Your planning commission is the county's future

by Paul R. Farmer, Summer 2005

The Rappahannock County Planning Commission … its name says it all. The appointed members of this largely advisory panel are commissioned by our elected Board of Supervisors to plan the future land use of this county and to oversee the zoning and subdivision ordinances of the Rappahannock County Code.

This may seem like mundane work that you hope never to have to witness, but if you ever have the opportunity to watch the Planning Commission in action, you will be impressed by the obvious dedication of county citizens working together to serve the interests of every Rappahannocker. The commission struggles with some of the biggest local issues that affect us all: the county’s comprehensive plan, land-use planning strategies, zoning and subdivision codes, lighting ordinances, special exceptions, property rights—or as summed up in the county code, "…the orderly growth and development of Rappahannock County."

The Planning Commission has a new chairman this year, Charles Strittmatter. He and his wife, Susan, live on their Clorevia Farm, where they enjoy their horses. Strittmatter is also Chairman of the Board for the Old Dominion Hunt. He is semi-retired from his own family business.

Strittmatter takes an eager, organized, business approach to challenges and work in general. "We planned the work; now we need to work the plan," he says, referring to the Planning Commission's 2004 rewrite of the county's comprehensive plan. The gleam in his eye suggests that he wants to ensure that the plan is more than a reference document that gets pulled down from the shelf and rewritten every five years. He is clearly focused on the document as our guide for future land-use planning.

Strittmatter has nothing but praise for the other members of the Planning Commission, whom he commends for the cooperative way they work together, and for the county's supervisors, who he says are "…really supportive of the Planning Commission."

Besides holding the chair, Strittmatter represents Wakefield District. He strongly believes that the best way to protect the county from rampant residential development is for individual landowners to place their property in conservation easement. As successful as the easement strategy has already been in the county, he suggests that when landowners come to understand the financial as well as conservation benefits of donating easements, the practice will gain momentum here.

Rappahannock’s requirement that the minimum average zoning density in conservation and agriculture districts
be 25 acres is the most important deterrent to rapid, high-density development. This requirement was
the brainchild of a former Planning Commission. The actions of our current commission will likely shape the future of key aspects of our environment as well.

Fortunately, the commissioners like to hear from those they represent, so make your views known, whether by coming to a Planning Commission meeting and speaking to the entire panel during the regular public comment period, or by phoning your commissioner. Your voice can make a difference.

Although the commission and the board do not normally meet together, they appear to operate with a great deal of synchronicity-reflecting, no doubt, shared values and concerns for our county and its citizens, and shared outlooks for our future. This is good news for RLEP and for all of us.

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