Highland County Planning Commission’s January Meeting

The Highland County Planning Commission held it’s monthly meeting on January 27.

Officers were elected for 2022.  Dr. Joe Malcolm will serve as Chairman, Randy Richardson as Vice-Chairman and Zoning Administrator Josh Simmons as Secretary.

Josh Simmons reported that work is continuing on the Comprehensive Plan.  The Virginia Department of Transportation portion of the plan is now compliant with VDOT requirements.

Josh Simmons also gave a summary of the Planning Commission’s Annual Report for 2021.  Three conditional use permits were approved.  One for a restaurant on Jackson River Road, one for a campground at Hannah Field and one for a campground at Historytellers Productions in Head Waters.

The total received on building permits in 2021 was $5,231,054.80.  Three million of that was in the Monterey district.   Eleven new home permits were issued for a total of $1,821,725.00.   In 2021, a total of 105 permits went through the Building and Zoning office, compared to 74 permits in 2020.

It was reported that the Planning Commission had received a letter from VDOT, advising that the bridge on Route 220 at Strait Creek will be under construction in 2025.

There was also discussion about the possible revision of language in the RV ordinance, an agenda item which has been ongoing.  The Commission tabled action, until it can be reviewed again with County Attorney Melissa Dowd, who was absent from the meeting.

Story By

Bonnie Ralston

Bonnie Ralston is the Assistant Station Coordinator at WVLS and a Highland County news reporter. She began volunteering at Allegheny Mountain Radio in the fall of 2005. In 2006 she became an AMR employee and worked in Bath County for eight years as the WCHG Station Coordinator and then as the news reporter there. She began working in radio while in college and has stayed connected to radio, in one way or another, for more than thirty years. She grew up in Staunton, Virginia, while spending a lot of time on her family’s farm in Deerfield, Virginia. She enjoys spending time outside, watching old TV shows and movies and tending to her chickens.

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