By Heather Michon
Correspondent
If Fluvanna County residents want political and business signs removed from private property off county roadways, they need to file complaints.
This was the message from the Board of Supervisors on Wednesday night (Dec. 18) during a discussion of sign regulations and enforcement.
Under county ordinances, political signs can be put up a “reasonable amount of time” before an election but must be removed within ten days after the election.
However, over a month after Election Day, a dozen or more yard signs and banners for candidates of both parties are still visible on all major county roads. Director of Planning Todd Fortune said they had received at least four citizen complaints over the previous three weeks.
Supervisors have struggled with sign enforcement for years. Major intersections are often cluttered with small signs promoting businesses and services, with political signs proliferating during campaign seasons.
Most fall within the VDOT right-of-way and can be removed by road crews. In a November report, VDOT administrator Scott Thornton’s office said his crews had removed 750 pounds of signs in a two-day sweep of Fluvanna.
Signs that sit on private property beyond the rights-of-way fall under county jurisdiction. Fortune and County Attorney Dan Whitten said those violating the ordinance could be issued a notice and be given time to correct the situation. Failure to comply could eventually result in prosecution.
Supervisors appeared generally reluctant to use limited county resources to go after violators. “I don’t know this is really much of an issue unless somebody makes a complaint,” said Chris Fairchild (Cunningham).
“I understand your frustration, but I just think you have to look at this and say, we have a limited amount of money that our county can spend enforcing this,” said Tony O’Brien (Rivanna). “Probably there’s other things that are more serious to enforce.”
Residents can file anonymous complaints on signs or other zoning code violations using the form at https://www.fluvannacounty.org/planning/webform/report-concern
Public health funding
Supervisors also revisited a request for carryover funds that had been denied at its Dec. 4 meeting.
Ryan McKay, director of the Blue Ridge Health District (BRHD), renewed a request for the department to retain $61,000 in unspent funding from Fiscal Year 24 (FY24). If not carried over, the funds must be returned to the county’s general fund.
BRHD wanted to use the funding to maintain and expand its testing program for sexually transmitted diseases and to fund two temporary contract positions for the MAPP (Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships) program.
MAPP2Health is designed to connect organizations and community members and create programs that help improve health outcomes for all citizens. According to McKay, the two MAPP positions would be out in the communities, “gathering information, conducting focus groups, [and] meeting with key stakeholders” across the district. Other localities would also contribute to funding the work.
Supervisors were concerned about the timing of the requests, asking why McKay did not just ask for the funding during the upcoming budget season. McKay countered that doing so would delay posting and hiring for the position,
Mike Goad (Fork Union) noted that the request did not fit the county’s criteria for carryover funds, which is usually reserved for uncompleted projects delayed due to unforeseen circumstances.
However, the supervisors can approve requests that fall outside the criteria. At the Dec. 4 meeting, they authorized around $400,000 in carryover funds to the schools for new projects. “Well, we set the bar at school safety,” he argued. “I think we can all agree it’s okay to buck policy there.”
A motion by O’Brien to approve the $61,000 request failed on a 2-2 vote, with Mike Sheridan (Columbia) absent from the meeting. After further debate, consensus was built around a compromise amount of $30,000. This motion passed 4-0.
Supervisors will next meet on Jan. 8 at 5 p.m. for their annual organizational meeting, followed by their regular meeting and a 7 p.m. budget work session.
