Board approves amendment to Bridgewater Bay dock condition to match Appalachian Power permit

The Bedford County Board of Supervisors on June 9 adopted Resolution R060925-2 to amend condition 9 of a previously approved special-use permit for the Bridgewater Bay development so that boat slips will be constructed in accordance with permits issued by Appalachian Power Company.

The change replaces an older, unit-based phasing formula in condition 9 with the language, “Boat slips shall be constructed in accordance with applicable permits granted by Appalachian Power Company. No boat slips shall be rented to the general public.” Planning staff presented the amendment as necessary to align the county master plan with the AEP permit the developer obtained.

The amendment matters because the AEP permit sets a different allocation and phasing regime than the county’s existing condition. Planning staff told the board that the new AEP permit authorizes a total of 242 slips for the parcel: 128 new covered slips, 42 personal watercraft slips, 1 kayak slip, 4 existing floating slips and 67 existing covered slips. In contrast, the earlier approval allowed up to 370 slips (296 covered and 74 floating). “It’s a 45% decrease in our dock capacity,” Ryan Waters, representative of Bridgewater Development Group, said, describing the developer’s revised plan and an MOU the developer reached with the condominium owners’ association.

Waters said the existing master-plan language also prevented the developer from constructing two floating docks for personal watercraft that are necessary to correct current compliance issues. He described a provision that had allowed one floating slip for every four covered slips and said that with 67 covered slips already built, the formula permitted only 12 additional floating slips — fewer than the 24 PWC slips the developer needs to bring docks into compliance with AEP’s terms.

Planning staff noted the planning commission held a public hearing on June 3 and recommended approval of Special Use application SU25-0006 by a 5-0 vote. Staff also read the proposed replacement text for condition 9 into the record: “Boat slips shall be constructed in accordance with applicable permits granted by Appalachian Power Company. No boat slips shall be rented to the general public.”

After board discussion — including a supervisor who said the change reduces overall dock counts and an observation that obtaining AEP approval is difficult and typically restrictive — a supervisor moved adoption of Resolution R060925-2. The board recorded the motion and a roll-call vote; the chair announced the motion carries.

The approved amendment aligns the county’s permitting condition with the AEP-issued dock permit and clears the applicant to seek county building permits for the docks shown on the AEP plans, subject to the county’s remaining land-use review and permitting processes.