West2nd smackdown: Council rejects permit despite meeting city requirements

C-Ville Weekly (02/14/18)

“When Mayor Nikuyah Walker chaired her first City Council meeting February 5, citizens got to see how previously out-of-control meetings would be run under a new regime—and learned that the heckling continues both for councilors and for the West2nd developer seeking a special use permit that was rejected for reasons that had little to do with city code.”

Growing pains: Crozet roads can’t keep up with new developments

C-Ville Weekly (02/14/18)

“A fire along Old Three Notch’d Road caused a rush hour roadblock February 1 on one of Crozet’s main thoroughfares: Three Notch’d Road, aka Route 240. Instead of being able to drive to downtown Crozet, drivers had to make a U-turn, return to U.S. 250 and make a right, then another right onto Crozet Avenue/Route 240, only to be part of a massive backup at the light and four-way stop near the railway trestle at Crozet Square.”

Questions raised about Roslyn Farm event request

Charlottesville Tomorrow (02/12/18)

“request from the owners of Roslyn Farm in Albemarle County to hold as many as 24 events a year prompted scores of people to attend a community meeting Monday to ask questions about the idea.”

The cost of maintaining our water system

C-Ville Weekly (02/09/18)

“Bill Mawyer often asks a question that few can answer: Do you know where your water comes from? “Frequently in our business, people are shocked by the amount of time and money it takes to maintain a reliable water system,” says Mawyer, executive director of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority, the agency charged with collecting and treating water in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. “

County Board Chairman signs contract for potential solar project on his farm

Culpeper Star-Exponent (02/15/18)

“The chairman of the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors confirmed Wednesday – following the board’s latest meeting about the utility scale solar farm development policy – that he had signed a contract for a potential solar farm on a portion of his land in Stevensburg.”

Culpeper solar farm developer tweaking plans to address visual impacts

Culpeper Star-Exponent (02/13/18)

“The Richmond developer with submitted plans to put 85,000, five-feet-tall rotating solar panels on 172 acres in the Brandy Station area is tweaking his proposal to relocate the panels farther away from neighbors to address concerns about visual impact.”

A piece of country in the middle of town

Culpeper Star-Exponent (02/12/18)

“Cars hasten by on four-lane Madison Road past the elevated, somewhat obscured location of the town of Culpeper’s latest recreational site. The 32 acres—in between the Southgate and Meadowbrook shopping centers—is slated to open this spring as Rockwater Park, offering peaceful respite amid rolling hills on one of the few green spaces left in the densely populated area.”

Catlett, Calverton sewer costs soar to $10.9 million

Fauquier Now (02/12/18)

“Fauquier County government’s cost to build a wastewater treatment system for the villages of Catlett and Calverton has jumped dramatically. The board of supervisors last week appropriated another $3.4 million for the project, which will provide just more than 300 connections for homes, businesses and public buildings in the two villages along Route 28 in eastern Fauquier. “

Electric co-op seeks approval of solar pilot program

Fauquier Times (02/09/18)

“The Rappahannock Electric Cooperative along with three fellow Virginia electric cooperatives, recently began seeking formal approval of a pilot program to provide additional solar energy to interested members.”

Proffer relief complicates proposal for data center

Fauquier Now (02/09/18)

“The Marshall District supervisor worries that a proposed revenue trade-off related to the data center project near Remington could establish a dangerous standard.”

*NOTE: PEC is quoted in this article.

Fate of former ‘Traveller’s Rest’ property appears up-in-the-air

Fauquier Times (02/13/18)

“Chuck Kuhn, founder and CEO of JK Moving Services, recently made an offer of $10 million to purchase 725 acres just east of Middleburg and was told by the new owners of the property, who plan to develop part of it with a cluster of approximately 40 new homes, that the asking price is $25 million.”

Data centers continue to surge in Loudoun County

Loudoun Times Mirror (02/12/18)

“The homily was about change. In a letter to the parishioners of Christian Fellowship Church, Pastor Brian Bales informed his flock that the Ashburn mega-church would be moving away from the data centers overtaking the neighborhood off of Loudoun County Parkway. “

PEC adds 669 Orange County acres

Orange County Review (02/12/18)

“Data compiled by The Piedmont Environmental Council shows a total of 401,200 acres have been protected in Albemarle, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock counties by landowners working together with land trusts and public agencies. The total includes 6,237 acres added in 2017, with 669 in Orange County alone.”

Brew through

Orange County Review (02/08/18)

“The Orange County Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommended approval of zoning text amendments that would allow “microbreweries” and “microdistilleries” as special-uses in agriculturally zoned land and as permitted uses in commercially zoned land. “

Rapp landowners place 327 acres into conservation in 2017

Rappahannock News (02/12/18)

“Landowners in Rappahannock County in 2017 protected 327 acres for future generations, including two land parcels north and west of Sperryville, two north and east of Flint Hill, one in Castleton, and one in the furthest northeast corner of the county along the Rappahannock River. The addition of 327 acres last year brings the total amount of Rappahannock land placed in conservation easements to an impressive 32,744 acres. Comparably in 2017, according to data compiled by The Piedmont Environmental Council…”

Pipeline sues Wintergreen property owners citing eminent domain

Daily Progress (02/10/18)

“The Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC is suing Nelson County property owners to gain land for the 600-mile natural gas pipeline, which is set to emerge from the mountain and pass along a ridge right next to the popular Wintergreen Resort. “

Report shows historic preservation tax credits boost Virginia economy

Augusta Free Press (02/13/18)

“First Lady Pam Northam highlighted the findings of two just-completed studies that show the sustained and substantial contribution preservation makes to Virginia’s economy through the incentives of state historic rehabilitation tax credits (RTCs) to repurpose and recycle old buildings.”

On the House floor, a 1970s moment

Richmond Times Dispatch (02/13/18)

“If only for a moment, it was 1973 again. In the House of Delegates on Monday, an unlikely coalition of rural conservatives and metropolitan-area liberals stunningly stuck it to The Man, stripping language from legislation pushed by electric monopolies that would allow them to keep billions of dollars in excess earnings rather than return it to ratepayers.”

PEC Fellowship Application Deadline

The Piedmont Environmental Council (02/09/18)

“Are you an undergraduate or recent graduate interested in learning more about a career in environmental conservation? If so, you should consider applying for the 12th Annual Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) Fellowship Program, based in Warrenton, Virginia! Twelve students will be selected for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend seven weeks in the Virginia Piedmont, while studying with seasoned professionals in land conservation, land use planning, agriculture, habitat and more. The deadline to apply is Feb 20. Learn more at pecva.org/fellowship”

Google’s Guinea-Pig City

The Atlantic (02/13/18)

“Quayside is a nondescript, 12-acre chunk of land on the southern edge of Toronto’s downtown. It’s just three miles from my apartment, but getting there takes almost an hour by subway, bus, and foot. “

Federal tax loophole to benefit large-scale farms

Northern Virginia Daily (02/09/18)

“When it became clear that the new federal tax law would eliminate the domestic production deduction for farmers, lawmakers scrambled to protect farming interests. They settled on a massive deduction for farmers who sell their produce to cooperatives.”