~ PVN staff report
LURAY, Oct. 30 — On Monday night, the Page County Board of Supervisors could put to rest a two-year family squabble on Honeyville Road that centers around an application submitted by Jeffrey S. Dinges to operate a “banquet/event facility” in an old, refurbished barn. Complaints from neighbors started in August 2021 that events were being planned without a permit — that eventually lead to an application being submitted by Dinges on April 17, 2023. Previous public hearings held by the supervisors and the Page County Planning Commission have drawn large crowds with negative comments from neighbors (many related to the applicant), as well as words of support for the longtime county business owner.
Supervisors will also consider a number of conditions that will potentially be placed on the permit, if approved. Those conditions will require certain efforts to mitigate the concerns of neighbors, such as noise, light, trespassing, operating hours, etc. Some neighbors feel the venue is simply too close to other residencies and doesn’t “fit” in that neighborhood along Honeyville Road.
Anticipating future complaints, Page County Zoning Administrator Tracy Clatterbuck has asked the supervisors to “carefully consider any conditions that are attached to the permit. The conditions of the permit will be the main enforcement we have over the SUP since our supplemental regulations in the Zoning Ordinance are very minimal,” she stated in her report to the board.
In other business on Monday night, the board will hear from Commissioner of the Revenue Becky Smith on proposed changes to current income levels associated with receiving tax relief for the elderly and disabled. The program was last updated by ordinance in 2006 and does not currently reflect cost of living increases since that time. Smith’s report also indicates that she may recommend a change in the application’s due date for the tax relief program.
Also planned for the special Oct. 30 meeting, supervisors will reconsider the plastic bag tax that they tabled earlier this year. The mandate forces retailers to charge an additional tax for distributing sold goods in plastic bags. The main idea behind the measure is to reduce the amount of plastic bags littering the roadways. Supervisors have raised concerns over how to enforce the measure; however, the board also included projected revenue from the tax in their current budget, before actually adopting the tax.
The Oct. 30 meeting will be held in the Board Room, located in the County Government Center, 103 South Court Street, 2 nd Floor.
To watch the meeting live, CLICK HERE.
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In other business, the Page County Board of Supervisors took the following actions at its Oct. 16 meeting:
• Unanimously agreed to set a public hearing for its next regular board meeting on Nov. 20, 2023 to hear public comment on proposed amendments to the county’s campground ordinance. Supervisors asked the planning commission to review the ordinance for possible updates after the county staff received an influx of inquiries on new campground operations, and Board members received complaints on existing campground operations. A subcommittee brought back recommendations to the full commission, which held a public hearing in August and approved recommendations to the supervisors in September.
• Unanimously appropriated $35,000 of State funds and $2,678 of the General Fund Balance to pay a bonus of $2,500 to each full-time employee and $1,250 to each part-time employee in the County’s ECC Department through a grant from the VDEM PSAP Staffing Recognition Bonuses program.
• Unanimously appropriated $3,000 of State funds from a VDEM Enterprise GIS Software Grant received by the GIS Department for the Department’s software expenses. No local match is required, other than what has already been budgeted.
• Unanimously appropriated $888 from the US Department of Justice’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) received by the Page County Sheriff’s Office to the Investigations Division’s overtime expenses to reimburse overtime pay related to the County’s DEA taskforce. In addition, the board unanimously agreed to carryover $7,511 of Federal asset forfeiture funds remaining in the General Fund Balance as of the end of FY 2023, to FY 2024.
• Received a public “thank you” from Stanley Police Chief Ryan Dean for providing funding for a School Resource Officer at Stanley Elementary School.
• Unanimously appointed Martha Watkins to serve another four-year term on the board of directors for the Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging. Watkins expressed interest in serving again and was recommended for re-appointment by the Agency. Her new term expires Sept. 30, 2027.
• Unanimously appointed Ken Alger to a four-year term on the Massanutten Regional Library Board of Directors. The directors approved a by-law amendment that added an additional seat representing Page County, and Alger expressed interest in serving. Alger’s term runs through Sept. 30, 2027.
For more information about Page County government,
visit https://www.pagecounty.virginia.gov/
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