By Dakota Baker
The Greenbrier County Commission met in regular session on Tuesday Feb. 10, and the commissioners set hearing dates to receive public input on the proposed updates to the county zoning ordinance. The dates set were Tuesday, Mar. 3, at 6 p.m., and Wednesday, Mar. 4, at 11 a.m. at the West Virginia State Fairgrounds in the Underwood Building. Any member of the public may attend and be heard on the matter at the public hearings. Written comments will be accepted and made a part of the record if they are received prior to the close of the hearing on Mar. 4 by writing to: Kelly Banton, Greenbrier County Commission, 912 Court Street N, Lewisburg, WV 24901.
“The Greenbrier County Commission is in the process of reviewing the zoning ordinance drafted by the Greenbrier County Planning Commission,” they explained in a social media post. “The Greenbrier County Commission wants your input as we work with the public to provide comments to the planning commission. Your input is wanted and appreciated. This updated zoning ordinance only applies to zoned portions of the Lewisburg and Fort Spring Districts.”
The summary of proposal states, “The proposed update reorganizes, clarifies, and modernizes the ordinance text to better reflect current planning practices, applicable state law, and the needs of Greenbrier County; retains the existing zoning districts and existing zoning map; replaces the text of the ordinance to revise definitions, uses, procedures and performance standards.”
The proposal itself states, in part, “Less than ten percent of the land mass of Greenbrier County is subject to the zoning ordinance, which is little changed from its original adoption in 1978. Because many of the definitions and concepts in the existing ordinance are outdated the existing zoning ordinance will be replaced with a zoning ordinance that retains the same map district dimensions of the prior zoning ordinance, with the exception of overlay districts and floating districts. The existing land use conditions have been studied, analyzed, and discussed extensively by the County Commission, the Planning Commission, and interested citizens during the process for updating the comprehensive plan and drafting the proposed zoning ordinance. As part of the comprehensive planning process, current land use conditions were evaluated, and the needs of the community were identified and an action plan for achieving the community’s goals developed. During the comprehensive planning process, several issues were identified: Protecting natural resources, preserving community and historic resources, sustainable development, developing adequate recreational opportunities, promotion of cohesive and coordinated development, middle market housing availability and affordability and problems arising from ‘spot use’ and strip style development.”
The full study and report on zoning, including the zoning map and proposed replacement zoning ordinance, are available for review in the County Commission office located in the Courthouse, in county public libraries, and are also available for viewing and download on the county website at www.greenbriercounty.net.
Next, the Commission reviewed old business items, which included the consideration of a request by the town of Renick for annexation of the Thacker and Lewis Properties, and a motion was made and approved for this request.
The next item was the consideration of change order for 911 tower maintenance and technical support to change the Motorola contract. An executive session was called at 10:20 a.m. to discuss this consideration with legal counsel. At 10:32 a.m. the regular session resumed, a motion was made to not approve the change order due to improper subject matter. Commissioner Holliday then made a motion to issue an RFP request to solicit bids to cover the subject matter of the change order. This motion was approved.
The commissioners then turned their attention to new business which consisted of financial matters for ongoing county projects. Region 4 Project Specialist Amanda Smarr joined the meeting via Zoom to discuss a payment resolution for the PSD 2 Phase 2 Waterline Extension Project. The total amount requested for the resolution was $613,763.23.
Smarr clarified that the specific portion requested from the commission, to cover an invoice from the Thrasher Group, was $75,075.30. The commissioners approved this payment. Following Smarr’s request, they then tabled the discussion on draw request #18 for the County GigReady Broadband Project.
Next, the commissioners considered Engineering Amendment #1, which proposed a $75,000 increase to the project’s total cost, bringing the overall budget to $1,400,500. Smarr explained that the additional funds were needed for extra work identified by the engineers as necessary for completing the project.
Smarr recommended that the commissioners wait to approve the amendment until all bids were received, which the commissioners agreed to, deciding to table the request until that time.
Lastly, the commissioners approved the Sheriff’s Department’s application for a Drunk Driving Prevention Grant for Feb. 23 through May 26. The grant, totaling $5,000, will fund DUI checkpoints.
The next Greenbrier County Commission meeting will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 24.
