Authority approves timbering plan for preservation tract in Bar Hills subdivision with conditions

The Albemarle County authority approved a forestry (timbering) plan for a roughly 30-acre core stand of loblolly pine within a preservation tract tied to the Bar Hills rural preservation development easement. The plan, shown to the authority and supported by a Department of Forestry forest-stand plan, recommends clear-cutting the infested stand to facilitate replanting of hardwoods and future selective thinning.

Adam Bechtel, the property owner who attended the meeting, told the authority his goal is to restore habitat and reintroduce hardwoods after pine bark-beetle infestation and past mismanagement left the stand unstable. ‘‘If I leave it, it's gonna just cause a real management problem because it's starting to collapse on itself,’’ Bechtel said.

Why it matters: the tract lies within or adjacent to a recorded preservation easement (granted in 1983) that restricts some construction and nonagricultural uses. Staff and members reviewed the submitted forest-stand plan, the distance from streams and potential environmental impacts, and the location relative to the easement boundary.

The authority discussed condition-setting and follow-up items in two areas: utility access and above-ground utility infrastructure, and whether certain replacement or access work would require separate approvals. Staff noted the access road and a 50-foot platted access easement that could provide less intrusive utility routing; authority members said they would follow up with Dominion and with county building staff to clarify whether above-ground transformers or poles would be permitted across preservation land or whether undergrounding with restoration of surface appearance would be required.

The board moved and seconded a motion to approve the timber plan for the specified stand as consistent with the easement’s conservation purpose and forestry recommendations; members voted unanimously in favor. At the same time, members said questions about utility access and above-ground infrastructure would be handled separately and could require additional agreements or conditions.

Clarifying notes recorded during debate: the forested stand is approximately 600 feet from the nearest stream channel, staff said, and the plan recommends replanting and later selective thinning to favor hardwoods. The easement language staff quoted prohibits permanent dwellings on the preserved tract except farm buildings and structures; the owner said he intended to breathe life back into an existing agricultural building rather than create a new dwelling on the preservation tract.

Next steps: staff will consult with Dominion and county building/planning staff on utility routing options and whether additional approvals or deed language are required; the authority said it would bring any required utility-related measures back to the board.

Attendees: Adam Bechtel attended to discuss the plan; staff and multiple authority members questioned details and agreed to follow up on utility and access issues.