Good evening, everyone.

The February 24th, 2026 Loudon County Planning Commission public hearing will now come to order, as is our custom.

Let us stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

And to the Republic for which stands one nation.

Members of the public who wish to comment on any item on the public hearing legislative agenda may do so.

If you are in the boardroom, please fill out a speaker slip and hand it to the assistant deputy clerk of the planning commission at the end of the dais to my left.

If you are participating electronically, please call the number at the bottom of the screen.

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Indicate your name and the agenda item you want to address.

Each speaker, whether speaking on behalf of an organization or as an individual, will have three minutes.

Thank you.

Maybe this way, nope.

For myself, on February 17th, I met with Kathleen Lunar Jack Story, John Mole Mulligan and Laura Meadows regarding the Aspen substation application.

And on uh February 18th, I met with uh Mike Romeo and Chris Avery regarding the Fleetwood Road Development Application.

All right, our first item tonight is LEGI 2025-41 Duval properties, special exception 2025-114, special exception 2025-115, and special exception 2025-11.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Well, Matt gets set up.

I would like to introduce Matt.

So Matt, this is Matt Kessler.

We comes to us from the city of San Diego.

So we stole him from San Diego, but uh he's been here for about seven months.

And this is uh his first application before the commission.

Welcome.

Weather is much nicer here, isn't it?

I am still in the adjustment period.

We already joined the meeting, Amanda.

Can close it?

Okay.

And just oh, there you go.

Go for it.

All right, good evening.

My name is Matt Kessler with the Department of Planning and Zoning.

Here to present this application for the Duval property.

As of 5 p.m.

today, staff has not received any public comment.

The subject property is located north of Route 7 in the western portion of the Catocton election district near the West Virginia border, which can be seen here on the left side of the vicinity map.

The site is approximately 44.6 acres in size, zoned AR1, and is largely undisturbed with dense mature vegetation.

The site currently contains a small shed and detached deck.

Tree crops lane, the road that provides access to the property, bisects the site from north to south.

The applicant requests three special acception requests to allow for the construction of a private residential driveway within the mountainside overlay district or MOD.

All three requests are for MOD regulations and stem from two main triggers: very steep slopes and sensitive soil types.

It should be noted that while this application is for a residential driveway, the home itself is to be built at a future date and it is not within the scope of this application.

This annotated specs plat shows the location of the MOD features and proposed improvements.

The bright yellow line snaking up the hillside to the left of Tree Crops Lane shows the proposed driveway leading to the future residence.

The sensitive soils are located within the pink highly sensitive MOD overlay, which covers the majority of the property.

The red cross-hatched areas show locations where the driveway would cross patches of very steep slopes, which is defined as grades that exceed 25%.

The location of the home and driveway are further limited by the existence of a conservation easement across the property, which limits development to the building envelope shown in orange.

The rural north place type considered single family residential development a complementary use.

The proposed driveway provides a necessary access for this use and is consistent with the rural low density character of the surrounding area.

In addition, the soils and geologic resource resources policies of the general plan aim to minimize grading, clearing, and erosion of sensitive soils and uh slopes.

The placement and design of the driveway proposes only the minimum amount of disturbance possible to sensitive features consistent with these policies.

Staff is recommending several conditions, including land disturbance and erosion control measures as recommended in the provided geotechnical report.

Staff is also recommending a condition that the existing structures be relocated outside of the highly sensitive MOD and that a remove a remedial revegetation plan be provided for that area of disturbance.

Staff supports a planning commission recommendation of approval of the specs request to the board of supervisors, subject to the conditions of approval.

Staff is available for any questions.

Thank you.

All right, thank you.

Questions for staff commissioner Jasper.

Thank you.