12/05/2024
Standing room only in the Louisa Town Hall as residents, mainly those of the Tanyard subdivision, gathered on November 25 to voice their concerns with a future project in their neighborhood.
The Town of Louisa Planning Commission (PC) held a public hearing to consider a special use permit (SUP) application for property located on Barnstormer Circle in a residential general district. The total acreage of the parcels consists of 0.756 acres. The SUP would subdivide two parcels to a total of four parcels and construct two duplexes, for a total of four dwelling units.
At the beginning of the public hearing, Town of Louisa Project Manager/Zoning Administrator Paul Snyder explained that a previous advertisement in the Central Virginian listed this SUP application as in a general commercial district. He clarified the typo submitted should have stated it was in a residential general district.
R. T. Williams, III submitted the SUP application as the agent for the owners, and was the first to address the PC. Williams explained he submitted a plan with full renderings, drawings, and plans of the buildings and first submitted them to the Tanyard Property Owners Association Board. Then, he attended a Tanyard Property Owners Association General Membership Meeting, where further edits and changes were made to the plan, including the drafting of several proffers. Williams stated that the second meeting was a “very well attended” meeting, with similar numbers to the November 25 meeting, around fifty people.
“We revised our plan; we revised it substantially,” Williams said. “What we had initially planned to build here were two-story duplexes; that would situate a little differently, and from our perspective, not be incompatible with the neighborhood. But the members of Tanyard felt differently.”
Proffers included, “motor vehicles owned by occupants will be limited to two vehicles per residential unit,” “the units will be limited to one-story with a customary roof line above the natural grade fo the lots,” and “in the event that natural vegetation is disturbed, a double staggered row of evergreen grass will be planted along the common boundary lines…,” along with three others.
While Williams continued to address the PC, conversation turned to a well which was formerly in operation on the building site. He shared the following history: On July 11, 1951, the Richardson's family conveyed a well to the Town of Louisa. With it, came stipulations, like a 100-foot buffer and certain covenants about what could and could not be done within the buffer.
On May 16, 1980, the Richardson’s conveyed to Larry Kavanagh and his wife, Judith, all of Glen Marie Farm, with the exception of a couple parcels, one of them being the well. On April 17, 1984 there was a deed of exchange, which conveys the well property to Larry Kavanagh.
“In exchange for Mr. Kavanagh getting that buffer, the town conveyed the well property to Mr. Kavanagh. However, they didn’t just convey the property. If you read the deed, you’ll see that they abandoned all water lines coming from the well; they terminated the well as defined as a public well system…,” Williams said, adding his interpretation that the town has no ability to claim ownership or enforce any of the covenants.
In 1996, Kavanagh conveys the Tanyard Golf Course and its lot to Tanyard Country Club corporation. Finally, in 2007, the country club convened to its current owners.
One of the concerns that Williams related to council, that he has heard from Tanyard residents, is that Tanyard is a residential community. He shared a 2007 decision from the Supreme Court of Virginia, Scott v. Walker.
The Scotts were renting a single-family residence. A neighbor, Walker, asserted that rentals were in violation of a restrictive covenant which he believed prohibited that use. The Supreme Court of Virginia held that short-term rentals are “residential in nature” and not prohibited by the covenant.
Williams further explained that in the above situation, if the covenants wanted to ban rentals, “…they would have said so, but they didn’t.” He shared that the covenants of Tanyard don’t say that property can’t be rented, and don’t ban any type of duplexes.
“Maybe a lot of individuals behind me wished it did; but it doesn’t”, Williams said. “I would take it a step further to say that if [the Tanyard covenants] tried to ban rentals, that would be in violation of the law, probably under Scott v. Walker. This is a residential community.”
Click the link below to continue reading and hear from Tanyard residents in opposition to this project; also learn more about why resident and former NASA physicist Dr. Larry Kavanagh believes the project is potentially hazardous:
https://www.thecentralvirginian.com/news/duplex-decision-advances-to-louisa-town-council/article_fba0d7e4-b1f4-11ef-972c-136695a3e2a7.html
