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WV Renaissance Fair plans to hold festival despite zoning issues

By SARAH RICHARDSON

Mountain Messenger

LEWISBURG, W.Va. — The West Virginia Renaissance Festival came up against a road block last week when the Greenbrier County Board of Zoning Appeals denied their appeal for an exception regarding plans for the festival, scheduled to open this June.

The exception would allow commercial activity on a 10.78 acre parcel of the Hollow Hills Farm property, which is zoned as open space conservation. Open space conservation is defined as an “area of protected or conserved land or water on which development is indefinably set aside.” Article 900, detailing open space conservation usage, states that special exemption usages already include golf courses, group recreational or sports facilities, public libraries and museums, as well as bed and breakfasts, but the list does not explicitly include fairs or festivals.

Essentially, the zoning specifically prohibits any commercial activities, which causes issues as far as holding a Renaissance festival with vendors selling goods. The buildings currently in place are on the zoned side, with unzoned side being originally designated as a parking lot, since it is a hay field. Unless the exception is granted, vendors will not be able to use the current structures to sell wares.

Read the entire article: https://mountainmessenger.com/wv-renaissance-fair-plans-to-hold-festival-despite-zoning-issues/

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