The Mathews County Planning Commission held its first meeting of the year virtually Tuesday night. At the meeting, planners voted unanimously to recommend a text amendment to the zoning ordinance pertaining to utilities.

According to planning and zoning documents, as staff continues “to work on Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance updates to address utility-scale solar, this amendment is being proposed to protect the county from any major utility use potentially being permitted by right under current Zoning Ordinance language for Utility (public).”

The amendment would allow for minor utility components as a by-right use in each zoning district, while major utility use would require a Conditional Use Permit.

CIP

Next on the agenda was the discussion of capital improvement projects for fiscal year 2022. According to Planning and Zoning Director Thomas Jenkins, the Enterprise Resource Planning Software is a high-priority item for the county and is projected to cost $130,00...