Northern Virginia Governments Push to Change Bay Act Regulations Fairfax County is working to refine its recently adopted ordinance by incorporating IDAs. And while Arlington, Vienna, and Prince William County are busy implementing their new ordinances, these remaining localities are still working on their revisions: TOWN OF HERNDON Herndon's Planning Commission has decided to notify property owners who are affected by the CBPO revisions, with bulletins scheduled to be distributed the week of September 14, 2003. A closed Planning Commission work session is set for September 22, 2003, with a public hearing scheduled for October 6, 2003 at 7:30 p.m. Town Council work session is currently slated for November 4, 2003, with a public hearing to follow on November 11, 2003 at 7:30 p.m. The expected effective date of the new ordinance is also November 11, 2003. For questions regarding Herndon's adoption process or amendments, contact Dan Lucey. CITY OF FAIRFAX The City's Planning Commission has scheduled a work session to discuss CBPO changes on September 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Room 306 at the City Hall building. The Planning Commission public hearing is scheduled to follow on October 20, 2003 at 7:30 p.m., with a City Council public hearing on November 11, 2003 at 7:00 p.m. Both hearings will be held in Room 305 at Fairfax City Hall. For questions regarding Fairfax City's adoption process or amendments, contact Steve Rottenborn. CITY OF ALEXANDRIA The City of Alexandria staff is having a public workshop on September 22, 2003 at 7:30 p.m. in Alexandria City Hall to discuss the City's existing Environmental Management Ordinance, which includes Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance provisions. Among other items, the City will address the process it plans to take to develop a revised CBPO ordinance, discuss its stream classification project, and announce a projected implementation schedule. The public is encouraged to attend and offer feedback. For questions regarding the City of Alexandria's adoption process or proposed amendments, contact Laura Giese. STAFFORD COUNTY Stafford County Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of proposed revisions to the County's Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance on August 27, 2003. The County's Board of Supervisors is scheduled to meet on December 2, 2003 to vote on adoption of the ordinance revisions. In keeping with our active role in local CBPO goings-on, WSSI had the opportunity to comment on the proposed ordinance revisions prior to Stafford's Planning Commission's public hearing. And several of the issues raised by WSSI were addressed by Stafford's Planning Department prior to sending the draft ordinance to its Planning Commission for approval. These issues included: Mapping – Stafford County is beginning the process of updating its CBPA maps by depicting all streams with drainage areas of 40 acres or greater (the median drainage area of a perennial stream in Fairfax County's pilot study) to potentially be RPAs. These maps will not be definitive, however, as they are in Fairfax County. Once the maps are updated, the proposed changes will be advertised for a public hearing so that public comment can be received. Notification – Since Stafford is not producing definitive maps and will require site-specific interpretations of stream perenniality, specific notification to affected landowners will not be undertaken. Stream Determinations – Site-specific interpretations for stream perenniality will be required upon the submittal of development plans. The method for determining stream perenniality will not be listed in the ordinance. However, discussions with County Planning Department staff indicate that as an unwritten policy they will recommend that applicants use the North Carolina or Fairfax County methods. Effective Date – The effective date of the ordinance will be the date of local adoption (likely December 2, 2003), not March 1, 2002 as originally drafted. Variance Lifetime – In the event a variance is obtained by an applicant from the County authorizing encroachment within the 100-foot preservation buffer, it is proposed that the variance will run with the property and will not have an expiration date. Vesting - The County will not address vesting in the Ordinance. Planning Department staff stated (verbally) that if a preliminary plan is approved for a project prior to the effective date of the ordinance, that project will not be required to comply with the revised ordinance provided that a lot within the project is recorded within one year of the preliminary plan approval. For questions regarding Stafford County's amendments, contact Dan Lucey. Refer to this Schedule Matrix to see activities by locality for a quick reference update for all Northern Virginia CBPO amendment adoptions. For general information about Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance goings-on in Northern Virginia, contact Mike Rolband or Mark Headly.