Fluvanna Planning Commission to advertise agritourism zoning text amendment for public hearing Feb. 11

The Fluvanna County Planning Commission voted Jan. 14 to advertise a zoning-text amendment that would define agritourism and authorize agritourism activities by right in the A-1 agricultural district.

Planning staff told commissioners the proposed ZTA 25-01 would add a definition drawn from Virginia state code and explicitly list agritourism activities that would be permitted in the county’s A-1 zoning. Staff said codifying the definition is intended to clarify what uses fall under agritourism and therefore which activities the county may and may not enforce under its zoning code.

Commissioners discussed whether the language on the meeting packet matched the state code excerpt shown on the screen. Staff told the commission the resolution before them would adopt the state-code-based definition into county ordinance and asked whether the commission had questions.

A motion to advertise ZTA 25-01 for a public hearing on Feb. 11, 2025 carried after a second. The commission called the vote and the chair voted in favor.

Why it matters: county staff and commission members said the change aims to remove ambiguity that has arisen because Fluvanna’s code did not previously contain a local agritourism definition. Staff said the change would make clear what activities are allowed by right and what activities would remain regulated.

The item will return to the Planning Commission as a public hearing on Feb. 11. If the commission later votes to recommend adoption, the measure would proceed to the Board of Supervisors for final action.