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Ag center proposed for Forks of Water area
BY JAMES JACENICH • STAFF WRITER
 | | Left: Scott Smith, acting as an agent for Mead Westvaco, submitted a conditional use permit application to the Highland County Planning Commission build an agricultural center on a 5.4 acre hayfieldowned by Westvaco fivemiles north Monterey on Potomac River Road. (Recorder photos by James Jacenich) |
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MONTEREY - Highland County is one step closer to becoming the home of the Alleghany Highlands Agricultural Center.
The project to bring an animal processing facility and agricultural training center to the Highlands began four years ago as a study initiated by The Highland Center and paid for by a grant from the Alleghany Regional Commission. A private steering committee made up of farmers and others with agricultural interests in the four-county region of Highland and Bath in Virginia, and Pocahontas and Pendleton in West Virginia, formed to begin planning the project.
Earlier this year, the steering group, represented by Scott Smith, began exploring options in Highland.
But there was a problem. Highland County's zoning ordinance did not permit abattoirs outside of business zones and the only business zones in Highland were located in or near towns and villages where the steering committee considered it unlikely an abattoir would be approved.
 | | Westvaco's wood processing plant is located directly across the highway from the proposed site of the Alleghany Highlands agricultural center. |
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To make a Highland location feasible, the board of supervisors changed the law to allow slaughterhouses as a conditional use in agricultural (A-2) and light industrial (M-1) zones.
The county also changed the law to allow livestock markets in A-2 or M-1 zones.
Last week, the steering committee explained its intention to purchase 5.4 acres from MeadWestvaco on the west side of U.S. 220 about fivemiles north of Monterey on M-1 zoned property. Smith, acting as agent for Westvaco for the sole purpose of obtaining the conditional use permit, presented the application to the Highland County Planning Commission last Thursday.
The steering committee doesn't have the money to build the $1 million facility and investors have not yet committed to the project, Smith said.
 | | Scott Smith of the Alleghany Highlands Agricultural Center steering committee presented a rough sketch of the proposed Ag. Center to the Highland County Planning Commission last Thursday. Far from being a final design and subject to change, though representative of the approximate size of the final architectural design, the sketch shows that half of the 5.4 acres under consideration for purchase will remain as pasture land. The other half of the property will contain parking and the 40 feet by 64 feet building. |
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No government money will be spent on the project, nor will any tax cuts or other government benefits be asked for, Smith said.
Smith said other sites were considered in the region but this one was the best. The proposed agricultural center would be on a main artery with close proximity to Pendleton County, fulfillingthe multi-county, multi-state objective of the steering group. There are four industries within a mile - including Virginia Trout Co. and the MeadWestvaco lumberyard - and the site is away from Highland's major population centers.
The possibility of sharing transportation with the nearby trout company also made the site attractive, said Smith.
The facility is no larger than it needs to be to meet the needs of the region, he added. The footprint of the 40 by 64 foot facility would not cover the entire property and the tract is not too large for its intended purpose. The acreage is relatively flat, which is conducive to building a small plant. Roughly half of the parcel of land would be left open for grazing. The facility would possibly create four to fivefull-time jobs and process approximately 10-12 animals a week.
"We hope that the public sees this and knows that we are not building a huge industrial facility," said Smith. He said the facility would help support feed stores and supply stores in the area, and would help maintain the pastoral nature of the county, which would benefit tourism.
Any buildings or animal holding pens would be well away from the 100-foot setback mandated by the zoning ordinance, said Smith.
"We'll have to hire a wastewater firmto design the wastewater from this facility," he explained. The engineering and design phase of the project would consider ways to handle drainage issues, too.
Smith said the committee has spoken with adjacent and nearby landowners. "We take their concerns seriously," he said. "I won't speak for them, but I feel safe a majority of people we talked to have been supportive of this project."
He said a major concern was that the facility should be operated in a clean and sanitary manner. Smith said strict oversight from environmental agencies and the USDA would ensure that. The steering committee can't have a facility that doesn't meet industry standards or conflictswith community expectations, he added. "We want to run a clean operation," said Smith.
He indicated the steering group was open to discussion of appropriate landscaping for the project.
Even though the committee submitted a conditional use permit, it has many details left to work out. What about storm water? What about the potential for flooding? Will the facility be able to get its water from a well? Will the committee findthe money it needs to build the facility? And will the facility, once built, be able to operate at a profit?Most of all, will the privately funded and operated facility get the community support it needs to succeed?
The $1 million infrastructure alone would bring an economic shot in the arm to the county and the promise of fivenew jobs would also help. The availability of a meat processing facility in the region would aid the local livestock industry by reducing transportation costs. Scott said in addition to serving the needs of the farming community, the facility will benefit everyone in the region by providing a ready source of locally produced meat to restaurants and stores and serving as a meeting place and educational facility for county residents. The facility will not have retail sales on site.
Residents of Highland County have a right to expect the facility to not have a negative impact on the environment and not degrade the scenic beauty and quiet nature of the county that many cherish.
Planner Jim Cobb asked Smith about its water source, whether the warehouse and meeting space were collocated in the processing plant, whether an on-site retail outlet was part of the project, how far away the nearest body of water was, whether the site was prone to flooding, and how much dust would be caused by the driveway to the facility.
Smith said the source of water would most likely be a well. The meeting and warehouse facility were part of the 40 feet by 64 feet processing plant.
The nearest body of water was on the opposite side of the highway beyond the Westvaco lumberyard, Smith said, and the site is not in a flood plain, but that the facility would be designed to accommodate any natural accumulation of storm water. Also, Smith explained, the driveway and parking lot would mostly likely be gravel or paved and would not be a major source of dust by design and by regulation. "You have to make sure you keep dust, dirt and filth down just because you have to," said Smith.
"That was my only concern as far as the conditional use permit is concerned," Cobb said.
Cobb said Smith's presentation was the best he has heard from a conditional use applicant in the four years he's served on the planning commission.
Planning commission chairman Doug Gutshall asked about the position of the entrance to the proposed facility in relation to the MeadWestvaco entrance. Smith said the entrance was within 20 feet of the Westvaco entrance, but that VDOT officialRaymond Lightner said the closeness of the two entrances would not pose a problem.
The commission held a site visit with Smith on Monday. Smith said he was pleased with the meeting.
The conditional use application goes to public hearing at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 22. If the application is approved, the steering committee will have one year to build a facility - Smith asked for an extension of the normal six month window allowed by the zoning ordinance - putting a possible opening date for the abattoir sometime in the summer of 2009.
"We welcome public comment," Smith said.
Smith is the primary point of contact for the project and can be reached through The Highland Center at (540) 468-1922 or agcenter@htcnet.org.
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