MT. JACKSON, Va. -- This week the Shenandoah Forum citizen's group asked the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission to deny the Special Use Permit application for the Franwood Farms property west of New Market.
In a letter dated May 4, 2009, to the Planning Commission Chairman Gary Lantz, Forum Chairman Rosemary H. Wallinger pointed to the vital role of Franwood Farms in the county's agricultural economy as well as the vision of the county's Comprehensive Plan that the county should remain agricultural and rural.
"Shenandoah Forum urges the Planning Commission to recommend denial, and the Board of Supervisors to deny approval of proposal such as this one that remove significant land from our agricultural economy and heritage and are therefore inconsisentent with the vision of our Comprehensive Plan," said Wallinger in the letter.
The letter also notes the county's current effort to rewrite its ordinance to ensure that they will implement the Comprehensive Plan's land use directives. "Currently, the County's Community Planning Project is working to identify the planning tools that will at last implement the Plan's vision for a rural, agricultural community that values its historic and natural resources," Wallinger wrote. "We hope that the CPP will result in stronger land use ordinances that will provide landowners with options and incentives for keeping their land in agriculture, thereby preserving the heritage and agricultural economy of our county."
The special use permit application has been filed by Mr. David Dolan, who is seeking to convert the property to a military training facility. A public hearing on the application was initially scheduled for May 7, but has been postponed at the request of the applicant.