AGENDA DATE: 1/12/2022
TITLE:
Resolution for Scenic River Designation for the James River
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Adopt a resolution to support extending the State Scenic River designation for the James River to include the remaining portion within Albemarle County, from the Nelson County line at Howardsville to one mile upstream of the Warren boat ramp.
ITEM TYPE: Consent Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Walker, Kamptner, Herrick, Filardo, McCulley, Rapp, Maliszewski, Biasiolli
PRESENTER (S): N/A
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: In 2019, the County of Albemarle and the Town of Scottsville, together with the Counties of Buckingham, Fluvanna, and Nelson, requested that the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) study whether the James River from Allen's Creek to Columbia qualified for designation as a State Scenic River. In October 2019, the DCR completed its study from one mile upstream of the Warren boat ramp running approximately 20 miles to New Canton and concluded that that section was eligible for designation.
Attachment A is the County's letter of request to DCR and Attachment B is DCR's 2019 James Scenic River Report (updated in April 2020), which includes this study of eligibility, as well as a description of the process in making the determination and impacts of a designation.
Following DCR's initial study, on January 15, 2020, the Board adopted a resolution to support State Scenic River designation for the Warren-New Canton section, approximately seven miles of which is located in Albemarle County. The 2020 Virginia General Assembly added the Warren-New Canton section to the James State Scenic River.
In September of 2020, the DCR completed its study of the remaining River sections and determined that two remaining sections also qualify for designation. A letter from the DCR confirming this qualification is provided as Attachment C. The two new sections, combined with the o...
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