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06-20-2008, 09:31 AM
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A developer has won a lawsuit against the Fluvanna Board of Supervisors over its rejection of a special-use permit for a 430-lot subdivision, with the judge ruling the permit unnecessary.
Judge Paul M. Peatross Jr. issued an opinion last week disagreeing with the board’s interpretation of the county’s zoning text, reversing the panel’s decision to deny the permit application for the Central Meadows subdivision.
Developer Mike Clark filed suit after the board last year shot down the permit for a central sewer system with a 3-3 vote.
“A lot of people think you can’t beat City Hall, but I felt all along that they did me wrong,” Clark said. “If I didn’t at least try, I would have went the rest of my life wondering, ‘Should I have sued them?’”
Marvin Moss, the board’s chairman, declined to comment on the lawsuit, which was discussed behind closed doors during a board meeting Wednesday.
“I think we will find out relatively quickly what the consensus was in the closed meeting, but I certainly can’t discuss that in public at the present time,” Moss said.
Early last year, Clark requested the county approve a sewage system for his cluster development. Each of the subdivision’s 430 lots would have a Norweco treatment system, an underground system that cleans the water and transmits it to constructed wetlands. Clark, who owns the Zion Crossroads-based wastewater company Enviro-Klean Co., said the system would affect 20 acres of the 1,025-acre parcel.
The judge’s decision noted that Central Meadows would have a private sewage system, not a public one that would require a special-use permit under the county’s zoning ordinance.
Debbie Rittenhouse, former chairwoman of the Planning Commission, said she supported the system because it would add to the water table. The commission voted 4-1 to recommend the permit to the Board of Supervisors.
Clark said believes the board rejected the wastewater system so he would have to use another that would take up more space, thereby reducing the number of lots in his development. However, he said the alternative is drain fields, which would affect 300 acres but wouldn’t reduce the number of 1/3-acre lots he has proposed for the site.
The Central Meadows lot is located in Kent’s Store between Route 659, Deep Creek Road and Dogwood Road. The subdivision is by right, which means the land is already zoned for its proposed use and density.
Some residents of Fluvanna — a county that has long struggled with growing pains — have spoken out against the permit. Elizabeth Franklin, spokeswoman for the Fluvanna Friends of Rural Preservation, said the group is concerned the Norweco system would not work as well as more traditional systems, based on experiences in other parts of Virginia.
“We contended it was not a good idea because it would be a precedent,” Franklin said. “The county has never approved a central system in the rural preservation area.”
Supervisor Gene F. Ott voted in favor of the permit.
“It was the best system for the surrounding area,” Ott said. “I think we ought to go for the best.”
Several residents questioned Moss, who voted against the system, during Wednesday’s meeting about comments he made during the public hearing prior to the board vote. Some suggested Moss had misrepresented the views of a health department official.
Fluvanna resident Michael Lawson stood during the meeting and asked Moss to step down as chairman. “This issue is not going to go away soon,” Lawson said in an interview Thursday.
The health department official could not be reached for comment. Moss declined to discuss the matter.
Clark said he is prepared to move forward by obtaining necessary permits and submitting a preliminary plan to the county. His suit did not seek any damages.
Story courtesy of the Daily Progress.
A developer has won a lawsuit against the Fluvanna Board of Supervisors over its rejection of a special-use permit for a 430-lot subdivision, with the judge ruling the permit unnecessary.
Judge Paul M. Peatross Jr. issued an opinion last week disagreeing with the board’s interpretation of the county’s zoning text, reversing the panel’s decision to deny the permit application for the Central Meadows subdivision.
Developer Mike Clark filed suit after the board last year shot down the permit for a central sewer system with a 3-3 vote.
“A lot of people think you can’t beat City Hall, but I felt all along that they did me wrong,” Clark said. “If I didn’t at least try, I would have went the rest of my life wondering, ‘Should I have sued them?’”
Marvin Moss, the board’s chairman, declined to comment on the lawsuit, which was discussed behind closed doors during a board meeting Wednesday.
“I think we will find out relatively quickly what the consensus was in the closed meeting, but I certainly can’t discuss that in public at the present time,” Moss said.
Early last year, Clark requested the county approve a sewage system for his cluster development. Each of the subdivision’s 430 lots would have a Norweco treatment system, an underground system that cleans the water and transmits it to constructed wetlands. Clark, who owns the Zion Crossroads-based wastewater company Enviro-Klean Co., said the system would affect 20 acres of the 1,025-acre parcel.
The judge’s decision noted that Central Meadows would have a private sewage system, not a public one that would require a special-use permit under the county’s zoning ordinance.
Debbie Rittenhouse, former chairwoman of the Planning Commission, said she supported the system because it would add to the water table. The commission voted 4-1 to recommend the permit to the Board of Supervisors.
Clark said believes the board rejected the wastewater system so he would have to use another that would take up more space, thereby reducing the number of lots in his development. However, he said the alternative is drain fields, which would affect 300 acres but wouldn’t reduce the number of 1/3-acre lots he has proposed for the site.
The Central Meadows lot is located in Kent’s Store between Route 659, Deep Creek Road and Dogwood Road. The subdivision is by right, which means the land is already zoned for its proposed use and density.
Some residents of Fluvanna — a county that has long struggled with growing pains — have spoken out against the permit. Elizabeth Franklin, spokeswoman for the Fluvanna Friends of Rural Preservation, said the group is concerned the Norweco system would not work as well as more traditional systems, based on experiences in other parts of Virginia.
“We contended it was not a good idea because it would be a precedent,” Franklin said. “The county has never approved a central system in the rural preservation area.”
Supervisor Gene F. Ott voted in favor of the permit.
“It was the best system for the surrounding area,” Ott said. “I think we ought to go for the best.”
Several residents questioned Moss, who voted against the system, during Wednesday’s meeting about comments he made during the public hearing prior to the board vote. Some suggested Moss had misrepresented the views of a health department official.
Fluvanna resident Michael Lawson stood during the meeting and asked Moss to step down as chairman. “This issue is not going to go away soon,” Lawson said in an interview Thursday.
The health department official could not be reached for comment. Moss declined to discuss the matter.
Clark said he is prepared to move forward by obtaining necessary permits and submitting a preliminary plan to the county. His suit did not seek any damages.
Story courtesy of the Daily Progress.