Board authorizes advertisement of revised 2026 Comprehensive Plan with new solar‑siting guidance

The Northumberland County Board of Supervisors on Monday authorized staff to advertise the revised 2026 Comprehensive Plan for a public hearing in April, approving two staff‑proposed amendments and giving planners authority to update page references before publication.

Planning staff described a chapter‑by‑chapter revision process that began with the planning commission in 2020 and culminated in a commission recommendation in July 2025. Stewart, who presented the update, said the draft incorporates reviews from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia Department of Transportation and moves policy actions to the final chapter to improve readability. "Solar energy facilities are one type of renewable energy that will likely play a large role in powering the county and state into the future," Stewart said, summarizing a new section that advises siting to minimize impacts on prime agricultural soils, forest resources and village growth areas.

The draft adds specific guidance on solar development: locate facilities at least 1,000 feet from village growth or support areas where possible, favor marginal or open land over prime farmland, and retain existing vegetative buffers where present to reduce visual impacts. Stewart also told the board the zoning ordinance — a separate, enforceable document — already requires a vegetative buffer when indigenous vegetation is absent; the comprehensive plan is advisory.

Staff also added language on water supply feasibility after reviewing reservoir options; the draft says that, based on current financial assumptions, "designing, building a reservoir, a water treatment system, and a pipeline network to deliver water throughout the county is not economically feasible," though it states reservoirs may become feasible in the future if groundwater levels decline. The Virginia Department of Forestry recommended adding county forestry data (2016–2024 trends, species and harvest totals), which planners placed in chapter 1 to provide historical context.

Board members discussed whether to send the draft back to the planning commission for more work or to incorporate the two amendments (the animal shelter update and the forestry data) and proceed to advertise. County staff explained that state advertising timelines prevent a March hearing and that the earliest feasible public hearing would be the April regular board meeting.

A motion to approve the draft with the proposed amendments and to authorize staff to adjust page numbers and table‑of‑contents references for publication was moved, seconded and approved by the board. The vote authorized advertising the draft plan and scheduling a public hearing in April; it did not adopt the plan. Planning staff and commission members confirmed they will return to present at the public hearing and solicit public comment.

The board's action advances an updated plan that adds localized policy guidance on renewable energy siting and clarifies timelines for implementing policy actions, while preserving separate zoning authority for enforceable setbacks and buffers. The public hearing will allow citizens to comment on the draft and the newly incorporated amendments.