VDOT changes to have impact

Looming state-mandated changes to Virginia Department of Transportation regulations could have major impacts on development as well as county planning offices.

Most significantly, the new requirements will force some developers to provide a detailed traffic plan and get VDOT’s approval before any type of rezoning, sub-division or special use permit application can go forward, said Campbell County community development director Paul Harvey.

Additionally, there will be new requirements for access on state roads, resulting in stronger controls and regulations for new commercial entrances, Harvey said.

County officials must first review each proposal to determine whether projects meet specific thresholds set by the new regulations. For residential development, those thresholds include whether current traffic increases by 200 cars per day and doubles existing traffic.

Another threshold would be if the development generates 100 cars per hour, Harvey said. The thresholds are based on published nationwide standards.

Since state traffic engineering formulas estimate 10 car trips per dwelling unit, a project of only 20 houses in a rural portion of the county could force developers to provide the plan, Harvey said.

“The larger the project, the more comprehensive the analysis must be.”

The first phase of the regulations goes into effect July 1.

Currently, VDOT doesn’t require any form of developer plan, Harvey said.

“We usually communicate with them on significant projects and involve them on the project evaluation committee because we wanted to their input. But this requirement goes above and beyond that,” he said.

Starting in July, developers won’t be able to apply for a special use permit, to rezone land or subdivide land until they’ve presented the plan to county planning officials.

If the proposal triggers the need for the traffic plan, developers must hire an engineer to produce the plan, and pay between $500 and $1,000 to VDOT for a review before they can move forward.

The reviews can take between 45 and 120 days, Harvey said.

“As far as the county is concerned, it’s an issue of staff time and that will depend on how many projects come in that have to be reviewed to a higher standard,” he said.

Mary Zirkle, Bedford County’s chief of planning, said Friday that county planning staff was still receiving training sessions on the full impact of the regulations. She deferred questions to VDOT.

A third rule, to be implemented sometime in 2009, will impose stronger standards on new subdivision streets before the state will adopt those roads into the VDOT highway system, Harvey said.

Those new standards will emphasize alternative transportation modes and connectivity, requiring that new roads connect to two existing state roads.

— Staff writer Justin Faulconer contributed to this report.

Upcoming changes to VDOT regulations

- traffic planning: Some developers will be forced to submit a highly detailed traffic plan before rezoning or permit applications can go through.

- access roads: More restrictions will be put on commercial access on state roads.

- subdivision streets: Before the state adopts subdivision roads into the highway system, they will have to meet stricter criteria.