River House short‑term lodging: Health permit issued for five bedrooms; commission to exclude remote bungalow pending septic solution

Scott Sidley sought a special‑use permit to operate more than one short‑term lodging unit on a 13.24‑acre A‑1 parcel at 36 Meadows Lane. Planning staff reported the Health Department issued an operating permit that allows "5 bedrooms" and a maximum of "10 occupants," providing the key condition staff had been waiting for.

Staff told the commission that existing site design had three guest structures identified as the main house, Bungalow 1 and Bungalow 2, and a third structure (Bungalow 3) on the opposite side of Meadows Lane. Mr. Ferguson said the septic system was installed as an aerobic system sized and permitted for the five total bedrooms now authorized; he said earlier concerns about graywater discharge had been remedied and the new permit was provided the afternoon of the workshop.

The commission and staff discussed Bungalow 3, across the public road. The applicant and his septic designer told the commission it may be possible in the future to connect that structure to the permitted system but doing so would require additional engineering, potential VDOT coordination to cross the road and a further Health Department review. The applicant asked whether future connection could be handled by a modification to the special‑use permit rather than a new permit; staff advised that such modifications have been done before but cautioned that an extended time limit could create an "abandoned use" complication if the work were not completed.

Because a path for Bungalow 3 was not established at the workshop, staff recommended the special‑use permit be tailored to the main house and Bungalow 1 and 2 "as illustrated on this site plan" and exclude overnight accommodation in the deck/building across Meadows Lane. No formal vote was taken; the matter will return for a joint hearing with the Health Department documentation entered in the record.