The Mathews County Board of Supervisors will hold public hearings on changes to three county ordinances at its next meeting, to be held at 6 p.m. next Thursday, Oct. 17, in the historic courthouse on Court Street.
The board is considering whether to change the zoning ordinance governing short-term vacation rentals to remove language that currently allows two additional people to occupy a rental unit beyond the Virginia Department of Health limit of two people per bedroom. Another proposed change to the ordinance is to include language stating that “Should the owner/manager advertise or rent the subject short term rental property in a manner that exceeds the allowable occupancy limits, the zoning permit allowing the short-term rental may be revoked.”
The board is also considering whether to amend the county code to add a no-wake zone to Put-In Creek.
Finally, the board is looking at changing the amount of some of the fees charged by the building department and the planning and zoning department, as well as adding a new fee called a zoning verification fee, with a cost of $50.
The largest fee increase for the planning and zoning department would be for a land disturbing permit, with a commercial permit going from $50 for the first acre to $500 for the first acre. However, fees for additional acreage would decrease, from $100 per acre to $50 per acre. A residential land disturbing permit would increase from $50 for the first acre to $500 for the first acre, as well, but fees on additional acreage would increase, from $25 per acre to $50 per acre.
An after-the-fact permit would increase from $150 to $500, with an extra penalty for repeated offenses by the same individual.
Examples of a few more of the 18 total fee increases for planning and zoning are: rezoning application, from $250 plus $10 per acre to $500 plus $10 per acre; zoning appeal, $275 to $350; application for a conditional use permit, $200 to $500; and zoning amendment application, $250 to $350.
Under the building department, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and building permits would all increase from a $40 minimum to $50. The highest building fee increase would be the amount charged to install electrical apparatus over 200 amps, from $60 to $75. Other electrical apparatus fees would increase by $5 to $10 each.