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Is it growth of zoning fallacy? By Jason Peck Elected officials sometimes say that they'll put the brakes on growth, and not rezone anymore property. In reality, there's little the board of supervisors can do to stop growth when it comes. The housing market has severely slowed growth in Culpeper, but the zoning remains in place for more than 5,000 homes to be built without approval from supervisors. And once the zoning is in place for residential development, it usually remains. Property with residential zoning could mean millions for the landowners, and few would give up a potential pay-off. Once a property has the proper zoning, all it must do from there is meet the county's subdivision plans. But most of the construction had been approved years ago. Speaking before the board, Planning Director John Egertson said that a few rezonings had been approved by the board in the past 10 years. Egertson claimed that the only major project the current board had approved was the unfinished Clevenger's Village project (more than 700 potential homes). But since Clevengers remains unbuilt, only 59 homes trace their rezonings to actions from current board members. However, Egertson hastened to add that the board's decision to restrict residential property on industrial lands had actually prevented 250 homes from being built. At the same time, thousands of permits were approved for building homes that already had the proper zoning in place. But why so many homes? Ironically, it begins with plans to control growth. Many of the zonings stem from 1989, when the county supervisors enacted changes in the county's zoning. Prior to that, any parcel could sport a subdivision., said Supervisor Brad Rosenberger. "All you had to do was get the health department's approval, meet requirements and you were automatically approved," Rosenberger said, one of the few board members serving at the time. "The board wanted to get a handle on it." That still left huge tracts of land ready for development. But other preventative measures may stand in the way of future development. Gas prices could challenge developers, even if the housing market begins booming again. Culpeper's population boom came when developers recruited potential Culpeper homeowners from Northern Virginia, promising lower home prices. A house in Culpeper is still cheaper than a house in Fairfax, but Northern Virginia residents who move to Culpeper likely face a much more expensive commute.

More details forthcoming on water-sewer deal

By Jason Peck

Culpeper Utility Partners has the details on its proposal to build a full water-sewer system for the county – all $100 million worth of it.

But it won't release them. Not until the financing is complete, at least.

"There are discussions with more than one financier," said John Foote, an attorney working for CUP. "That’s the reason we request the information be maintained confidentially."

Foote mentioned that all information would be made public by the time supervisors voted on the project. Project Manager Steve Vento expected more public data within two to three weeks.

“It’s just while we’re in the discussions that it’s critical for us to retain the information," Foote said.

That still earned them some questions from Supervisor Tom Underwood (Salem District), who wanted the details of the financing released into open session.

"This will be the largest project ever undertaken by Culpeper County," Underwood said. "If done, it will be a community-altering project. And there needs to be a role for transparency."

Angler Development serves as project manager for the partnership, which includes companies such as John T. Hazel, Angler Environmental and Dewberry and Davis.

If approved, the companies would construct a complete water and sewer system for the county, including: two pump stations, one wastewater treatment facility and miles of lines.

The project would then be paid for through tap fees – charges that consumers pay for access to the water and sewer system. Vento identified three different types of fees, including:

Sewer line access fees, estimated at $17,000 apiece. That would include all the taps into Angler's sewer line.
Waster water treatment plant access fees, worth $5,000 apiece. This would cover much development around the airport, said Vento.
Water taps fees, estimated at $8,000 apiece.

Vento claimed that having water and sewer would give county supervisors more power in planning their development. In the past, county officials have sometimes depended on the Town of Culpeper to serve certain projects.

"You are in a unique position," Vento told county supervisors at their April 1 meeting. "You can actually buy the infrastructure before the growth. You know how many times we stand before these boards and try to put the infrastructure in after the growth is done?

“Whoever is elected controls the growth," Vento said. "The water-sewer lines in the ground don’t control the growth. You do.”

On the other hand, detractors claim the deal would instead mean more unnecessary development.

“How will Culpeper change as a result of this project over the next 25 years?" Underwood asked. "That’s the bottom line."

However, Supervisor Steve Nixon cautioned against releasing specific data too soon, arguing that much of the data was still incomplete.

“The public will be informed as soon as we have the data," Nixon said. "But to throw out numbers and mislead people would not be prudent.

“Before you can determine what the rates of the taps are going to be, you have to know what your costs are going to be," Nixon continued. "It’s premature to say tap fees are going to be one or the other.”

County supervisors also made it clear that they would develop their own water and sewer systems, whether the Angler deal fell through or not. Supervisor Sue Hansohn (Catalpa District) asked the county's Public Works Committee to develop a “back-up plan” in case it did.

“We’ve got to have more than one way to skin the cat,” Hansohn said.