County OKs Distance-Exempted Short Term Rental, Fairground Use and Rural Resort Clarifications – and Then …

Following another two-hours behind closed doors with staff on an array of topics, including a familiar one related to existing or potential litigation, the latter particularly likely with the Town of Front Royal, regarding the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority “financial scandal” and resultant financial liabilities, the Warren County Board of supervisors emerged into the main meeting room right about at the 7 p.m. open meeting starting time.

And while two items, one listed in the Closed Session motion, the other in an eight-item Consent Agenda approved as presented without discussion, might evolve long-term into the highest public interest matters on the evening’s agenda, we will review the agenda’s “Action Items” first, and keep you in suspense. – Unless you cheat and skip to the story’s “Other Business” subheaders below.

The open meeting featured three Public Hearings on, in the order called:

A request for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a Short-Term Tourist Rental by Jonathan DeHart on property located at 345 Donna Court in the Shenandoah Farms – Riverview subdivision in the Shenandoah Magisterial District, with a distance exemption (begins at 18:24 linked County video mark, with applicant speaking at 22:00 mark);

A requested amendment to Chapter 180 of the Warren County Code to add a definition for Fairground; to repeal the Noncommercial Fairground listed by right use in the Agricultural (A) zoning district; and to add Fairground as a use permitted by Conditional Use Permit in the Agricultural (A) zoning district (begins 28:29 video mark, with Fair Manager Robbin Lloyd speaking at 35:08 mark);

And a request to amend Chapter 180 of the Warren County Code to add a definition for Rural Resort Center and to amend the existing definition for Lodging Unit, and to add “Rural Resort Center” as a use allowed by Conditional Use Permit in the Agricultural zoning district, and to add supplementary regulations for Rural Resort Center (begins 37:58 video mark, with Rural Resort Center applicant Jennifer Wynn speaking at 47:31 mark).

After extensive explanation by Zoning Administrator Chase Lenz on the latter two, as well as comments from County Fairground Manager Robbin Lloyd and Rural Resort Center applicant Jennifer Wynn on the reasoning behind the code clarifications, and the chairman’s self debate on the Short-term Rental distance exemption, all three of the above submissions were approved.

Zoning Administrator Chase Lenz explains the need for code amended language to Fairgrounds usage and Rural Resort Center/Lodging to clarify boths operational futures. Below, first County Fairground Manager Robbin Lloyd, then Rural Resort Center applicant Jennifer Wynn explain their perspectives in support of the proposed language amendments or additions.

Only one drew a dissenting vote, from Fork District Supervisor Vicky Cook, on the DeHart Short-term Rental permitting recommended for approval with an exemption to the 100-foot distance from adjacent structures included. Justification for the exemptions for structures described at 35 and 37-foot distances was cited as a lack of opposition by those property owners, including one said also to be seeking a Short-term Rental CUP, and physical challenges, including it appeared steepness of access, to maintaining all three properties as full-time residential uses.

And while Board Chairman Cheryl Cullers said she was conflicted about approving with the distance exemptions to the County Code, with the presented reasoning, lack of opposition, and a unanimous recommendation of approval from the County Planning Commission, Cullers voted with the 4-1 majority on the motion to approve by Supervisor Stanmeyer, second by Vice-Chairman Butler.

As noted above, two items of potential public and municipal interest appeared, one in the Closed Session motion, and the other within an eight-item Consent Agenda approved as presented without discussion under the “New Business” header on a motion by Jamieson, second by Stanmeyer.

Other Business – Library

As to the Closed/Executive Session item, in the wake of all the turmoil and conflicting messaging from some supervisors regarding operational control and content of Samuels Public Library materials last year, this passage got our attention: “… for consultation with legal counsel and the provision of legal advice regarding legal matters related to the providing of library services …”

The board leaves the 5 p.m. Closed Session within a minute of 7 p.m. open meeting scheduled starting time. And why, one might wonder, are the county’s elected officials getting a behind closed doors legal briefing ‘related to the providing of library services’.

If it hadn’t been Closed Session discussion we would have called Chairman Cullers for some clarity on exactly what kind of legal advice the board was getting regarding “the providing of library services” in the future.

Other Business – Christendom College WWTP proposal

The other matter was J-5 on the Consent Agenda of which the staff “EXPLANATION & SUMMARY” stated: “Christendom College has submitted a formal request to investigate the possibility of connecting the college’s wastewater system to the Wastewater Treatment Plant facility in the Town of Front Royal.” As to “Cost & Financing” it was noted “N/A” (Not Applicable), which while perhaps true for the County, might not be for the Town long term. But as the county government was only being asked to support the investigation into a potential hook up of campus wastewater disposal into the Town’s Wastewater Treatment Plant, staff’s suggested motion, approved with the Consent Agenda was to “move that the Board of Supervisors refer this request to the Town of Front Royal with no objections.”

However, a little research into Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) oversight of the college’s polluting wastewater issues dumping into Manassas Run, which runs into the Shenandoah River, which first surfaced in 2018 (LINK 4-27-18 story “DEQ gives Christendom College deadlines on wastewater system fixes“) and appears to have been monitored beginning in 2021, indicate an ongoing history of warnings and notices of State wastewater standard violations to the school. Those citations included a $15,784 fine being implemented on September 27, 2023, paid to VDEQ about two weeks later, on October 12, 2023, VDEQ officials told us.

However, nowhere in the two-and-a-half page proposal letter to County Planning Director Matt Wendling, copied to County Administrator Ed Daley and Town Manager Joe Waltz, is the VDEQ warnings and/or notice of 12 consecutive quarters of violation in one of the college’s three monitoring areas, we’ll guess student housing, mentioned. But student housing and movement of now off-campus housed students to the campus in the future was an integral part of the proposal brought forward by Christendom College Vice President for Operations and Planning  Mike Foeckler.

“As part of my duties here at the College, I chair the Campus Master Planning Committee which is tasked with looking at the future of the college, from a facilities, grounds, safety, and sustainability viewpoint. Of course, one of the critical  pieces of this future planning is the capacity of our water and sewer infrastructure which the college has maintained since bringing the campus to Front Royal in 1979. Our water system, comprised of a loop system fed by two well houses and a series of interconnected drilled wells, has served the college well and bodes to continue to service the college’s needs into the future,” Foeckler wrote.

Well (pun intended), perhaps the water supply aspect has functioned well, if not it would appear the disposal of wastewater judging from the above-cited ongoing 3 years of warnings and violation citations, including last September’s State/Local-imposed $15,784 fine.

Graphics from EPA ‘Echo’ tracking of VDEQ monitoring of status of Christendom College’s WWTP system releasing unsanctioned levels of pollutants into the Shenandoah River by way of Manassas Run. The yellow and red boxes indicate quarterly violations. The final graphic indicates imposition of the $15,784 fine in Sept. 2023.

Foeckler continued to describe Christendom’s student relocation to campus plans, which he notes will be dependent on the school’s ability to accommodate the additional wastewater that will be added to its already over-tasked WWTP system:

“While enrollment at this time is not envisioned to grow, our Campus Master Plan will  undoubtedly move all students to reside on the main campus. Currently, the college houses many students in single family residences across the street. Bringing these students onto the main campus will place them in housing that is or will be connected to the WWTP. The College envisions building a final men’s residence hall on the main campus no later than the start of the 2026-27 academic year. However, construction of this hall  will be dependent on an adequate WWTP infrastructure being in place.”

Indeed it will.

And how that is achieved and where the campus’s expanded student-housing wastewater footprint is treated prior to its return to the surrounding natural environment is likely to involve the cost of some degree of infrastructure expansion.

How and where will Christendom College bring its WWTP into compliance with State-mandated standards as it plans adding on-campus student housing in coming years to an on-site system already in violation of those State standards? Maybe the Town can help, college officials are proposing.

How and where that expanded Christendom College WWTP infrastructure will be achieved has now come before the Town and County for consideration of the possible involvement of municipal public utilities as an alternative to what appears to be an already over-stretched private college campus wastewater system. Now it appears to be time to crunch the numbers, from all angles.

Click here to watch the Board of Supervisors Meeting of September 3, 2024.