By Heather Michon
Correspondent
Visitors staying in Fluvanna County short-term rentals, campgrounds, or guest houses will be charged a 5 percent tax, thanks to an ordinance change approved by the Board of Supervisors on Wednesday night (Oct 18).
“Transient occupancy” is defined as stays shorter than 30 days and the tax would be added to the total bill for a stay.
Several surrounding counties already have a transient occupancy tax. Albemarle charges 8 percent. Buckingham and Goochland charge 2 percent. Louisa also charges 2 percent but is looking at increasing to 5 percent or more. Much of the revenue generated by the tax will go to the county’s tourism marketing efforts.
Fluvanna County has no hotels and a relatively small number of short-term rentals. But Briery Creek Farm, a “glamping” property being developed on Rolling Road South will add 50 or more luxury cabins to the county’s overnight rental stock.
Fork Union resident Paul Beyer said the notice of the hearing had been something of a shock, since he and his son had recently started renovating a farmhouse as a potential Airbnb. “Obviously, that can put a damper on someone’s thinking.” He believed the ordinance was too broadly drawn and urged them not to do something that “hurt the small people.”
Supervisors talked about the pros and cons of the tax for some time and seemed poised to defer the decision to a later meeting. In the end, they voted and passed the motion.
Solar taxation
In the second public hearing of the night, supervisors unanimously approved a county ordinance change that will add a revenue-sharing fee of $1,400 per megawatt for solar energy projects and energy storage systems.
Supervisors first heard about the revenue share model in September. County Attorney Dan Whitten explained that a 2020 General Assembly bill allowed for the fee. It would be due annually and increase by 10 percent per year once implemented. Solar providers would also have to pay real estate taxes.
Examples given during the September meeting highlighted the difference between the potential revenue share and the Machinery & Tools (M&T) tax the county currently levies on solar projects.
For a hypothetical 20-megawatt solar project, the M&T tax would generate $403,750 over a presumed 35-year project lifespan. Under the revenue share model, the same project would generate $1,123,104 over the same period.
For solar projects over 25 megawatts, the M&T tax generates more revenue over time. A hypothetical 40-megawatt project would generate $4,069,373 over 35 years, while the revenue share would generate $2,674,972.
The clear preference for Fluvanna County planners is to avoid the massive, high-megawatt solar farms under consideration in other parts of the state, making the revenue share plan a more attractive option.
Free Hill Cemetery
The least complicated issue of the night was the approval of a quitclaim deed to turn Columbia’s historic black Free Hill Cemetery over to the Fluvanna County Historical Society.
From there, said historical society President Patricia Johnson, the property will be donated to the Columbia Baptist Church.
“The impetus, ultimately, for getting this property into the church’s hands is so that we can then help them apply for grant funding that will find further research and preservation of the property,” she said. “But for most of those grants, the property needed to be in the church’s name.”
The plan to turn the property over to the historical society originated in March after then County Attorney Fred Payne noted that there might be legal issues with the county giving the property directly to a religious organization.
Johnson said a recent survey by ground-penetrating radar showed the cemetery may hold 500 or more graves, making it “a significant historic cemetery. We are grateful to be able to act as just an assistant to the good people of the Columbia Baptist Church who want to honor and respect their ancestors who are at rest there.”
