County, looking to save money, scraps vehicle decals

For Albemarle residents who consider county vehicle decals a hassle, officials have made their lives a bit easier.
The move to eliminate county decals altogether is expected to save the county about $14,800 next year in decal, envelope and postage costs, in addition to significantly freeing up staff time.

“The decals were eliminated primarily as a convenience to the citizens,” county spokeswoman Lee Catlin wrote in a statement.
The Board of Supervisors’ consensus to ditch decals, which occurred at its Wednesday meeting, comes on the heels of more than 50 Virginia localities eliminating the requirement. Decals had been used to identify vehicles within localities, but the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles now provides that information.

The Board of Supervisors Wednesday also unanimously approved an amendment to the county’s Comprehensive Plan that referenced what officials call outdated information about the area’s long-term water supply plan.
Supervisor Dennis S. Rooker said that the Comprehensive Plan was simply updated to reflect the area’s water supply plan and current information.
Rooker said that the amendment doesn’t lock the county into the current water supply plan.
The water supply plan now undergoing intense scrutiny would construct a higher dam at Ragged Mountain Reservoir and pipe water from there to the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir.

If the plan were to change, the board could update the Comprehensive Plan accordingly, Rooker said.
The amendment crossed out reference to a 1977 report that said expanding the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir, using water from Buck Mountain Creek and developing the James River as a water source were the only viable alternatives.
The amendment proposal had been carried over from a November meeting.
Supervisors also agreed that the public should be given a second chance to look at a Crozet lumber company’s bid to expand its business opportunities by altering the county’s Comprehensive Plan.

The Albemarle Planning Commission voted 6 to 1 last month against further studying a proposal to expand the county’s growth area around R.A. Yancey Lumber Corp. But when an amended proposal was presented to the board on Wednesday, supervisors asked that the public be able to consider the proposal when Crozet revisits its Master Plan.
The proposal would provide additional light industrial space in the county.
Some officials said there is insufficient affordable land available for industrial use. However, other officials have questioned whether the expansion requested by the Yanceys would be in the best location and whether the zoning approval would create an unnecessarily large area designated for industrial use.