Charlotte County planning commission reviews Chapter 3 updates, urges growth corridor near Route 92/Highway 360

Chairman Andrew Carwile called the Charlotte County Planning Commission work session to order on Jan. 24 and invited the Commonwealth Regional Council to present proposed edits to the county’s draft comprehensive plan.

Lauren Jones with the Commonwealth Regional Council (CRC) reviewed updates and additions to the second half of Chapter 3 of the draft Comprehensive Plan. Commissioners asked CRC to track changes in forestland acreage over time and requested that the council add that data to the draft if possible.

Melody Foster, director of the Commonwealth Regional Council, reviewed the plan’s 2016 Future Land Use Map and asked whether commissioners wanted to revise mapped areas. Commissioners discussed conservation lands and the location of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property, and they raised the possibility of indicating private conservation easements on the map. A county staff member said the Future Land Use Map is not intended as a parcel-by-parcel guide and cautioned that showing private easements on specific parcels may not be beneficial for the countywide map.

Commissioners recommended adding a growth corridor at the intersection of Highway 360 and Route 92, citing the planned replacement of the Route 92 bridge as a driver for future development and access changes. The recommendation is advisory at this stage; no formal motion or vote was recorded in the transcript.

Participants also discussed watershed mapping. Staff explained that the watersheds shown on the 2016 map were related to the Keysville and Drakes Branch town lakes because Keysville’s lake serves as that town’s water source and the Drakes Branch lake could potentially serve as a water source. The CRC agreed to do additional research to identify appropriate watershed areas to display on the updated map. Commissioner Cornell Goldman recommended the CRC solicit input from the towns on watershed boundaries and related water-source considerations.

Foster asked whether other industrially zoned areas should be included to note potential future use and growth, and she said the county could consider adding guidance on potential solar sites later depending on the commission’s discussions with the Berkley Group. The CRC and county staff did not adopt any binding map changes at the session; instead, the council committed to follow up research and map refinements.

The work session concluded with the CRC and county staff assigned follow-up tasks; the chair then adjourned the meeting. Next steps recorded in the session: CRC research on watershed boundaries and consideration of forestland acreage tracking, plus follow-up conversation between the commission and the Berkley Group on solar siting guidance.