The Residential Development Subcommittee of the Steering Committee to Amend Round Hill's Comprehensive Plan held a public input workshop on Friday, May 14, to discuss development in the potential annexation area south of town on the east side of Rt. 719. About a dozen citizens attended the meeting, many of them residents of properties along Rt. 719.

In his opening remarks, Mayor Frank Etro explained that the property in question is being considered for annexation by the town because it has been deemed the most cost-effective means of honoring a commitment to serve Oak Hill's West Lake development with water and sewer utilities.

Water and sewer had been promised by the town as part of a rezoning that took place in the early 1990s. At that time, the town planned to connect West Lake with town utilities through the bottom of Sleeter Lake. Subsequent environmental engineering studies, however, determined that this plan was not feasible, especially if Sleeter Lake were ever to be considered a potential source of drinking water.

An alternate route, running the utility lines south along the east side of Rt. 719 and across the Draisie property to West Lake, has now been identified as the best solution. However, the county does not allow water and sewer lines to run outside the town's "service area," which also must be part of the town's Joint Land Management Area (JLMA).

Consequently, the county has initiated a Comprehensive Plan Amendment (CPAM) to bring the 62 acres south of the Rt. 7 bypass, between Rt. 719 and Sleeter Lake, south to the Draisie property into the town's JLMA. At the same time, the county has requested that the town provide a plan for how this property would be developed. This request gave rise to the Steering Committee to Amend Round Hill's Comprehensive Plan.

As a companion process, the town has requested that once this property becomes part of the town's service area it then be brought within corporate limits through a Boundary Line Adjustment (BLA). The BLA must be approved by both the county and town and is subject to the public hearing process. The town wishes this land to be within corporate limits so that the town can then exercise greater control over subsequent development.

The properties are currently zoned A-20, with a density of 1 unit per 20 acres. If they are brought into the town's JLMA, or within town limits, they may be zoned up to JLMA-1, with a density of up to 1 unit per acre.

At this point, Mayor Etro turned the remainder of the meeting over to Vlad Gavrilovic, a planner who has been hired by the town to assist in amending Round Hill's Comprehensive Plan.

Gavrilovic reviewed the processes of the BLA, CPAM and town comprehensive plan amendment, and invited citizens to attend meetings of the Steering Committee on Monday, May 24, and Wednesday, June 2, as well as Town Council meetings the first and third Thursdays of each month. He noted that the Steering Committee intends to present a draft amendment at the Town Council meeting on June 3; a public input session on the amendment and the BLA is tentatively scheduled for June 17. The Town Council may vote on the amendment on that date or at a special meeting June 28.

After reviewing dates, Gavrilovic presented a series of maps showing existing conditions (such as the road network, visual features and lot sizes) and environmental features (elevations, slopes, creeks, viewsheds and floodplain) in the annexation area. He discussed how these conditions and features combine to create the character of the "gateway area" into town.

Through examining the maps, Gavrilovic explained, he was able to create four "resource zones" or "planning areas": a natural resource area; an environmentally sensitive area; critical viewshed areas; and developable areas. The subcommittee began working with these areas to establish policies to govern how each would be treated when/if the properties are developed.

The committee is also looking at other policies that would establish a trail network in the area, encourage traffic calming along Rt. 719, and consider improvement of Hayman Lane, which is currently a privately held drive.

After again encouraging citizens to participate throughout the process by attending public meetings or expressing their views/concerns in writing, Gavrilovic then lead a public comment session. The majority of the comments during this session involved traffic volume, speed and calming measures along Rt. 719; ensuring pedestrian safety; and maintaining the rural character of the gateway. (See Gavrilovic's notes for more details.)