Planning commission recommends rezoning at 7092 Rapidan Road to allow barn, farm animals

The Orange County Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of a rezoning request for property at 7092 Rapidan Road in Rapidan, moving the parcel from Limited Residential (R‑1) to Agricultural (A) so the owners can rebuild a barn and keep farm animals.

Staff said the application is REZ‑2025‑00371. Planning Department representative Miss Davis told the commission the application (submitted by Carrie Holiday and John Bensco) seeks rezoning to permit agricultural uses, including farm animals, and to allow reconstruction of a barn that had burned. Miss Davis said the property is listed in the Rapidan Historic District and that the residence is a contributing structure; she also said the carriage house (national register nomination number 23a) likely was the barn that burned. Staff recommended approval of REZ‑2025‑00371 and provided a draft resolution (Resolution 25‑04) for the Board of Supervisors’ consideration.

The application materials contain inconsistent acreage figures: at the start of the hearing the parcel was described as 9.35 acres, while Miss Davis later stated the subject property is 4.3 acres. The transcript shows Miss Davis confirming the case number as 00371; the commission record should be consulted for the final, authoritative acreage figure.

Applicant Carrie Holiday spoke at the public hearing and said she had nothing further to add beyond the application; she told the commission her husband, a co‑applicant, was not present because he had broken his leg while cutting trees. There were no members of the public signed up to speak for or against the rezoning during the public hearing.

Commissioners raised no objections to the request during discussion. The commission moved to recommend approval; a roll call vote recorded ayes from Commissioners Bryanton, DePasquale, Capel, Vanhoven and Marshall. The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors for final action.

Staff noted there were no proffers offered with the application and that the site is approximately 250 feet from FEMA floodplain zone AE, as described in the staff presentation. Miss Davis also said the property is adjacent to Waddell Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Next steps: the planning commission’s recommendation will be included in materials sent to the Board of Supervisors; the board will make the final decision on the rezoning and on Resolution 25‑04.