Board, IDA push draft covenants for Seneca Commerce Park; staff to return with final document

The Board of Supervisors and the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) reviewed a six- to seven-page draft of deed-recorded covenants intended to guide development and protect public investments at Seneca Commerce Park.

The document, presented by county staff and IDA leaders, would apply to all lots in Seneca Commerce Park and covers signage, lighting spillover, front-yard setbacks, parking location and surfacing, limits on temporary structures, stormwater maintenance responsibilities, restrictions on subdividing master-planned parcels, and a seller’s right-of-first-refusal and buy‑back option for greenfield parcels that do not commence development within specified time periods.

The covenants’ authors said the draft was pared down from larger public-park examples to avoid overly restrictive language while protecting the county’s investment, including two county-funded shell buildings. Vance Trisco, chairman of the IDA, and Dennis Rossert, vice chair, told supervisors the IDA incorporated prior board feedback and wants the covenants recorded before additional lots fill with new development.

Why it matters: County staff said Seneca is drawing growing commercial interest, and the covenants would…