County Planning Commission tackles fresh wave of Short-Term Tourist Rentals, approves Linden Sheetz site plan

The County Planning Commission held its regular meeting on December 12. Chairman Robert Myers dispensed quickly with the minutes of the previous meeting and the agenda and found no takers for the public presentations. It may have been the holiday spirit, but all the commission’s actions were unanimous and without controversy.

Jacob Horowitz has submitted a request for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a short-term tourist rental. The property is zoned Agricultural (A) and located at 5433 Gooney Manor Loop in the South River District. Zoning Administrator Chase Lenz told the commission that staff had completed the permit package and the request met all county ordinances. While there were no speakers at the public hearing, staff had received a letter of support from a neighboring property owner. The applicant is an experienced short-term tourist rental operator and will utilize local companies for maintenance and immediate response. On a motion by Vice-Chairman Hugh Henry and a second by Commissioner Kersjes, the Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval.

Jeffrey May submitted a request for a CUP for gunsmithing service on his property at 425 Valley Road in the Green Hill Subdivision in the Happy Creek District. The 5-acre property is zoned Agricultural (A). Zoning Administrator Lenz briefed the commission on the request and outlined the conditions that would apply to the permit. Among the requirements are that no discharge or shooting of firearms will be allowed on the property, and customer appointments will be limited to the hours of 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. There were no speakers during the public hearing, and the Commission voted unanimously, on a motion by Vice-Chairman Henry, seconded by commissioner Greg Huson, to recommend approval.

Lydia Freeman has submitted an application for a CUP for short-term tourist rental for her property at 400 Chipmunk Trail Lane in the Blue Mountain Subdivision in the Shenandoah District. The 1.1 Acre property is zoned residential (R-1) and complies with the county’s short-

term tourist rental ordinance. The Blue Mountain property owner’s Association had no objection to the proposed use, and there were no speakers for the public hearing. On a motion by Vice-Chairman Henry, seconded by Commissioner Kaylee Richardson, the commission voted unanimously to recommend approval.

Sergiu Luca is requesting a CUP for a short-term tourist rental for his property at 104 Marino Lane in the River View section of Shenandoah Farms. The 3.2 acre residentially zoned property has a certified Residential Alternative Onsite Sewage System (RAOSS), subject to continued compliance with the operation and maintenance requirements. There were no speakers for the public hearing, so, on a motion by Commissioner Richardson, seconded by Commissioner Huson, the Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval.

Stacy Weng submitted a request for a CUP for a short-term tourist rental for her residentially (R-1) zoned property at 5 Oakwood Drive in the Shenandoah District. The property is .8 acres in size and according to the applicants, was purchased as a second home for the applicant’s family as well as a potential tourist rental. Planning Director Matt Wendling told the Commission that all the supplementary conditions for the permit approval including setback requirements. There were no speakers during the public hearing, and, on a motion by Vice-Chairman Henry, seconded by Commissioner Kersjes, the Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval.

Planning Director Matt Wendling summarizes a Conditional Use Permit request for a short-term tourist rental for Stacy Weng at 5 Oakwood Drive. The commission went on to recommend approval for the use.

Matthew Williams & Jay Gilbert are requesting a CUP for short-term tourist rental for their property in the Skyland Estates subdivision at 1862 Khyber Pass Road in Linden. The .76-acre property is zoned Residential One (R-1) in the Happy Creek Magisterial District. The applicants already have two other short-term tourist rental properties in Warren County and expect to use local professional services for maintenance, cleaning, and landscaping, there were no speakers during the public hearing, and on a motion by Vice Chairman Henry, seconded by Commissioner Richardson, the commission voted unanimously to recommend approval.

Matthew Williams & Jay Gilbert are also requesting a CUP for short-term tourist rental for their property at 1424 Khyber Pass Road in Linden. The property is also zoned Residential One (R-1) in the Happy Creek District. There were no speakers at the public hearing, and the commission voted, on a motion by Commissioner Richardson, seconded by Commissioner Kersjes, unanimously to recommend approval.

All these CUP applications will now be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors for final action.

The Commission then turned its attention to the Consent Agenda seeking authorization to advertise Public Hearings to be held at the Commission’s regular January 11th meeting. Those included:

Rushmark Rockland Road, LLC has submitted a request for a CUP for a building in excess of 50,000 square feet (985,735 square-feet) to be located in the Route 340/522 Highway Corridor Overlay District. The properties are located at 8561 Winchester Rd. The properties are zoned Commercial (C) and Residential (R-1) located in the North River District.

Remo Kommnick has submitted a request for a CUP for a short-term tourist rental for a property located at 226 Judy Lane. The property is zoned Residential One (R-1) and located in the Shenandoah District.

Robert Chevez has submitted a request for a CUP for a short-term tourist rental. The property is located at 604 Windy Knoll Drive. The property is zoned Agricultural (A) and located in the Shenandoah Magisterial District.

Gabriel Gaillard & Natasha Nyirongo-Gaillard have submitted a request for a CUP for a short-term tourist rental. The property is located at 95 Pickford Court and is zoned Residential-(R-1). It is located in the Shenandoah Magisterial District.

Nicholas E. & Cara S. Achterberg have requested a CUP for a short-term tourist rental. The property is located at 671 Thompson Hollow Road and is zoned Residential (R-1) It is located in the South River Magisterial District.

Shenandoah Shores Management Group, LLC has applied for a CUP for short-term tourist rental. The property is located at 301 Rollason Drive and is zoned Residential(R-1) and located in the Shenandoah Magisterial District.

Jose L. Canales has requested a CUP for a short-term tourist rental. The property is located at 68 Skunk Hollow Lane in the South River Magisterial District. It is zoned Agricultural (A).

Natalya Scimeca has submitted a request for a CUP for short-term tourist rental for her property at 1086 Lower Valley Road. The property is zoned Residential One (R-1) and located in the Fork Magisterial District.

Rushmark Rockland Road, LLC has requested an amendment to the Warren County Comprehensive Plan – Future Land Use Map to accommodate the rezoning of the 77-acre parcel at Rockland Road and Winchester Road (US 340-522).

Potential Data Center?

The Rushmark Rockland Road LLC CUP request for a rezoning from Commercial (C) and Residential One (R-1) to Industrial (I), including construction of a building in excess of 50,000 square feet was pulled from the Consent Agenda for additional discussion. The properties are located at 8561 Winchester Road at the intersection with Rockland Road in the North River District. Kevin Rivera, representing the applicant, provided a presentation to the board, and said that there are 77.5 acres that would be affected by this rezoning request. The parcel was previously zoned commercial (C-1) with a small portion zoned residential. According to the applicant, attempts to market the property as a commercial development similar to the parcels to the south have failed due to “a dramatically changed marketplace”, and rezoning to Industrial use appears to be “More suitable”.

Rushmark Representative Kevin Rivera explains a rezoning request for a 77+ acre parcel at Rockland Rd. and Winchester Rd. (Route 340/522) to accommodate a warehouse/distribution center of just under a million square feet that could be used as a Data Center if that use is approved by the County.

The plan presented to the commission shows a 985,735 square-foot warehousing and distribution facility to be developed should the rezoning request be approved. The plan in several places

refers to possibilities of a Data Center in that location, should the County Board of Supervisors elect to authorize that use. Planning Director Matt Wendling reminded the commissioners that a rezoning would effectively remove that parcel from the stock or commercial properties in the county. After some discussion, the commission voted to authorize advertisement for a public hearing at the regular commission meeting on January 11.

Finally, the commission reviewed and quickly approved the final site plan submitted by Sheetz for their Convenience store with gas pumps and a public-school bus stop at Apple Mountain Road and Interstate 66. In May 2021, massive citizen opposition prompted the Planning Commission to recommend disapproval of the project, but in June of that year, the County Board of Supervisors reversed itself and approved that project.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 PM