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Resident urges board to correct BZA zoning rulings and restore Ware's Wharf public access
Summary
At public comment, resident Joseph Bozeman challenged recent BZA interpretations of "farm use," urged the board to address claimed misfeasance, and asked the county to pursue restoring public access to Ware's Wharf based on a 1918 deed.
During the public comment period at the Essex County Board of Supervisors meeting, Joseph Bozeman urged the board to review and correct decisions by the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) that he said were permitting contractors and service businesses to be treated as "farm use" in A-2 zones.
Bozeman said: "I think the BZA is allowing contractors to be treated as farmers and their services to be considered farm use," arguing that firms such as fertilizer companies and insurance sellers are businesses, not farmers "on the premises." He asked the supervisors to "correct the BZA" and suggested failure to act amounted to misfeasance.
Bozeman also raised concerns about public road access to Ware's Wharf, saying VDOT "cannot find a record of having abandoned the public road at Ware's Wharf" and that he possesses a 1918 deed describing the public highway to the low watermark. He asked the board to seek a quitclaim deed back and not request VDOT to abandon the road "for the benefit of a private individual" allegedly represented by an LLC.
He additionally criticized perceived pressure on some county employees that led to departures and said supervisors should be held accountable if they coerced staff.
Chairman Acres thanked Bozeman for his remarks and the board closed public comment without additional speakers on the record.
Speakers quoted: Joseph Bozeman.
