ASHLAND PARKS & REC
DRPT PROPOSAL Panel sought deferral on rail plan during talks in Reston PAGE
Town preparing guide to set up network of trails
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Vol. 3 No. 11 | Richmond Suburban News | September 27, 2017
U.S. welcomes 60 new citizens at Scotchtown Logan Barry for The Hanover Local
Story on page 4
Jie Li, an immigrant from the People’s Republic of China, poses for a celebration photo with the Honorable David J. Novak, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District Court of Virginia, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, at Patrick Henry’s Scotchtown in Beaverdam, where she was officially naturalized into an American citizen during a patriotic ceremony and official federal court proceeding along with 59 other immigrants.
Broadband, rail proposal dominate council talks By Logan Barry for The Hanover Local
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SHLAND — Minor updates to a request for proposal (RFP) in which the Town of Ashland is working on in efforts to install broadband, or dark fiber, within its corporate limits were made during discussions at last week’s regular meeting of Ashland Town Council. Throughout September, town staff worked on refining the RFP to install dark fiber, consulting with other localities, partners from the private sector and Virginia’s Center of Innovative Technology. Matt Reynal, operations manager for Ashland’s Public Works Department, announced the updates to council members at the Sept. 19 regular meeting. One of the changes, he said, was a shift
in the proposed northernmost endpoint, or terminus, from the Holland Tract to the southeast corner of Archie Cannon Drive and Henry Street. The updated northern terminus is located on townowned property. In a document outlining the discussion item, it states that the three primary destinations remain, which are the Ashland Police Station, FARRAR Ashland Town Hall and a northern terminus that is adjacent to the Holland Tract. In addition, Hanover County School Board offices, as well as Randolph-Macon
College, will still be able to connect to the broadband system. Another update Reynal announced was an estimate for the cost of trenching in fiber per mile, which he said could be anywhere between $60,000 to $80,000 for the Mid-Atlantic region. “It’s not necessarily as high as we had thought, but obviously not a small amount — we’re looking at a total of a two-and-ahalf to three-mile route as our first proposal,” Reynal said. He noted how that length fell within the budget numbers that have been included over the years. Placed at every public road intersection along the dark fiber’s installment route will be connection boxes, or handholes, that will help to improve future see BROADBAND, pg. 4 }
Planners tackle what’s next for neighborhoods By Logan Barry for The Hanover Local
ASHLAND — An update to a residential zoning ordinance being proposed by the Town of Ashland was at the forefront of discussion during the Ashland Planning Commission’s regular meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 13. Planning Commissioners listened to Garet Prior, senior planner in the town’s planning and community development department, as he gave a presentation on the ordinance proposal. After Prior’s presentation, commissioners exchanged different ideas and came to a consen-
sus. Town staff will draft an ordinance with the updated proposal revisions and will be resubmitted for next month’s meeting. To see the proposal documents that were being reviewed during the meeting, visit the “Town Meetings” section of the Ashland local government’s website at www.town.ashland.va.us. “What’s next for Ashland Neighborhoods?” That’s the question being asked, as the town plans an update in the residential zoning ordinance throughout parts of Ashland. Some of the proposed requirements that dealt with residential housing were focused on roof pitches on houses, “detached” garages and street-
facing front doors. Areas that are being looked at by commissioners have future land use classifications that are: Town Edge, Traditional Neighborhoods, and Mixed Neighborhoods. Some of these residential areas include the LauraDell development, Wesley Infill, James Infill, Maple Street, Woodside Lane, and East Ashland. Examples of items that are being assessed are: short-term rentals, home occupation, accessory or auxiliary dwelling units such as medical in-law suites and the differences between the districts in Ashland. Bingo was even a topic of discussion, as
to whether to regulate it. Commissioner Bob Flanagan, chairman, expressed some concerns with the idea of no regulation. He said he doesn’t have a concern with the game, but the types of hazards it could cause with traffic and parking if anyone can operate a Bingo club commercially without being regulated. Commissioner Charles Selden was all right with the idea of not regulating Bingo, saying, “My personal feeling is that these are the certain fluctuations that you have in a community and I’m cool with it.” see PLANNERS, pg. 5 }