PUBLIC HEARING AGENDA REQUEST

Owners/Applicants:

 Board of Supervisors Meeting Date:

Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, Owner

Neil Selby, Applicant

May 11, 2006

Staff Lead:

Melissa Dargis, Assistant Chief of Planning

Department:

Community Development

Magisterial District:  Lee 

PIN:

6897-26-4438-000 & 6897-28-4312-000

Topic:  

A Resolution to Approve Shady Grove Kennel & Hunting Preserve: SPEX06-LE-022 Request for a Hunting Preserve

Topic Description:

The applicant seeks Special Exception Category 9 approval for a hunting preserve on 272 acres of land leased from Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC). 

Project Information:

On April 27, 2006, the Planning Commission held a public hearing on this item, and unanimously forwarded the application to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation of approval, subject to conditions.

ODEC has received special exception approval for its already constructed Marsh Run Peaking Facility located on the 270+ acre parcel.  One of the conditions for approval (Condition #18) stated:  the applicant shall work with Fauquier County environmental organizations and public schools in development and establishment of planned wildlife habitats, wildlife observation areas, including boardwalks and other associated viewing areas within the established woodland field and marsh environment, consistent with state and federal regulations.  As part of the planning for such wildlife preservation areas, the applicant shall endeavor to create areas that may serve as hunting preserves, assuring that such hunting areas are compatible with and complementary to the other preserved natural areas.  The application by Mr. Selby provides the essential details to implement this “hunting preserve” provision envisioned for the Marsh Run Generation Facility site.

The applicant requests approval to use 272 acres of leased land from ODEC as a hunting preserve.  The preserve raises and releases for game hunting including quail, chukar, and pheasant.  Bird hunting on the preserve, as mandated by state law, may only take place between September 1 and April 30.  All hunters will be accompanied by trained guides who are familiar with the rules of the preserve, local and state laws and the boundaries of the preserve.

As proposed, the hunting preserve would be managed by the applicant, who currently operates the Shady Grove Kennel & Hunting Preserve, Inc. (on 500 leased acres) in the area.  The applicant is a professional bird hunter and dog trainer. 

According to the applicant’s Statement of Justification, they will not remove any trees on the property.  Portions of the ODEC property will be farmed in a manner designed to provide habitat for wildlife.  The Special Exception plat shows the areas to be farmed with crops such as corn, grain, sorghum and hay.

The applicant has requested that the Special Exception approval be granted for an indefinite period of time.  According to the Statement of Justification, there will be no structures built on the site and the operation will require no more than twelve (12) employees.

The facility will operate under all applicable state and local regulations.  To illustrate these regulations, the applicant has submitted the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Shooting Preserve Conditions with its application.  This document details the general provisions applicable to all shooting preserves.

The preserve would be limited to bird hunting and the use of shotguns with birdshot.  Hours of operations are requested as 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  The Special Exception plat shows a 100-foot buffer zone (for safety) that surrounds the perimeter of the designated hunting area.

Land, Area, Location & Zoning:

The property is located on the south east side of Lucky Hill Road (Route 655) off of Old Grassdale Road (Route 782).  A map of the property is shown below.                            

Neighboring Zoning/Land Use:

The majority of the property is zoned Rural Agricultural (RA).  A small portion of PIN 6897-26-4438-000 is zoned Residential-1 (R-1), but this area is not within the area designated for a hunting preserve.

Staff Analysis:

Staff and the appropriate referral agencies have reviewed this request for conformance with the Comprehensive Plan, the Zoning Ordinance, and other relevant policies and regulations. Staff and referral agency findings, comments, and recommendations are summarized below. The actual responses from referral agencies are available upon request. 

At the time of preparation of this report, many of the referral agencies did not have comments on this application. 

Zoning

 

The Zoning office has provided the following comments:

1.         The following Zoning Ordinance standards apply:

            a.         5-006 General Standards.

            b.         5-901 Standards for All Category 9 Uses

            c.         5-913 Additional Standards for Commercial Hunting or Fishing Preserve

2.          The portion of the parcel zoned R-1 (6897-26-4438) is included in the application but cannot be utilized for the Preserve, as the use is not allowed in the R-1 zoning district.  The submitted plat suggests that the R-1 land area is not actually planned to be utilized for the preserve.  The approval should clarify this limitation. 

VDOT 

The Warrenton Residency staff reviewed the above referenced special exception.  However, we were unable to locate any information on the plan or the Statement of Justification indicating how the property is being accessed.

Action Requested of the Board of Supervisors: 

Conduct a public hearing and consider adoption of the attached resolution.

Summary and Recommendation:

The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of this application, subject to conditions.  Those conditions are included in the resolution for Board of Supervisors consideration.

Identify any other Departments, Organizations or Individuals that would be affected by this request:

Community Development

ATTACHMENTS: 

1.      Statement of Justification

2.      Special Exception Plat