Supervisors Drop Planning Commission Updates to Comp Plan; Public Hearing Oct. 24

Orange County Board of Supervisors Chair Mark Johnson addresses the Orange County Planning Commission. (Photo Credit: Andra Landi)

The Orange County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing Tuesday, Oct. 24, to receive feedback on an amendment of the county’s comprehensive plan.

The comprehensive plan serves as a broad guiding document for long-term planning and growth, outlining future land uses throughout the county. According to Virginia law, localities are required to review their comprehensive plans every five years at minimum. Orange County’s last major overhaul to the comprehensive plan took place in 2013, with updates in 2015 and 2018.

Orange County Planning and Zoning Manager Josh Frederick described the current changes as “a minor comp plan update,” and a public hearing notice posted by Orange County administration states, “No substantive planning policy positions are proposed to change with this amendment.”

At a work session on Oct. 10, the board of supervisors considered several recommended updates from the Orange County Planning Commission, most of which were ultimately rejected. Among the more substantive recommendations was an addition to the “Goals and Objectives” section to include development of regulatory frameworks for utility-scale solar farms, distribution warehouses and data centers.

“This doesn’t keep the board from developing the framework, but what this does do is that if we don’t do it, somebody can come back in two years and say, ‘Aha, you all put this in your comprehensive plan but didn’t do it,’” District 1 Supervisor and Chair Mark Johnson said regarding his stance not to add the new objectives.

Johnson expressed similar reservations regarding a proposed addition in the plan’s “Transportation” section to develop a transportation master plan for the Germanna Wilderness Area on the eastern and of the county. The Germanna Wilderness Area Plan (GWAP), adopted in 2015, already contains a directive to “develop, implement, and manage a Transportation Master Plan for the Germanna-Wilderness Area Plan” among its tasks.

“There were those who tried to make a big deal out of this, that the board at one point had said that part of GWAP was developing this plan,” Johnson stated. “The board, subsequent to that, made the decision that we didn’t need to do that. So, we need to be careful about putting requirements in here. We put requirements in here, we better have some real plans to do it.”

District 4 Supervisor Crystal Hale noted that regardless of the wording used, it was important to include language in the plan that would demonstrate that the county was maintaining a focus on transportation conditions in the area. 

“I think we have to have something in there that identifies our willingness and goal to review the transportation needs as they pertain to the Germanna Wilderness Area,” said Hale. “I know there’s a lot of concern about a potential increase in traffic in that area with the potentially expected growth.”

At the suggestion of Johnson, the board ultimately agreed to the language, “Consider developing a transportation master plan for the Germanna Wilderness Area.” Johnson also suggested potentially amending the GWAP in the future to mirror the new language.

Other recommendations from the planning commission that were dropped during board discussion included retaining the 2013 date rather than updating it to 2023 since no major changes had been made to the plan. The planning commission also recommended removal of the “History” section due to concerns about its overall relevance to a comprehensive plan, as well as inherent bias introduced by condensing the history of the county down to one page.

“Personally, I like looking at it, enjoy reading it and I don’t really, truly see the bias involved in it,” noted District 3 Supervisor Keith Marshall.

District 2 Supervisor Jim White said he didn’t feel strongly one way or the other, but would like to see added language about the history of the comprehensive plan itself.

At an Orange County Planning Commission meeting Thursday, Oct. 19, several commissioners expressed frustration about the resulting draft comprehensive plan.

“It’s actually a 10-year-old plan that hasn’t really been updated, much like our zoning ordinance,” stated District 5 Planning Commissioner J. Bryan Nicol.

“It’s extremely disappointing to hear that the board has somewhat disregarded the information we passed along,” said District 2 Planning Commissioner George Yancey. “That to me, makes this body unfortunately look foolish, but at the same time, I think we did the right thing and had the right position.”

District 1 Planning Commissioner Jason Capelle clarified that despite the board of supervisors’ decision not to add new language regarding the Germanna Wilderness Area transportation master plan, development of the transportation plan is still part of the GWAP.

“I think it's the fear of not doing anything and being called on it,” he said.

Changes to the comprehensive plan that residents will see in the draft version include updates to charts and tables to reflect more recent data, as well as current transportation and capital improvements projects. In addition, broadband information has been added under the “Community Infrastructure” subheading to reflect the establishment of the Orange County Broadband Authority in 2016.

Community members can comment on the proposed 2023 Orange County comprehensive plan amendment in person Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 5 p.m. at the Orange County Public Safety Building, located at 11282 Government Center Dr. in Orange. Residents also may submit comments in writing to: Alyson Simpson, P. O. Box 111, Orange, VA 22960, or by email to asimpson@orangecountyva.gov no later than Oct. 24 at noon.

A copy of the draft comprehensive plan can be viewed in the Orange County Board of Supervisors agenda packet for Oct. 24 here, or in person at the county administrator’s office, located on the second floor of the Gordon Building at 112 W. Main St. in Orange. To view the official public hearing notice, visit www.orangecountyva.gov/102/Public-Hearing-Notices.