LOCAL NEWS — The Metro Council will meet in regular session on Monday, August 16 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lynchburg Legion Building located just off Highway 129.

In new business, the Council will consider a recommendation by the Metro Panning Commission to amend the Metro Zoning Ordinances to include a new Residential – Medium to High Density or R3 category. According to a draft of the new ordinance obtained by The Times prior to the meeting, it reads as follows:

The R-3 District, is intended to provide areas which are suitable for high density single family residential development. This district is particularly suitable for areas adjacent or near urban areas, where an adequate public water and public wastewater service is available. With five (5) or more single-family dwellings an approved Home Owners Association (HOA) Covenant with a 30 year term is required. The following regulations shall apply in the R-3 district, as defined on the Metropolitan Zoning Map.

Permitted uses will include single family detached dwellings on a permanent foundation with a minimum square footage of no less than 299 square feet and no more than 799 square feet with no more than one accessory building or structure.

Structures will also need to adhere to certain dimensional requirements including a front yard no less than 25 feet deep, a rear yard no les that 20 feet deep, and a side yard no les that 10 feet deep. Lots will be no less than 5000 square feet with public water and sewer at each. To see a complete the proposed zoning amendment, see your Metro Council person. Contact information for each can be found at this link.

The Metro Planning Commission developed the new residential classification is response to a proposed tiny home community called Retreat at Whiskey Creek proposed by the Oakstone Land and Capital Company located at 975 Main Street in Lynchburg in the footprint of the former Lynchburg Wilderness RV Park.

That proposal stalled in the May Zoning Appeal Board meeting because an appropriate category for the tiny home community did not currently exist in the Metro Zoning Ordinances. To read our complete coverage of that meeting, click here.

Other items on the agenda include a report by the Metro Building and Grounds Committee, the July Building Permits, a Moore County Highway Department inventory list, as well as the presentation of the final bid for the new Moore County Health Department Building. Organizer will also seek permission to close the Lynchburg Square on October 23 for a Moore County 200th Birthday Party.

All Metro Council meetings are open to the general public. •

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