Wednesday,
December 11, 2002
Plans
for building a resort hotel on the
former Art Farm property next to the
Virginia Horse Center can proceed,
thanks to zoning action taken by the
Board of Supervisors on Monday.
At
the request of the developers of the
proposed Virginia Inn, the supervisors
amended the county's land use regulations
so that buildings in the B-1 general
business district can be up to 75 feet
in height under certain circumstances.
Previously,
the maximum allowable height was just
45 feet. Under the new rules, a developer
can apply for a special exception permit
to erect a building that's up to 75
feet tall, provided the height above
the fourth story is for architectural
purposes only. There can be no habitable
space above the fourth story. Also,
property setbacks must be increased
in proportion to the added height of
the building.
The
supervisors voted unanimously to amend
the zoning ordinance to allow taller
buildings, to conditionally rezone
the 7.3-acre tract of land just east
of the horse center to B-1 from planned
business district B-2 and agricultural
and general uses district A-2 and to
grant a special exception permit to
the Virginia Inn developers so they
can build a 75-foot-tall building.
E.
Earl Patton of the E. Earl Patton Col.
and Parkwood Management Group Inc.
of Atlanta and Joe Harding of Harding & Associates
of Richmond are planning to develop
a resort hotel that would have 130
guest rooms, a 214-seat conference
center, a 120-seat theme restaurant,
a 200-seat "three meals a day" restaurant,
a 75-seat bar and lounge, a game room,
a sundries shop, a workout room and
indoor pool.
The
developers hope to begin construction
in the spring. The last remaining zoning
hurdle is to secure approval of the
exterior plans by the Tourism Corridor
Overlay Architectural Review Board.
At
a public hearing on the proposed zoning
actions, David Kleppinger, executive
director of the Rockbridge Area Economic
Development Council, spoke in favor
of the project. He said the $13.7 million
resort would generate $425,000 in annual
local tax revenues and would allow
the horse center to attract bigger
and better events.
"I
think it's a really, really nice opportunity
for Rockbridge County," said Nanalou
Sauder of the plans before making the
motion to approve the zoning actions
necessary for the project to move forward.
