January 2023 During the Public Hearing for this Zoning request at the Board of Supervisors meeting on January 17th, 2023, the Board voted 6 to 1 in favor of approval of the Zoning Request as well as the CUP to allow condominium building to reach a height of 80 feet. As of July 2023, there have been no further submissions of site plans or other documents to Community Development. November 2022 A Town Hall Meeting was held by Supervisor Adams and the Developer on Thursday evening November 17th at 6:00 pm, at Callie Oppies Orchard. The meeting was attended by over 100 interested individuals who mostly opposed the planned development. The developer's presentation was short providing an opportunity for more community feedback. Questions and comments from those who spoke were similar to those from prior meetings including the size of the development, impact on traffic, water safety, environmental impacts, future costs of the WWTF on taxpayers, noise and the anticipated changes to the rural environment expected if this development is approved. October 2022 LACA POSITION QUESTIONED FOR LAKE ANNA RESORT PROPOSAL Click HERE for Document replying to Concerned Citizens Requests of LACA October 13th PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING AND DECISION The Louisa Planning Commission held a Public Hearing on the Lake Anna Resort re-zoning and CUP request on October 13, 2022. Ten community members weighed in during the public hearing to either explicitly oppose the project or voice significant concerns. Issues raised by those in attendance included the County overextending itself in the purchase and upgrade of the LAES Wastewater Treatment Facility required by the current plan to handle the wastewater from the proposed development, the environmental impacts of a development the size of that proposed, changing the "rural" nature of the lake with a "Virginia Beach-style condo setup", the sheer size of the Condominium building which will include nearly 250,000 SqFt as proposed, increased boat traffic and the safety issues for boating on Mitchell Creek, and the traffic that the development will bring to Route 208, among others. LACA Land Use Committee Chair John Wayne made a statement representing the concerns and position of LACA, which can be seen HERE. The Commission voted 4-2 to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve the rezoning, albeit with two recommendations: that the county withhold a certificate of occupancy for the condo building until it approves a site plan for the hotel and restaurant and that the county require the developer to post a performance bond. The 2nd motion to recommend approval of the Conditional Use Permit failed in a 3-3 vote. The third vote on the developers request to modify the county’s design and architectural guidelines to allow the use of high-quality composite siding, passed on a vote of 4-2. The Commissions desires on each of these will now be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors where there is sure to be a great deal of discussion and opposition from the community. The Public Hearing with the Board of Supervisors is now being advertised to occur on December 5, 2022 at 5:00 pm in the Public Meeting Room in Louisa. August 2022 There was a Community Meeting held at the Louisa Office Complex on Wednesday August 31, 2022 where members of the Community asked many questions surrounding shoreline usage and numbers and types of piers and boathouses, numbers of units and type of condo units and expressed concern regarding short term rentals of Condo units. It was pointed out that the current commercial zoning does not permit individually owned residential dwellings such as the proposed condos and this seemed to be one of the larger points of concern for the community. Concern was expressed of yet another started and failed development, leaving the community with unsightly cleared land and possible environmental issues. Suggestions were made in terms of bonds and other guarantees to the County as remedies for these types of issues. Traffic on the route 208 corridor was another concern voiced by many in attendance. Frustration was voiced to the county representatives at the meeting, stating that the County continues to approve plans for growth in areas where many feel the road infrastructure is already beyond capacity in the peak season. Other concerns ranged from the County’s ability to respond to a fire in an 80-foot-tall building with current fire apparatus to whether families with children of school age will occupy the condos posing a strain on the current school system. You can see LACA current position and suggestions for changes to the Plan HERE. July 2022 The Lake Anna Resort is alive and well! An application has been filed with Louisa County requesting that the two parcels of property, making up the 15 acres identified in the application, be rezoned from Commercial (C2) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) which is a use now consistent with the County’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan for the “Lake Anna Growth Area” in the 208 corridor. You may recall that a plan like this one was denied by the PC and BOS as not being consistent with the then current Comprehensive Plan, among other reasons, in 2014. The Developers General Statement of Objectives state that "The Lake Anna area would benefit from a leisure travel & business extended stay hotel and additional quality restaurant establishments. In addition, significant market demand exists for luxury residential single-level living condominiums offering an experience tailored towards affluent retirees, active adults, and vacation/2nd home buyers. These market segments are growing within the region and desire an upscale “fit and finish” with commensurate amenities, a maintenance-free lifestyle, and direct access to the lake. The proposed Lake Anna Planned Unit Development (“Development”) seeks to address these underserved market segments within the Lake Anna area. The project’s overall objective is to build a relevant, quality, upscale, and safe planned unit development community that will benefit all residents of Louisa County by providing needed hospitality alternatives, a luxury single-level living option, positive fiscal and economic impact, and employment opportunities in an environmentally and culturally sensitive way.” The Development is to be located in Louisa County’s primary Northern Virginia access gateway on New Bridge Road (Route 208), just west of the Route 208 bridge. The proposed planned unit development is within the Lake Anna Growth Area and, more specifically, the Route 208 corridor. As stated in the 2040 Louisa County Comprehensive Plan, “Mixed-Use development is desired along the Route 208 corridor providing an area for high quality commercial and residential development with a density higher than in other parts of this growth area.” The Applicant believes its vision for the Development supports these goals as outlined in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. This rendering includes the developers plan inserted in to an aerial photo of the cove showing the scale of the development. The subject assemblage is currently zoned Commercial C-2. This request is to rezone both properties to Planned Unit Development (“PUD”). If approved, the Development will fully embrace the growth area overlay standards for site and architectural design, landscaping, buffering, screening, and open space. In addition, the Development’s character will include many characteristics outlined in Sec. 86-310 of the Louisa County, VA Code of Ordinances The Development’s will include approximately 750 linear feet of road frontage on New Bride Road (Route 208) and 850 linear feet of lakeshore frontage. The Development includes:
The shoreline development plan includes approximately 62,000 sq/feet of over the water covered area for boathouses and other amenities. The property’s water requirements will be met by on site wells and water treatment system while the wastewater will be handled by a wastewater treatment facility currently in place in that area of the lake. Louisa County and the Applicant have entered a Memorandum of Understanding for Louisa County to purchase and upgrade an existing private wastewater treatment plant currently operated by Lake Anna Environmental Services and serving the Lake Anna Plaza development immediately across from the subject site location. Under the plan, this upgraded facility will continue to provide wastewater treatment for the Lake Anna Plaza customer’s, the added Lake Anna Resort’s wastewater treatment needs and perhaps that of future commercial development within Route 208 corridor. The terms for this agreement are included in the MOU and include Lake Anna Resort paying the County for the use of the wastewater treatment facility. This plan has received support throughout the community as the current facility has received less than passing marks from VDH, needs to be updated, and is believed to be less of an environmental risk to the lake and surrounding area under County ownership. _______________________________History_____________________________ Planning began on the Lake Anna Resort (LAR), slated for the area of the Route 208 Bridge across from the Lake Anna Plaza, in 2014 and a final site plan was approved in 2017. However, the property was sold to a new owner but no construction has yet begun. LACA began work in 2015 with concerns about water and sewer plans, shoreline structures, open space, water runoff and boat docks. Plans were modified and went thru several iterations before the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors approved a Site Plan in 2017. The most significant change was the determination that condominiums were inconsistent with current zoning and the developer had to switch to a hotel, the current configuration. The plan now calls for a 99-room “high-end” hotel (in 3 buildings), 10,500 sq.ft. of commercial space for a 90-seat restaurant and shops, a satellite restaurant of 90 seats, all in a “resort”-style setting. The plan also includes 205 parking spaces, a 25,000 sq.ft. “boatel” and two boat launch ramps. Beaches, docks and boathouses were not specified in this plan, though they could be added later for approval by Louisa County and Dominion Energy. For more information, please see the documents posted in our Land Use Library. |
