White responded, "I would only say that, if we take action that, in effect, leaves the old proffers in place, that is not a good solution. Much of the issue that has arisen is because of either the wording or enforceability of the old proffers. Given those two choices, neither of which is perfect, I think we are at least taking a step in the right direction with the new ones."

The board voted 4-1 to accept the modified proffers, with Supervisor Lee Frame voting no. Frame had said earlier in the debate that although he is pro-business, "I am not sure that I am anxious to help businesses that don't seem to take into account the concerns of and their impact on their neighbors."

Attorney Leming said he expects several pending lawsuits in the matter to be dismissed in light of that vote. "The county attorney and I are discussing how to go about that," he said.

In other action, the supervisors voted unanimously to grant a special-use permit to allow Rikki's Refuge to use two donated trailers as office space. A total of 22 speakers from as far away as Richmond and Alexandria spoke in favor of the request, with many citing the difficulty of volunteers forced to complete grant requests and other paperwork while working on picnic tables with many intruding paws.

Dan McFarland:
Email: dmcfarland@freelancestar.com