Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 1 · column 1 of 3 · from the scan, no model involved
Supervisors approve lighting
ordinance, pay increase
By Nicholas M. Horrock
Rappahannock News Staff Writer
After five years of sometimes acrimonious county debate, the Rappahannock Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance last Wednesday that sets legal restrictions on the amount of outside lighting brightness that a commercial establishment can display.
The ordinance only covers commercial and business properties in Rappahannock’s few commercially zoned areas.
The board voted four to one to pass the ordinance. Supervisor Ron Frazier of Amissville opposed the ordinance, arguing that it “is one more restriction on owners’ property rights.” He said the ordinance is unnecessary and that the county could control objectionable lighting on a case by case basis under current zoning law.
David L. Konick, former zoning official and a primary opponent of the ordinance was not at the public hearing. He claimed that under his reading of Virginia law, the supervisors have no power to pass such a restriction and are setting up the county for a legal defeat.
County Attorney Peter Luke stated on several occasions before the vote that the ordinance is on solid legal ground.
The ordinance requires persons planning to have outside lighting at a commercial enterprise to include with their plans a detailed description of the lighting and set its brightness in “foot candle” terms, a widely accepted measurement for brightness.
Under Virginia law the proposed ordinance, officially recommended by the Planning Commission, cannot be made more restrictive without a complete new public hearing process. But the supervisors can ease some restrictions or leave them alone,
See LIGHTING, Page A5
95.1%