Photo by Matt de Simone
By Matt de Simone
Following a visit on Feb. 10 along the ridgeline of North Mountain in Botetourt County, county staff, third-party reviewers, and VDOT “observed no violations of county code” in the ongoing Rocky Forge wind project, according to Director of Community Development Nicole Pendleton. Currently, the group is reviewing three different sets of documents for administrative review, subdivision plats, as well as on-site and off-site construction plans for the Rocky Forge utility scale wind project.
Pendleton added that staff “observed no evidence of commencement of construction” during the visit. Third-party and external comments are pending a due date for projects mentioned under administrative review on March 3. There are still internal deadlines for those reviews. The county is working to schedule a meeting in mid-March to discuss some of the comments before revisiting the site with Apex Clean Energy, the developers of the project..
The director also stated that Apex made the county aware last Tuesday that Apex will soon be cutting trees without removing stumps. Pendleton reiterated that the county does not regulate those kinds of activities as long as no ground/stumps are moved.
Supervisors Vice Chair Amy White asked Pendleton to explain the regular protocol for a site visit/timeline if a complaint is filed. Pendleton explained that state code gives the county 30 days to investigate a complaint by a county resident (which was filed Jan. 10).
Pendleton quoted her response to the complaint mentioning that it would’ve been “impractical” to not visit the site without the county’s certified EMS inspector due to being away at the time. The county sent an entire crew to the site consisting of Zoning Administrator and Subdivision Agent Drew Pearson, Building Official and Development Services Manager Mark Bowles, Code Enforcement Officer Matt Lewis, Planner I Nick Baker, and the county’s new Erosion and Sediment/Stormwater Management Program Administrator Sean Nester.
Pearson gave a brief report about the latest site visit. He stated the group never observed any of the improvements that would be associated with the project and that the site looked “very much like it did four or five years ago.” If there is a violation that has occurred, evidence would have been found via photos, but Pearson said there was no need to take any photos.
“From staff’s perspective, there is no activity observed in association with the project other than some surveying,” Pearson added. “No determination could possibly be made.”
He stated that Planning & Zoning is “quite busy” fielding 161 complaints about the project. White asked Pearson about documenting these types of visits. Pearson said they normally don’t document visits like the one in February due no violations were observed.
There are currently two sets of independent reviewers in correspondence with the county who are looking over comments related to the project.
To learn more about the Rocky Forge wind project, visit https://www.rockyforgewind.com/about_rockyforge.
Old Jail lease agreement
Assistant Administrator Jon Lanford spoke to the board about the status and progress of the lease agreement between CarDon Development and Botetourt County related to the Old Jail in Fincastle.
Lanford mentioned that “it is a great opportunity for us (the county).” He spoke with individuals who concurred that the Naysmiths, who own and operate CarDon Consulting, a real estate development and consulting company specializing in historic restoration, project and event management, and wedding industry consulting, produce “exemplary” and “amazing” work. The assistant administrator stated that the Naysmiths were comfortable with the documents presented to the board.
Supervisor Steve Clinton posed a few suggestions such as adding a resolution clause within the agreement in case any decisions are disputed, undefined elements, the lack of proposed time for benchmarks/milestones, and the amount of items that still need approval.
Fincastle Mayor Mary Bess Smith was in attendance voicing support for the ongoing project working closely with the county during the process.
The board approved the lease agreement contingent on the comments made by Clinton. A copy of the Old Jail lease can be found on the Botetourt County website’s Agenda Center (https://www.botetourtva.gov/AgendaCenter).
Old Colonial Elementary School fee waiver request
Lanford updated the board on the status and progress related to EDA action to transfer the old Colonial school building to Six Forty Group and requested a permit fee waiver for all county-only related permit fees. Fee waiver will be applicable for up to two submittals and must be actioned within 12 months of property transfer of Old Colonial to Six Forty Group.
Last April, the board accepted the resolution to transfer the old Colonial Elementary School property from Botetourt County Public Schools to the Economic Development Authority.
The property was transferred to Six Forty Group to repurpose the vacant building into a learning center for homeschool students. A closing event should is expected to occur in the next couple of months with Six Forty officially taking possession of the property. Lanford asked the board to consider the waiver for up to two reviews. The board approved waiving the permit fee.
