BY JONAS BEALS
Some Stafford County planning commissioners are taking a stand against a recently passed Board of Supervisors resolution. And they are willing to pay to prove their point.
Planning Commissioners Pete Fields, Arch Di Peppe, Cecelia Kirkman and Ruth Carlone pooled $400 of their own money Wednesday night to advertise a public hearing for an ordinance they created.
With a 5-2 vote last month, supervisors announced that the Planning Commission would need permission from the board before it could hold a public hearing on any zoning ordinance changes.
Planning commissioners are appointed by the Board of Supervisors.
The new rule was intended, in part, to save the money involved in advertising public hearings.
At the time, Board of Supervisors Chairman George Schwartz said the move would "completely emasculate the Planning Commission." Now, he says, "the citizens of Stafford no longer have a properly functioning Planning Commission."
At their first 2009 meeting, the planners functioned in a highly unusual manner.
Supervisors passed an ordinance to the Planning Commission that some members disagreed with. Unable to alter the ordinance, commissioners decided to write their own. Opening wallets was the only way for their new ordinance to go to public hearing.
"The Commonwealth of Virginia gives us the right to propose ordinances," Di Peppe said, "but this is what it's come to in Stafford County--we're taking up a collection. Hopefully, this will bring things to a head and show how incredibly wrong [the supervisors] were."
Supervisor Paul Milde, who voted in favor of the resolution governing ordinance creation, thinks the Planning Commission is just perpetuating what he believes are wasteful government practices.
"This is a renegade Planning Commission, once again trying to circumvent the will of the board," he said. "This directly contradicts the instructions we just gave them."
Planning commissioners have put their money where their mouths are, and plan to discuss their ordinance at a Feb. 4 meeting.
"We're in uncharted territory here," Fields said. "It's an intense issue. The board is attempting to insert itself into the Planning Commission's authority. We'll open the dialogue with this, and see where we can get."
Jonas Beals: 540/368-5036
Email: jbeals@freelancestar.com
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At issue is an ordinance that would change the by-right uses allowed on property zoned for business use, permitting fraternal organizations in B-2 zones.
It has been reported that a local chapter of the Masons purchased B-2 property at the corner of Courthouse and Andrew Chapel roads, unaware that a lodge would not be permitted by right. A majority of the Planning Commission felt such allowances should be made only under the terms of a conditional-use permit, and wrote an ordinance to that effect. "Allowing those uses by right is a bad idea," Planning Commissioner Arch Di Peppe said. "Some serve alcohol and stay open late. I want to be able to regulate those sorts of businesses based on their location." Supervisor Paul Milde believes planning commissioners are only putting up red tape. "The action taken by the Planning Commission will prevent a charitable organization from doing good work in our community," he said. "Instead, it builds another layer of bureaucracy." |