New Planning Commission members approved
At its Jan. 8 meeting, the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors named Midlothian supervisor Leslie Haley chairwoman for the year by a 4-1 vote with Jim Holland disssenting.
Haley was chair last year. Prior to the vote, Holland said he believed that the chair and vice chairman positions should be rotated among the supervisors, who serve four-year terms.
Matoaca supervisor Kevin Carroll was named vice chair in a unanimous vote. Bermuda supervisor Jim Ingle said that since Carroll is retired, he has the most availability to attend daytime meetings if Haley can’t.
Also approved were a couple of changes to the supervisors’ rules and procedures.
If an organization desires, its designee will be allowed to speak for 5 minutes during public comment if no other member of the organization speaks. Otherwise, each organization member could speak for 3 minutes.
By a 4-1 vote with Holland dissenting, the supervisors decided to eliminate a requirement that a proposed development be automatically deferred 30 days if any change is made after the case is advertised.
County Attorney Jeffrey Mincks noted that supervisors regularly suspended the rule in recent years.
Ingle said the supervisors should not have to defer a case if the developer makes a late change that is a better proffer than was advertised.
“I think the board should very sparingly suspend the rules,” Carroll said.
Clover Hill supervisor Chris Winslow said the board could still consider, defer, or remand the case back to the Planning Commission.
New PC members
The supervisors appointed LeQuan Hylton (Dale), Tommy Owens (Matoaca) and Frank Petroski (Midlothian) to the Planning Commission, replacing Michael Jackson, Craig Stariha and Peppy Jones, respectively. Gib Sloan (Bermuda) and Gloria Freye (Clover Hill) remain.
The planning commission members are paid $23,321 each.
Letter to delegation
The supervisors unanimously voted to enter into the record a recent letter the board sent to the county’s General Assembly delegation, a letter in support of constitutional gun rights as the Legislature considers new gun-control bills.
The letter notes that over 1,000 citizens attended the board’s Dec. 11 meeting, with nearly all of them supporting Second Amendment rights.
In part, the letter states, “We operate under the assumption that if an unconstitutional law is passed, the courts will be the arbiter for that dispute.”
2020 schedule
The supervisors approved a meeting calendar for the year. Their next meeting is Jan. 22. Additional upcoming meetings include: Feb. 19, March 11 (budget work session), March 25 (budget public hearing), April 8 (budget adoption), and April 22.
