Planning Commission backs Waddle conservation-easement support by amending Future Land Use Map to Agriculture

At the October 24 joint public hearing, Tommy Oravetz of the Virginia Outdoor Foundation presented on behalf of Greg and Kyli Waddle seeking to amend the Smyth County Comprehensive Plan’s Future Land Use Map. The requested change would reclassify multiple parcels (Tax Map Nos. 64-A-5A, 64-A-6, 64-A-7, 64-A-20) from Village Residential and Commercial/Industrial to Agriculture to facilitate a conservation easement protecting roughly 600 of the Waddles’ acres.

Oravetz described karst features and cliff-side topography that make much of the property unsuitable for development; commissioners and staff discussed tax implications and permanence of easements. Commissioners noted trade-offs between preserving prime farmland and potential future development opportunities; after deliberation, the Commission moved to recommend the Board approve the Comprehensive Plan amendment to support the conservation easement. Subsequent minutes record that the Board remanded the Commission’s recommendation on Dec. 19 for further consideration, and later actions reflected mixed votes in December; staff explained easements are generally permanent and that certain acreage had previously been approved in the adjacent county.