her appointment was approved.
Cathy Binder attended the same joint meeting with the Planning Commission on the 14th as well as the VACo Summit on the 16th. She also hosted a Town Hall with Ruby Brabo regarding the purchase and plans of the former Cameron Hills Golf Course. She added that nothing is currently before the Board and that she enjoyed meeting with citizens and hearing their concerns.
Richard Granger reported that he also attended the joint meeting with the Planning Commission on the 14th and the VACo Summit on the 16th. From the joint meeting, he noted that he appreciated the streamlined process for plat approvals and thanked Jenkins for mentioning the Board's desire to remove the Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area from the future Comprehensive Plan. For the VACo Summit, he noted several education statistics, including that state aid for education has fallen in recent years and that instructional pay increases have slowed since 2009. He also attended a meeting on the 16th where he learned about the REAL ID rules and how they would impact residents in Virginia.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.
Chief Lynd gave the Board an update on the Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) or drone program. He said they had purchased a DJI M210 and already taken delivery. Unfortunately, he said the FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) system was on back order. Despite this, he said they had already flown several missions, including the recent J. C. Bean Sprouts fire and the collapsed roof at the old King George Pharmacy next to Rankin's True Value. He said several team members have taken and passed their FAA certification tests and several more are in the process. Lynd said Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) have been developed and refined.
Lynd said they have already met several benchmarks, including a meeting with Dahlgren officials. He said they had a good discussion with them and their no-fly zones as well as made sure they had an open line of communication. Lynd said the department's FAA exemption application has been approved as well. Going forward, he said they will continue training, conduct a lost person exercise, and schedule a demonstration for the Supervisors.
Granger thanked him for reaching out to the base and making sure communication lines were open with them. He asked how many pilots were planned to which Lynd said they hoped to get six pilots to ensure 24 hour coverage.
Next, Darren Coffey and Shaina Schaffer of the Berkley Group gave a presentation on the Mixed Use Development (MUD) ordinance. Coffey joked that it was hopefully more fun than the water and sewer update but probably less exciting than the drone update. Schaffer gave the basic timeline of events since they started the project in November of 2017. After researching existing MUD rules, architectural guidelines, best practices, and more, they presented a proposed ordinance to the Planning Commission and held a Public Hearing on June 12, 2018. The Planning Commission voted to forward the proposed MUD ordinance to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation to reject the ordinance.
Their presentation continued with a few highlights of the proposed MUD rules where density could be 18 units per acre or five units per acre for single family homes. These density limits would be allowed by-right under the new rules and could be increased if the developer allows for more open space. Additionally, the MUD rules would require specific landscaping guidelines to be followed, increased pedestrian movement, bike lanes, and underground utilities.
Granger asked if the updated Comprehensive Plan removed the Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area, would the proposed MUD ordinance be in conflict by specifying the Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area as an area where mixed use was allowed. Coffey said the new MUD ordinance could be amended to reflect any changes in the Comprehensive Plan.
A long discussion regarding the traffic issues in Dahlgren, the base security concerns, and the general consensus to limit development in the area ensued. Additionally, there was back and forth discussion among the Supervisors and Eric Gregory, County Attorney, regarding the legalities of potential conflicts between the proposed Mixed Use Development ordinance and the future Comprehensive Plan. This conversation boiled down to Gregory saying that the Comprehensive Plan was a guiding document, not a legal set of rules. While it should be used to guide development, it was not strictly the only limiting factor in allowing, or disallowing, development. That fell to the zoning ordinances. With the Board's plan to update the zoning ordinances after the Comprehensive Plan is updated, there could be a short period of time where an approved MUD ordinance is in conflict with the updated Comprehensive Plan, thus opening the Board to a potential conflict.
After more discussion, the Board seemed to want to move forward with the Public Hearing for a proposed MUD ordinance with the expectation that it would remove the Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area before being passed. Gregory and Coffey felt that this would not be a substantive or more restrictive change that would require the ordinance to go through the public hearing process from the beginning. The Board also felt that by doing this, they could use the Courthouse Primary Settlement Area, the only other area being considered for Mixed Use Development, as a pilot for future iterations.
While the conversation was lengthy, Bueche did ask a crucial point for the future MUD rules. Seeing Chief Moody in the audience, he asked if the County had the ability to respond to an emergency in a building that's three stories, which is the highest allowed under the proposed MUD rules. Moody said that King George had a 35 foot extension ladder but had no ladder truck. However, he did say they rely on mutual aid and that there are several in the area they could ask to use. Moody cautioned that for an ordinance like this that allowed a 35 to 45 foot structure, public safety needs to be brought to the table to discuss things like sprinkler systems, rescues from a third story, and deploying water from a height greater than the 45 foot peak. He also said that as the County develops more, and taller buildings go up, there needs to be a discussion about getting an aerial asset here in the County so that there was no need to rely on outside help.
In the end, the Board voted to hold a Public Hearing on September 18th regarding the proposed Mixed Use Development ordinance.
Chief Lynd then asked for approval to participate in the NACo Disaster Services program. The Board approved.
Wilma Ward, Director of Finance, asked the Board to approve the purchase of a new school bus to replace the one damaged in an accident. The Board approved.
Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, asked the Board to approve a new County Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) Policy that would allow the County to charge for the amount of staff time it takes to meet the FOIA request. The Board approved.
Eric Gregory, County Attorney, then gave an update on the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) the County had entered into for the upcoming construction of the new Route 301 bridge. Gregory said the revisions would result in a loss of park land at Wayside Park and Barnesfield Park and that VDOT would mitigate that loss of land by transferring land to the County. Additionally, land held by Virginia Tourism Corporation, would be impacted, resulting in them acquiring a part of Barnesfield Park, therefore increasing the amount of land lost by the County and increasing the amount of replacement land VDOT would be replacing it with. The Board approved of the amendments to the MOA.
Dr. Young gave his report by stating he wanted to partner with the University of Mary Washington by creating an internship program for students to work for the County. He said the cost, $8,000 for four students, would be covered by the staff compensation budget. The Board approved.
With no Closed Session, the meeting adjourned at 8:12pm.
Meeting Attendees:
John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Chairman, Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Absent:
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on September 4, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
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