County Supervisors Brace for Renewed Legal Battle With Virginia’s Library of the Year Before More Routine Business

In the wake of the refiling of Samuels Public Library’s Circuit Court Injunction against the Warren County Board of Supervisors proceeding with implementation of its newly created and appointed Warren County Library Board, a 5 p.m. Closed/Executive Session kicking off Tuesday evening’s regular 7 p.m. Board of Supervisors meeting of February 18th was largely focused on that refiled litigation.

At first glance of the nine-page “Petition For Injunction & Specific Performance” preceding 77 pages of exhibits, the refiling appears to largely mirror the initial January filing with the addition of Samuels Library, Incorporated as co-plaintiff with the Samuels Library Board of Trustees.

Readers will recall one January hearing defendant motion to dismiss the injunction revolved around the absence of the incorporated library entity as the primary and legal filing body. And as library counsel indicated it would if necessary, it dropped the original injunction filing for a correctly filed one with the necessary plaintiffs listed.

As to the motion into Closed Session February 18, the final two of three paragraphs of the motion into that Closed county supervisors meeting dealing with four topics reads:

“I further move the Board enter into a closed meeting under Section 2.2-3711(A)(7) for the purpose of consultation with legal counsel pertaining to actual litigation. The subject matter is Samuels Library Incorporated et al. v. Warren County Board of Supervisors, et al. CL25000155-00. (underlining added)

“Lastly, I move that the Board enter into a closed meeting under Section 2.2-3711(A)(8) for the purpose of the provision of legal advice regarding specific legal matters requiring such advice. The subject matters are the providing of library and broadband services.

Three-and-a-half of the five supervisors, Cheryl Cullers was out of frame to the left and Richard Jamieson is partially pictured to the right, prepare to leave the Closed meeting caucus room shortly before the 7 p.m. start of the open meeting. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

The motion into Closed’s opening paragraph deals with appointments to fill vacancies on the Warren County Economic Development Authority (EDA or WCEDA) Board of Directors. And while no announcements out of Closed Session were made, three EDA board appointments, or reappointments, were made during the open meeting. Two of those, David McDermott and Robert Cullers, were reappointments included in the evening’s Consent Agenda. A third, Jamie Fox, was added as an item of New Business near the open meeting’s outset.

Royal Examiner will have more on the refiled Samuels Library litigation as hearing dates and related motions are made. Samuels Library officials told Royal Examiner that unless changes are made, it was anticipated that arguments on the filing would be heard on May 2nd.

Open Session business

During the 7 p.m. meeting’s first half hour, the board heard remotely from representatives of both “Brightspeed” and “All Points Broadband” on requests for Letters of Support for “BEAD” (Broadband Equity Access Deployment) proposals involving applications for State government grant monies available to expand online broadband access countywide. In the wake of those presentations South River District Supervisor Cheryl Cullers raised concerns about project mapping seeming to indicate her district in the southern part of the county being largely excluded from the proposed expansion. She noted that seemed to defeat the root issue of expanding broadband access to more remotely populated and under-served areas.

However, when Fork District Supervisor Vicky Cook removed Consent Agenda votes on authorization of the two Letters of Support, and expressed opposition to authorizing those letters, Cullers expressed more concern about the potential loss of State grants for the projected expansion, which she hoped could be adjusted to better serve her district without the use of County tax revenues. Consequently, Cullers’ motion to approve the Letters of Support passed by a 4-1 margin, only Cook disssenting.

While concerns may have been similar on requested Letters of Endorsement for broadband providers by Cheryl Cullers, far left of photo, and Vicky Cook, at far right, Cook was the lone holdout on approval of those requested County supporting documents seeking State grant funding to expand broadband access countywide.

During Tuesday’s Open Session the county’s elected officials also faced seven public hearings and a 21-item Consent Agenda, the latter for the forwarding of generally routine business, including approval of advertisement for coming public hearings, and the above-referenced EDA Board of Director appointements.

The Consent Agenda was reduced to 18 items on Cook’s above-referenced removal of items, including a third item, the Warren Coalition’s submitted “Landlord Release & Consent” allowing the Coalition to submit its furniture in its rented space in the County’s 15th Street Health & Human Services complex as partial collateral on a proposed bank loan. When that item came to a vote, Cook’s motion to table the vote till a future date when more information could be gathered died without a second.

Noting he didn’t want to risk the Warren Coalition losing its bank loan by a County delay in approval of the collateral request, John Stanmeyer’s motion to approve the request passed by a 4-1 vote, only Cook dissenting.

Of interest among Public Hearings were requested amendments to County Codes:

First, A/ “to add a definition for adult business, to enact §180-27D(21) to make adult businesses permissible only by conditional use permit in the Commercial zoning district, to enact §180-28D(23) to make adult businesses permissible only by conditional use permit in the Industrial zoning district, to amend §180-63C to add supplemental procedures for adult businesses, and to amend §180-63D to add supplemental standards for adult businesses.”

After extensive discussion on potential violations of First Amendment rights and other business variables, on a motion by Richard Jamieson, second by John Stanmeyer, the code amendment passed on a 3-2 vote with Cheryl Cullers casting the decisive vote for approval, Chairman “Jay” Butler and Vicky Cook dissenting.

and B/ “a Warren County Planning Staff “request to amend Chapter 180 of the Warren County Code to amend §180-63 to modify the termination, expiration, extension, and re-application procedures for conditional uses.”

From the agenda packet staff summary it is noted that: “Planning staff is recommending the expiration procedures for a conditional use permit be established under a separate subsection with procedures for administrative expiration and requesting an extension from the Board of Supervisors. This would allow for the Zoning Administrator to expire a conditional use permit if the use has not been established within three calendar years or if the use has been abandoned for three calendar years without having to pursue the full termination process. The proposed subsection will require the Zoning Administrator to send a certified notice of impending conditional use permit expiration to the permit holder and grant the permit holder 30 days from receipt of the notice to apply for a conditional use permit extension. The procedures for requesting an extension from the Board of Supervisors will remain the same; however, the proposed text amendment would add a $100 application fee to request the extension.”

County Planner Kelly Wahl and Zoning Administrator Chase Lenz took turns on staff reports to the supervisors on pending actions, including code amendments designed to streamline CUP processes on expiration and renewal applications, which Lenz is addressing here.

The staff presentation by Zoning Administrator Chase Lenz led to board discussion of processes to assure that impacted applicants who have not initiated their Conditional Use Permitted (CUP) usage within the prescribed timeframe or have allowed the use to lapse over that period have been given adequate notice of the pending expiration date and reapplication parameters. With some details remaining in question, on Cullers’ motion, second by Jamieson, the board tabled a vote on the code amendment until a process guaranteeing receipt of the notice and time for a response from impacted citizens could be assured.

Those public hearing items were accompanied by four Short-Term Tourist Rental CUP requests, as well as “A request for a conditional use permit for a Church.” The latter, “located 7655 Stonewall Jackson Highway … The property is zoned Agricultural (A) and is located in the South River Magisterial District.”

The Mountaintop the Church at Skyline CUP was unanimously approved on a motion by Jamieson, second by Cook. The four Short-term Tourist Rentals went 2-for-4, the first two considered from applicants Isaac Rushing for a property at 1444 Stokes Airport Road and Allan and Christine Sylvester for a property at 4920 Strasburg Road, both being approved by unanimous, 5-0 votes on motions by Cook and Jamieson, respectively.

First up in the Short-term Rentals batters box was Dreadlocked Isaac Rushing, who got a unanimous vote of approval for his Short-term Tourist Rental proposal at 1444 Stokes Airport Road. Questioned about the eventual use of the property, the home upon which dates to 1861, for Agra-tourism, Rushing indicated not immediately, but eventually, he planned to move in that direction.

The next two, from applicants Gillian Greenfield and Richard Butcher for a property at 209 Luchase Road and Jessica Young and Joseph Hurm for a property at 6 Rawley Ridge Drive, were denied by split votes. The Greenfield/Butcher CUP faced a motion to deny by Supervisor Cook, that passed by a 3-2 margin, Chairman Butler and Supervisor Cullers joining Cook in the vote to deny. After facing negative public hearing comments from neighboring property owners, as well as some positive perspectives on their CUP application, Supervisor Cook’s motion to approve the Young/Hurm request died without a second. Cullers’ motion to deny the Young/Hurm CUP, seconded by Supervisor Stanmeyer, was passed by a 4-1 vote, with only Cook dissenting. For additional details on these votes, public hearings, and board discussions, see the linked County video.

This was also the first meeting implementing two different Public comment periods, one for agenda items not facing public hearings and the existing one for non-agenda items. Interestingly, perhaps, and likely annoying for those present wishing to comment on non-agenda items, the Public Comments period is cited as the second one and the next-to-last agenda item of the meeting following all public hearings, board and staff reports, and New Business items. Consequently, those citizens have to sit through the entire meeting other than late-added Additional New Business to make their case on non-agenda items. At least one of four speakers addressing the board beginning at 10:15 p.m. for those Public Comments three hours and 15 minutes into the meeting stated they hoped the changed format wasn’t instituted “to discourage public comment” from citizens perhaps critical of board majority actions.

Will add the link to the video when available.