Rural Retreat revitalization effort gets started

Rural Retreat:

“Rural Retreat kicked off its Downtown Revitalization project Tuesday with a presentation by economic revitalization specialist Hilary Greenberg who told residents that if they want their project to be successful, they must have a clear vision of what they want downtown to be and who they want to attract. In addition, community leaders must maintain their focus and not get sidetracked by projects that will inevitably pop up that are not within that vision.

‘You can’t do everything,’ she said. ‘You have to be careful and don’t lose focus.’ Greenberg, owner of Greenberg Development Services in Charlotte, N.C., works with towns with populations under 10,000. She said other keys to success are keeping the bar high, knowing who you are, building strong partnerships, being well organized, focusing on domino projects and not single projects, and not copying other downtowns.”

~Writes Millie Rothrock of SWVA Today

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County to evaluate agritourism policies

Nelson County:

“In the past decade, the Virginia General Assembly has passed several pieces of legislation that create a more lax environment for agritourism businesses — such as wineries and breweries — in terms of zoning and building regulations. In the same time frame, the agritourism industry has grown throughout the state, including in Nelson County.

Now, in response to such bills, Nelson County staff is in the preliminary phase of drafting proposed amendments to the Nelson County Code that will re-evaluate existing policies in agriculture zones. The proposals are slated to be presented to the Nelson County Board of Supervisors at their May 13 meeting. The proposed amendments are aimed to establish ‘updated zoning policies that respond to the growth and operations of the agritourism industry, and to provide a framework for establishing consistent and efficient land-use decisions,’ said Nelson County Planning & Zoning Director Tim Padalino.

He said in an email Monday that ordinance amendments typically only affect applications submitted after the amendments are enacted and would not affect existing businesses or projects, but ‘that important detail will have to be addressed by the board of supervisors.’”

~Writes Katherine Lacaze of the Nelson County Times

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New bill could impact agritourism

Orange County:

“A new law regarding agritourism could cause some confusion in Orange County. The law, commonly referred to as the Boneta Bill, protects certain activities at agricultural operations from local regulation providing those activities don’t have a substantial impact on the public welfare. Under the new legislation, localities can’t subject agritourism activities, the sale of agricultural and horticultural products or related items, the preparation of foods that otherwise comply with state law and other customary activities to special use permit requirements unless they have a substantial impact on health, safety or public welfare.

Proponents of the bill, which grew out of legislation developed by Thornburg delegate Bobby Orrick and Montross delegate Richard Stuart, say it will increase consumer access to locally produced goods while also giving farmers new markets and a more favorable regulatory climate. The bill is the product of more than a year of discussion by a working group assembled by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore. Virginia Farm Bureau was one of several interest groups participating in discussions. The working group was assembly following a 2013 failed attempt to amend the state’s right-to-farm law.

The new legislation is named after Martha Boneta, a farmer who in 2012 was accused by Fauquier County zoning officials with multiple permitting violations and threatened with fines for activities on her farm, including pumpkin carvings, yoga classes and a child’s birthday party.”

~Writes Gracie Hart Brooks of the Orange County Review

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Fields of Gold Receives Chamber Tourism Award

Central Shenandoah PDC:

“On April 8th, Bonnie Riedesel and Elizabeth McCarty accepted the Greater Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Tourism Business award for the Fields of Gold agritourism program.  The awards were given at the Chamber's Annual Business and Awards Ceremony held at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel.  The Chamber awards recognize outstanding individuals, businesses, and organizations in the community.  Awards were presented to: Outstanding Industry; Outstanding Small Business; Outstanding Community Organization; Outstanding Tourism Business; Outstanding Citizen; Outstanding Agriculture Business;Sponsor of the Year; Volunteer of the Year; and Ambassador of the Year.”

~Central Shenandoah PDC