Greene Supervisors to meet with Planning Commission to discuss flex/tech zoning

The Greene County Board of Supervisors usually meets beginning at 5:30 p.m. with a closed session, but this time around they’ll begin at 4 p.m. for a joint session with the Planning Commission. The appointed body wants to hear from elected officials about three recent directives. 

• There is a recent resolution of intent to begin review of a proposed Technology / Flex Research and Development District in the zoning ordinance
• There will be a discussion of how Greene County should prepare for potential data centers
• There will be a discussion of whether Greene should alter rules on the generation of energy from large solar fields

“The Planning Commission can not function properly on these topics or in general without a clear understanding of the priorities of the Board of Supervisors as adopted in the Greene County Comprehensive Plan,” reads the memo for this discussion.

Then there will be a closed session. The open session begins at 6:30 p.m. 

There are two public hearings. The first is on the proposed Secondary Six-Year Plan for FY25 through FY30 as well as the construction budget for FY25. 

The second is on changes to the county’s tax ordinance to become compliant with Virginia code. 

One item on the consent agenda is the hiring on the firm Sands Anderson to serve in the capacity of County Attorney. This is a technical issue given that the person who serves in that capacity, Kelley Kemp, recently changed law firms. 

“Sands Anderson has a stellar local government practice and acts as county and town attorney for localities throughout Virginia,” reads the staff memo. “Ms. Kemp loves working with Greene County and hopes that the County will continue the relationship as she moves to a new firm.”

There are action items. One comes after a discussion about the Route 670 Connector Road, which is one of Greene’s Smart Scale projects. County staff wants to administer the project itself.

“Local administration gives the County flexibility to add design improvements and adjust project timelines so that the final product fully reflects the County’s transportation and economic development goals,” reads the staff report from Planning and Zoning Director Jim Frydl.

The second action item is to approve the formation of a water and sewer committee made up of Greene citizens. 

“Given the critical nature of the proposed projects, it is imperative that the committee members are knowledgeable in the subject area, and are willing and able to dedicate the time to work on the committee’s mission, which we estimate will average 5 hours a week,” reads the staff report. “The meetings will be open to the public and meeting summaries will be provided.”

Under the proposed timeline, Supervisors will appoint members on June 25 and the first meeting will be held on June 27. 

Before you go: The time to write and research of this article is covered by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In fact, this particular installment is from the June 10, 2024 Week Ahead edition of the newsletter.