Hello and welcome back to Danville Field Notes, a rundown of recent news in Danville and Pittsylvania County.
In this week’s column, I’m including an overview of a comprehensive plan amendment in Pittsylvania County, which moves siting guidelines for solar facilities from the zoning ordinance to the comprehensive plan. This was prompted by new regulations at the state level.
Also, read about a new hotel coming to Danville and a local rural health nonprofit that will participate in a federal academy program to increase its impact in the community.
As usual, let me know what you’d like to see in Danville Field Notes going forward. Email me at grace@cardinalnews.org.
Pittsylvania Board of Supervisors approves amendment to comprehensive plan on utility-scale solar facility guidelines
The Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve an amendment to the comprehensive plan, adding a section on siting policies for utility-scale solar facilities.
The amendment brings the county’s policy in line with new state regulations, said County Attorney Matt Evans at the meeting.
Previously, Pittsylvania required a minimum distance of five miles between any two utility-scale solar facilities and put a 2% cap on these projects. The cap meant that solar facilities in any given zoning district could not exceed 2% of that district’s acreage.
Those policies can no longer be in place because of new legislative requirements at the state level, said Kelly Smith, the county’s director of planning, at the meeting. New state regulations require localities to allow a special-use permit application for utility-scale facilities in every zoning district other than residential, she said.
“The state code prevents the county from operating as it has historically, with limiting utility-scale solar by distance or by percentage of land use,” Evans said.
The amendment gives the county more control over how land is used for solar development, he said.
County boards can then “rely on the language that’s being added and changed in the comprehensive plan to base their decisions so it’s not arbitrary and it’s not in violation of state code,” Evans said.
Siting guidelines for solar facilities were previously in the county’s zoning code. The amendment relocates those guidelines to the county’s comprehensive plan, which is “the appropriate place to have that guiding principal language” under the new state regulations, Smith said.
The section provides guidelines for evaluating special use permit applications and rezoning for solar facilities, and it includes recommendations for facility space, limits on concentration within zoning districts and consistency with the county’s long-range land-use goals, including agricultural preservation and designated growth areas.
The language addresses resident concerns, Evans said, specifically related to controlling and limiting solar facilities while still complying with state code.
Danville celebrates progress on new hotel on Riverside Drive
A new hotel on Riverside Drive in Danville is expected to open next July. The city celebrated its construction progress in a topping-out ceremony Wednesday.
The anticipated dual-brand hotel sits adjacent to an existing Hampton Inn and will become its sister property. It’s branded under two types of Hilton properties: Home2 Suites by Hilton, which is geared for extended stays with amenities like in-room kitchens, and Tru by Hilton, which are more traditional hotel rooms meant for shorter stays.
There will be 75 Home2 Suites rooms and 68 Tru rooms across the 143-room, 81,000-square-foot property. The hotel will also have a pool, a fitness center, a business center and pet-friendly rooms.
A topping-out is a ceremonial tradition that happens when a new building receives its last or highest beam.
Patrick Dewberry, general manager for Danville’s Hampton Inn and the area manager for the new property, said that the hotel will aid the city’s economic growth by creating new jobs and accommodating visitors.
Danville Mayor Alonzo Jones thanked the developers at the ceremony, saying “you could’ve chosen anywhere else, but you chose Danville.”
A Dry Fork nonprofit is one of three organizations nationwide to be selected for a rural health academy
Timeless Traditions Foundation is a Pittsylvania-based nonprofit that supports health, housing and economic goals in the county. The nonprofit was selected to join this year’s cohort of the Rural Health Community Capacity Academy, a program of the National Rural Health Association.
More than 60 applicants across the country applied, and only three were selected, according to a news release from Timeless Traditions.
As a participant in the academy, Timeless Traditions will spend the next year engaging in one-on-one coaching sessions on how to build sustainable, community-driven capacity to address local health and human services, the release states.
The academy is designed to help nonprofit organizations, rural health clinics, local governments and other groups “strengthen their ability to identify and respond to the needs of the rural communities they serve,” the release states.
Timeless Traditions was launched last year and is located at the Carter Farm, a 45-acre parcel within a 160-acre land consortium in Dry Fork.
The nonprofit prioritizes four pillars: legacy and cultural stewardship, ancestral health and wellness, economic mobility and entrepreneurship, and land and housing stewardship.
The organization currently operates a community garden at the Carter Farm, growing produce and donating it to local cancer patients. So far this year, it has distributed 300 pounds of fresh produce to the community, partnering with Sovah Health, Virginia Cooperative Extension, cancer centers at the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University, and the Danville-Pittsylvania Cancer Association.
Eventually, the farm will also be the site of the Echo Valley microresort, which will offer glamping, gardening and other outdoor activities.
Bethann West James, executive director of Timeless Traditions, is spearheading the effort to bring this micro resort to the land that’s been in her family for 140 years.
Dry Fork and Pittsylvania are federally designated medically underserved areas, she said, as well as maternity care deserts.
“The challenges our neighbors face didn’t appear overnight,” James said. “The solutions won’t either.”
By participating in the rural health academy, which runs from this month to July 2027, Timeless Traditions will strengthen its organizational systems, deepen community engagement strategies and build long-term sustainability, the release states.
