In a landmark decision, the Culpeper Town Council and the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors last night agreed on a memorandum of understanding that will ultimately lead to both a town boundary adjustment and create a regional water and sewer authority.
Although the joint meeting began on a contentious note, it ended with a solid agreement that will be signed at a special called meeting of both government bodies on Monday night.
Under the agreement the town will get essentially all county land inside the U.S. 29 Bypass, Ira Hoffman Lane and the yet-to-be-built western loop that will extend from Ira Hoffman Lane to St. Jamison's Road and U.S. 522 (including the Harlow farm and the Powell property).
Definite exceptions include the Culpeper Farmers' Coop, Culpeper Petroleum Cooperative and County Farm Service property on or near James Madison Highway. A likely exclusion would be the Comstock property, a 17-acre industrial tract in the southwest corner of State Route 3 and the U.S. 29 Bypass.
Also at issue is Northridge, a development near Culpeper High School on the north side of Ira Hoffman Lane. Although it is part of the working map, the town does not want this residential development because of services it would have to provide.
Most of the town's new land would be either industrial or commercial parcels that would logically belong under an urban government.
In exchange for the boundary adjustment, the town will turn over all its water and sewer assets to a regional water and sewer authority. This will essentially open much of the county--especially on the eastern edge of the town--to future commercial, residential and industrial development.
Both the town and county brought separate agreements to the table last night, but in the end it was the county's memorandum of understanding that was refined and will be adopted.
While several Town Council members voiced opposition to the document at first, relatively few changes were needed to make the agreement acceptable to all.
Initially, the county had demanded that if it agreed to this boundary adjustment the town would not seek further annexation for a period of 25 years.
That time frame was reduced to 15 years with a stipulation that both governments would, for that period of time, discuss possible boundary adjustments every five years.
Individual property owners--such as the Farmers' Coop--could, however, apply to become part of the town at any point. The town also agreed not to seek city status for at least 25 years.
One of the sticking points was added operational and capital costs (such as for police protection and trash pickup) that the town would incur. Ultimately it was decided that including or excluding such parcels as Northridge would be used to help balance those losses.
The agreement also stipulates that the water and sewer authority will explore the possibility of enlarging Lake Catalpa (on the Harlow and Powell farms) so it can be used as a third town reservoir. It further states that both governments will work together on planning and zoning the new town land and build the western bypass as quickly as possible.
While the regional water and sewer authority could become a reality as soon as both governments sign final agreements, it could take a year or more for the boundary adjustment, which would need to be approved by the courts, to take effect.
If a final agreement is reached, the county will protect its 2.5 million-gallon state sewage-treatment allocation which it will transfer to the regional authority.
Donnie Johnston:
Email: djohnston@freelancestar.com