County Planning Commission Re-Elects Officers and Tackles New Motor Freight Terminal Paving Issue

At the regular meeting of the Warren County Planning Commission on January 10, Planning Director Matt Wendling initially presided over the election of new officers for 2024 for the commission. The commission unanimously reelected its current officers – Robert Myers, Chairman, Hugh Henry, Vice Chair, and Allison Mutter, Secretary and Clerk to the Commission.  At the conclusion of the voting, the commission reclaimed the dais and launched into its regular business.

Warren County Planning Director Matt Wendling, assisted by County Attorney Jordan Bowman, presides over the annual election of officers for the commission. All the current officers were unanimously re-elected. Royal Examiner Photos Stephen Sill

Following last month’s suspension of public hearings for four Conditional Use Permit (CUP) applications, the commission concluded the suspended public hearings.

U-Star Transportation has applied for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a motor freight terminal for its Industrially zoned property on Rockland Road adjacent to the Kelley Industrial Park in the North River District. The applicant intends to utilize the 2.1-acre lot for 29 spaces for Tractor trailers. It is not projected to have buildings or utility connections. The plan includes opaque fencing and plants for screening and buffering along Rockland Road and adjacent residential lots. Director Wendling reminded the commission as he did during the last meeting that the application proposes the use of a gravel/stone surface for the facility which would be graded and compacted, while the County’s code requires a hard surface. The application included a waiver request for this requirement. Since the last meeting, Director Wendling said the planning staff had added a fifth condition to the CUP – that the surface should be covered with a material approved by the planning staff during the site planning process. There were no speakers to support or oppose the permit. However, after the public hearing was closed, Chairman Myers expressed his opinion on the surfacing issue.

“As far as not paving the parking lot, to me that’s a non-starter. I realize that’s expensive. And because of the trucks it would have to be a heavier depth of asphalt, but to me, that’s one of the costs of doing business,” Myers told his colleagues. Planning Director Wendling said that there had been discussions about a potential compromise by requiring the entry drive and turnaround area to be hard surfaced, and allowing the remaining parking area to be gravel, but if it was the will of the Commission, the fifth condition could be to require all hard surface. There followed a discussion of potential alternatives to asphalt paving, including recycled asphalt millings. Chairman Myers also floated another option called CTA. CTA stands for “cement-treated aggregate” and consists of a mixture of aggregate material and/or native soils combined with measured amounts of Portland cement and water. After being compacted and cured, it hardens to form a durable paving base material.

Marisa Whitacre of Greenway Engineering, representing the applicant, told the Commission that they had discussed alternatives with the Planning Department, including the partial paving for the drive area and the remainder in gravel. Their issue with the asphalt paving requirement was that the weight of the heavy trucks over time would rut into and crush up the asphalt.

Marisa Whitacre of Greenway Engineering, representing U-Star transportation, responds to questions from the County Planning Commission about hard surfacing requirements for a motor freight terminal off Rockland Rd. The commission eventually approved a conditional use permit for two years to enable the applicant to bring the site up to county standards.

Vice-Chairman Henry was concerned that waiving the county’s minimum requirement could also create a precedent. Director Wendling said that in other cases the County had approved permits with a time requirement to meet the standard, say two to five years for the developer to meet the hard-surface requirement. The Applicant representative also clarified that the parking area will not be used for storage beyond a few hours at a time for transitory parking. After further discussion, Vice-Chairman Henry made a motion to recommend approval of the CUP with the added condition to require the hard surface paving in accordance with the County code within two years, subject to a posted bond sufficient to cover the cost of the paving. Commissioner Scott Kersjes seconded, and the commission voted unanimously to recommend approval. The CUP application will go to the Board of Supervisors for its February 6^th meeting.

Green Valley Baptist Church is applying for a CUP for a Church on a 10.2-acre site at 150 Ridgemont Road in the North River District. The Church has conducted a feasibility study. The site is zoned Agricultural (A) and was the subject of three previous CUPs. The proposed use is allowable by CUP in the Agricultural District. Planning Director Wendling told the commission that the 90-member church meets Sundays and Wednesdays and plans to use an existing structure for their church building once it has been brought into code compliance for that use. If this CUP for a Church facility is approved, the three previous CUPS – for a Commercial Nursery and Garden Center, a microbrewery and brewpub; and an Agra-tourism facility, would be terminated.

Pastor Tim Kerchoff addresses the County Planning Commission to urge approval of a Conditional Use Permit to locate Green Valley Baptist Church to an existing facility at 150 Ridgemont Road. The commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the request.

Prior to the opening of the public hearing, the applicant Pastor Tim Kerchoff made a brief statement to the commission indicating that all the feasibility study paperwork had been completed and the church was looking forward to getting in there and working with the County to make it happen. There were no other speakers at the public hearing, and on a motion by Commissioner Kaylee Richardson, seconded by Commissioner Kersjes, the Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval.

Jorge Lobo, of 97 Judy LLC, has made a request for a CUP for a short-term tourist rental for his property at 97 Judy Lane in the Mountain Lake section of Shenandoah Farms Subdivision. The property is zoned Residential-One (R-1) and is in the Shenandoah District. Zoning Administrator Chase Lenz briefed the Commission on the application. The applicant intends to manage the property himself with assistance from local professionals for cleaning, maintenance, and trash collection. The Health Department certification limits occupancy to four persons. The property meets the minimum setback requirements from the county code. The public hearing continued from last month’s meeting again yielded no speakers for or against the proposed permit, and the Commission, without further discussion, on a motion by Vice-Chairman Henry, seconded by Commissioner William Gordon, voted unanimously to recommend approval.

Vihari Vanga has requested a CUP for a short-term tourist rental for his property at 56 Sunset Village Road in the Junewood Subdivision. The property is zoned Residential-One (R-1) and is in the Fork District. The applicant intends to manage the rental himself with the assistance of an experienced local property manager. Zoning Administrator Chase Lenz told the Commission that there are now three active CUPs for short-term rentals in the Junewood subdivision, and that in this case the CUP would also require a setback waiver, as the property does not meet the short-term tourist rental supplemental regulation’s minimum setback requirements of 100 feet. The nearest dwelling on the east is 38 feet away, and the neighboring dwelling to the west is 94 feet away. That dwelling is also a short-term tourist rental. However, the applicant has submitted letters of support from each of those two neighboring property owners.  As was the case last month, there were no speakers for the public hearing. Chairman Myers commented that normally the 38-foot setback would give him heartburn, but since both neighbors had provided letters of support, he did not object: “If the neighbors are okay with it, I’m okay with it!” Vice-Chairman Henry made the motion, and Commissioner Kersjes seconded, to recommend approval of the CUP.  The vote was unanimous.

Greg Kelley has submitted a request for a CUP for a Short-Term Tourist Rental for his property at 886 Highridge Road in the South River Magisterial District The property is located in the Lake Front Royal subdivision and zoned Residential One (R-1). The applicant will manage the property personally with assistance from local professionals. There is currently one other approved short-term rental in the subdivision, but the Lake Front Royal Property Owners Association did not respond to a request for comment on the application. With no other comment the commission, on a motion by Vice-Chairman Henry, seconded by Commissioner Richardson, voted unanimously to recommend approval of the request.

The Commission had an advance view of a CUP application from Plein Smith Ventures, LLC  for a Contractor Storage Yard. The property is located at (0) Baugh Drive and is zoned Industrial (I) in the Stephens Industrial Park and the North River Magisterial District. The applicant provided information about the planned development on this 23-acre parcel that will be a multi-use property with office and shop facilities and a wholesale nursery with landscaping and horticultural services equipment storage. Chris Mohn of Greenway Engineering provided a brief overview of the project. A complete site plan has not yet been provided, and the Commission was not voting on a permit. A public hearing for this CUP application has not yet been scheduled.

Plein-Smith Ventures, LLC concept plan for its 23-acre development on Baugh Drive was presented to the County Planning Commission. Public hearings will be scheduled, but the initial presentation was to explain the uses the developer plans for the parcel, including offices, shop space, equipment storage, and a wholesale horticultural nursery. A public hearing and approval vote has not yet been scheduled.

The Consent Agenda consisted of eight items to be advertised for public hearings:

• Warren County Planning Staff has made a request to amend Chapter 180 of the Warren County Code to amend §180-56.4 to modify the supplementary regulations for Short-Term Tourist Rentals.
• Vesta Property Management – A request for a CUP for a Short-Term Tourist Rental for an Agriculturally zoned property at 357 Stokes Airport Road in the Fork Magisterial District.
• Gregory & Margo Steadman are requesting a CUP for a guesthouse at (0) Knock Lane. The property is zoned Agricultural (A) and located in the Gafia Estates at Lake John Subdivision and in the North River Magisterial District.
• Kenny & Sylvia Day – A request for a CUP for a Short-Term Tourist Rental. The property is located at 628 Harmony Orchard Road and identified on tax map 38C, section 1, lot 3. The property is zoned Agricultural (A) and located in the Harmony Hollow Association Inc. subdivision and in the South River Magisterial District.
• Jacquelyn Gunn – A request for a CUP for a Short-Term Tourist Rental. The property is located at 1754 Khyber Pass Road in the Skyland Estates Subdivision. The property is zoned Residential-One (R-1) and is in the Happy Creek Magisterial District.
• David A. Downes – This is a re-submission request for a Conditional Use Permit for a Short-Term Tourist Rental. The property is located at 125 Freeze Road in the Mountain View Section of the Shenandoah Farms Subdivision. The property is zoned Residential-One (R-1) in the Shenandoah Magisterial District.
• Foresight Design Services – A rezoning application to amend the Warren County Zoning Map to rezone a 5.04-acre parcel from Agricultural (A) to Commercial (C). The property is located at 99 Cedar Park Court in the North River Magisterial District and the proposed by-right land use is for a hotel/motel and future restaurant. The future land use zoning map in the Comprehensive Plan is shown as Commercial zoning for this property.
• Foresight Design Services – A request for a CUP for a Building Height in Excess of 40-feet within the Highway Corridor Overlay District and Commercial Zoning District for a proposed building height of 62-feet. The property is located at 99 Cedar Park Court in the Vernon L. Kemp Subdivision and in the North River Magisterial District.

These permit applications will be advertised for public hearing at the February 14 regular planning commission meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m.