Lori Graham
Contributing Writer
In a regular meeting Monday, March 27, 2023, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors approved a special permit allowing a parcel of land in the Elliston Valley to be rezoned, from agricultural use to general business, in preparation of a ground installed solar array that will provide a proposed alternative energy source to the area at a decreased rate.
According to project details presented at the meeting by Brea Hopkins, Director of Planning and GIS Services, a total of 10,560 solar PV panels, equal to a capacity of five megawatts, will be placed on the 35-acre property near Eastern Montgomery Elementary School, owned by Fotheringay, LLC. Existing vegetation, along with additional vegetative buffers, will conceal the majority of the solar panels that are 12 feet in height at full tilt. Hopkins spoke to the board and community at the public hearing portion of the meeting, responding to concerns previously addressed by the community.
“An all-weather road will provide access to the array,” she said. “The project was shifted from the original application as stated. It did increase the total distance of the project from 128 feet from Roanoke Road to 359 feet from Roanoke Road.”
No new roads will be installed to gain access to the property and minimal construction staff will be permitted on the property to mitigate increased traffic in the area during installation of the solar panels. A roadway plan will be submitted to VDOT. Additional comments addressed that stormwater management will be determined as well as a comprehensive plan to provide the least disturbance to the natural resources on the property.
Although Appalachian Electric Power (AEP) has not approved a share program yet, it was noted by the presenter that the solar panel array must be in place prior to approval by AEP. However, the General Assembly would have to approve the solar share program with AEP within 36 months.
In a later discussion during the meeting, additional special use permits were approved by the Board of Supervisors in Montgomery County that will allow for the construction of a Love’s Travel Center along North Fork Road, Route 603 in the Elliston area.
The parcel of land totaling 32.963 acres has been approved to be rezoned from agricultural use to general business use. The property is located at 5241 North Fork Road, at the intersection of North Fork Road (State Route 603) and Pedlar Road (State Route 635), as discussed in the resolution on the www.montva.com website.
An additional special use permit was approved to allow a comprehensive sign plan “pursuant to Section 10-45(a)(3)e of the County Zoning Ordinance for a travel center that exceeds the maximum number of allowed signs, maximum allowed height of signs, and maximum allowed square footage for total signage” as stated in the resolution posted by the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors.
The comprehensive sign package would include placement of a high-rise sign with a height of 190 feet, a street sign of 25 feet, and an additional free-standing sign of 20 feet. The total proposed square footage is also in excess of the maximum allowed.
The high-rise sign, the tallest of the three proposed free-standing signs, would be very visible from the interstate, directing traffic to the Love’s Travel Center at exit 128. Board of Supervisor members had a brief discussion and shared comments on the special permit request.
Supervisor Sara Bohn suggested, “there are billboards to rent…if this passes, hopefully they have the opportunity to rent”.
“We have an ordinance for a reason,” Supervisor Todd King responded after confirming that developers were requesting special permits that were in conflict with all current signage ordinances.
“I think they have done a good job in laying this whole location out and it’s a good economic development opportunity,” said Supervisor Steve Fijalkowski.
Further discussion of the board determined also that, without the special use permit allowing the placement of the largest and most visible sign off the interstate, the project would not likely move forward.
Board members approved the special permit signage with a vote of five in support and two rejecting approval.
