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The first public hearing for a no-wakesurfing zone will be held on July 19 at the TLAC offices.

The Tri-County Lakes Administrative Commission will be holding its first public hearing next week for a proposed no-wakesurfing zone in the Merriman Run area of Smith Mountain Lake.

The public hearing comes nearly a year after TLAC approved the use of no-wakesurfing zones on the lake as an effort to alleviate the growing concerns of many lake residents. Applications for the zones became available at the TLAC office on Jan. 1, but so far only one has been completed.

TLAC’s navigation committee will listen to public comments before voting on the no-wakesurfing application on July 19 at 6 p.m. in the TLAC offices on Scruggs Road in Moneta. The recommendation of the navigation committee will go to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources where they will make a final vote on the application.

If the application is approved by TLAC’s navigation committee and the DWR, there is a question of how the no-wakesurfing zones will be enforced by conservation officers. Sgt. Tim Dooley with the DWR said no final decisions have been made so far.

“We are waiting to see what comes out of the public hearing,” Dooley said. “We have stayed out of the discussion at this point.”

Dooley did say the DWR would likely coordinate with other area lakes that have no-wakesurfing zones already in place to see how officers there enforce them. Lake Anna in northern Virginia has implemented multiple no-wakesurfing zones in recent years.

To complete an application for a no-wakesurfing zone at Smith Mountain Lake, applicants must first obtain written consent from at least 75% of neighbors in the impacted area that they agree to have the zone. Those applying must also show verifiable proof that a public safety hazard exists and occurs on a regular basis through written statements, videos and reports to law enforcement.

Applicants can also show structural, shoreline or vessel damage has occurred that can be verified by submitting repair bills, pictures or a written statement from a business professional that can verify the damage was caused by wakesurfing.

Applicants in a channel, cove or area of water with less than 400 feet between shorelines or the furthest extending points of a structure such as docks are also considered for no-wakesurfing buoys.

Lorie Smith, chairman of TLAC, said a lot of work has gone into working through the first application to assure that everything is correct. She said there is an emphasis that the committee gets it right with the first application.

She admitted there had been some initial hurdles they needed to overcome in this first application, although it was expected as this is a totally new to the lake. “We didn’t expect it to be seamless,” she said.

The TLAC board expected some unforeseen issues in the first year. That is why it agreed to an annual review of the no-wakesurfing zone application process to assure it is working as intended. Smith said she expects a review to take place late this year or early next year.

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The first public hearing for a no-wakesurfing zone will be held on July 19 at the TLAC offices.