~ PVN staff report
LURAY, June 6 — With little discussion on Monday night, the Page County Board of Supervisors set a joint public hearing with the Page County Planning Commission to receive even more public feedback on a proposed solar ordinance that has been at least three years (or more) in the making.
The two governing bodies will hear public comment at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 28 on the current version of the draft solar ordinance that was amended and endorsed by the planning commission.
It was more than a year ago that supervisors voted down the first proposed solar ordinance for the county, one that had been endorsed by the planning commission, a hired consultant and a vast majority of the public that was vocal on the issue. However, the tone of the board appears to be different this time around, as numerous details have been hammered out in hours of review by members of the planning commission.
In the current draft version of the document, red-line entries are amendments added by the planning commission, while black type represents portions of the original version sent to the planning commission. To view a copy of the proposed ordinance, open the June 6 agenda packet at pagecounty.virginia.gov/AgendaCenter.
In other business at its June 6 work session, the Page County Board of Supervisors took the following actions:
• Unanimously approved a Special Use Permit (SUP) request from the Town of Stanley to operate a dog park on the corner of Marksville and Hawksbill Park roads, adjacent to Stanley’s Hawksbill Recreation Park and Pool. The Bailey Legacy Dog Park, named by donor Donald V. Feliciano, will utilize 3 acres of a 10.75-acre parcel. The project is set to include two fenced-in areas, parking and four dog waste stations, which will be maintained by Stanley’s public works and parks and recreation departments. A new VDOT-approved entrance off of Hawksbill Park Road is also planned, according to Town Manager Terry Pettit, adding that the dog park is set to be completed within the next three to four months.
• Unanimously awarded a construction contract for Cell 11 at the Battle Creek Landfill to Kanawha Stone Co., with the caveat that funding is secured, at an amount not to exceed $6,352,551.81. With locations in Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina, Kanawha has completed projects throughout the Appalachian and Mid-Atlantic regions, including the overburden removal phase of the Cell 10 project at the Battle Creek Landfill. Consisting of 6 acres, Cell 11 is projected to hold 560,000 tons of waste. The project is scheduled to take 260 days to complete once construction begins.
• Unanimously adopted a resolution to transfer ownership of all assets as well as responsibility for all liabilities and existing contracts of the Page County Broadband Authority to the County of Page. The transfer is provided all appropriate government approvals are obtained, including approvals by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with a goal of completing the transfer on or before Dec. 31, 2022. The Resolution is the first step in dissolving the Page County Broadband Authority, according to Page County Attorney Michael Helm.
• Reviewed an application by RKA, LLC/Rodney Jenkins to rezone property located on the corner of US Hwy 211 E BSN and Dry Run Road. The applicant is requesting to rezone the 3.006-acre parcel from Residential to Commercial. Supervisors voted unanimously to hold a public hearing for the rezoning request during the Board’s July 18 regular meeting.
News briefs taken directly from notes provided by Page County Communications and Marketing Coordinator Rebecca Armstrong
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Precious farmland. How much wheat is being grown in Page County to replace what has been destroyed by the Russians in Ukraine?
https://theconversation.com/ukraine-produced-a-lot-of-grain-can-farmers-elsewhere-replace-the-crops-lost-to-war-180380
In the Shenandoah Valley, wheat is already knee high. Haven’t seen much more in Page than corn, grass, beef and open fields with nothing.
“Taking farmland for solar farms” is a big deal for some reason.
What a joke.