Bedford Weaving drops lawsuit to block SML water project

Bedford County:

“A Bedford business is withdrawing a lawsuit filed last month seeking to halt construction on a massive project to pipe water from Smith Mountain Lake to Bedford and Forest. Bedford Weaving filed an injunction Jan. 7 against the Bedford Regional Water Authority in the county’s Circuit Court. The injunction claimed the entity’s creation as a merged system of the city of Bedford’s water and sewer department and Bedford County Public Service Authority did not properly specify the project as called for in the Virginia Water and Waste Act.

Kevin Mottley, a Richmond attorney representing Bedford Weaving, filed a motion for a non-suit Friday. When reached Monday, he did not address the reason for dismissal or comment further. ‘We’re dropping the suit,’ Mottley said. ‘It is what it is.’ Bedford Weaving, a company with 115 employees, claimed in the suit the project would increase rates and provide treated water from Smith Mountain Lake that could have ‘significantly greater hardness,’ leading to operational problems. The company was a customer for years of the former city and was folded into the BRWA customer base when the city reverted to a town last year.

Sam Darby, attorney for the authority, argued in a Jan. 24 response seeking to dismiss the case that the authority is granted ‘broad powers’ in undertaking projects beyond those specified in articles of incorporation and added the Smith Mountain Lake plan would not cause ‘irreparable harm’ to the company. Megan Rapp, authority spokeswoman, said Monday the non-suit motion does not come as a surprise. She said BRWA Chairman Elmer Hodge and another board member had met recently with Bedford Weaving leaders to alleviate concerns.”

~ Writes Justin Faulconer of The (Lynchburg) News & Advance

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Washington County supervisors optimistic about The Falls legislation

Washington County:

“As the Virginia House of Delegates version of the bill that modifies funding language for The Falls retail development — and includes land in Washington County — crosses over into the Senate, county leaders appear cautiously optimistic about its chances. ‘The glass is half-full,’ said Jason Berry, county administrator.

Although the Senate’s version of the bill was defeated — including a substitute motion that would have pulled the 200 acres of county land out — there is hope that House bill 593 will make it out of the Senate Finance Committee during crossover. The bill would change 2012 legislation to provide sales tax revenues to help fund construction of the city’s retail development project off of Interstate 81’s Exit 5. City leaders want to specify how and when the city would get sales tax payments, as each business is completed rather than at completion of the project as originally worded, and county leaders want to be added to the mix. Last fall, the city and county signed an agreement to work together on the legislation.”

~Writes Allie Robinson Gibson of the Bristol Herald Courier

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Winchester BZA Grants Waiver For Planned Cedar Creek Place

City of Winchester:

“The owner of a proposed apartment complex was granted a waiver Wednesday to construct one building a bit taller than allowed in part because the structure is being built into the side of a hill. The Winchester Board of Zoning Appeals voted 5-0 to grant the variance request for Cedar Creek Place LLC. In December, City Council rezoned the property so the company, headed by Scott Rosenfeld, could build 132 apartments and about 10,000 square feet of commercial space at 940 Cedar Creek Grade.

But the topography of the lot — it sloped 31 feet from back to front — created an issue for the developer. One of two four-story buildings planned on the site would measure 59 feet, 6 inches on the elevation facing Cedar Creek Grade. City regulations stipulate that the street-facing elevation is the one used, and the maximum height allowed is 55 feet.

Don Crigler, of city-based DFC Architects, told board members that many area jurisdictions use average elevations to determine the building height, and the average for the unit in question was below the maximum (less than 54 feet). He also said the other four-story building on the site has the same configuration, but it is perpendicular to Cedar Creek Grade and its side elevation is less than 55 feet. The design calls for garages to be on the ground level of the building with four residential floors above it. However, Crigler said the garages only make use of the slope into which the structure is built and do not add to the height.”

~ Writes Vic Bradshaw of The Winchester Star

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Newport News City Council will let courts determine fate of Pur Lux nightclub

City of Newport News:

“The Newport News City Council on Tuesday deferred a vote that would've effectively closed Jefferson Avenue nightclub Pur Lux Lounge. They did so after the club's landlord, Jefferson Restaurant Co., announced at the council meeting that it has already moved to evict Pur Lux.

Council members were poised to revoke a special zoning permit issued in September for the property, that allowed club owner Crystal Sawyer to operate a nightclub provided she met a series of conditions. City officials have said she failed to meet all those conditions but went ahead and opened for business in November anyway.

Matthew W. Smith, an attorney representing Jefferson Restaurant Co.'s managing partner Steven P. Frank, told the council ‘we are in the process of evicting the tenant from the premises.’ Sawyer, a Yorktown Naval Weapons Station employee, objected, saying ‘the eviction process is not under legitimate circumstances.’

She read from a series of emails that she said show city officials pressured Frank to have her evicted. ‘He did this to satisfy the city,’ Sawyer said. City officials and Sawyer have clashed since she started operations. After a series of inspections at the club, the city said Sawyer ran afoul of the conditions of her permit, as well as the city's fire and building codes.”

~ Writes Michael Welles Shapiro of The Daily Press

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