Conditional Use a Dominant Theme at County Planning Commission Meeting

“We kept it PG,” County Attorney Jordan Bowman quipped about a proposed amendment to code pertaining to adult business at a meeting of the Warren County Planning Commission on the evening of Wednesday, December 11, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Warren County Government Center at 220 North Commerce Avenue. Not only did the commission vote that evening on the best way to regulate adult business through a conditional use permit, but they also considered a code amendment changing the process through which conditional use permits are handled.

Warren County Planning Commission prior to a meeting on the evening of Wednesday, December 11. Royal Examiner Photo Credits: Brenden McHugh.

To make the expiration of conditional use permits an administrative process is a driving force behind the code amendment on conditional use ordinance. In their recommendation to the Board of Supervisors, the commission voted unanimously in favor of giving the zoning administrator the authority to expire conditional use permits without enacting the previously required procedure. “Currently,” this agenda item’s summary reads, “expiration of a conditional use is listed as a valid reason for which the Board of Supervisors may terminate a conditional use permit.

Under the current format, Planning staff must issue a notice of termination procedures letter via certified mail, wait 30 days for a response, place the proposed termination request on a Planning Commission meeting agenda as new business for discussion and a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors, and then the Board of Supervisors must hold at least one public hearing prior to rendering its decision.

(L) Planning Director Matt Wendling and (R) County Attorney Jordan Bowman.

It continues: “Planning staff is recommending the expiration procedures for a conditional use permit be established under a separate subsection with procedures for administrative expiration and requesting an extension from the Board of Supervisors. This would allow for the Zoning Administrator to expire a conditional use permit if the use has not been established within three calendar years or if the use has been abandoned for three calendar years without having to pursue the full termination process. The proposed subsection will require the Zoning Administrator to send a certified notice of impending conditional use permit expiration to the permit holder and grant the permit holder 30 days from receipt of the notice to apply for a conditional use permit extension. The procedures for requesting an extension from the Board of Supervisors will remain the same; however, the proposed text amendment would add a $100 application fee to request the extension.”

A debate ensued among the commissioners about the appropriate amount of time that should elapse before an applicant who has been denied can reapply for a conditional use permit. This was based on a case earlier this year when an applicant whose case was denied immediately reapplied. Vice Chairman Hugh Henry remarked on how rare such an occurrence is, noted that the application fee is high enough that casual reapplication is unlikely, and pointed to the applicant’s subsequent success, arguing that requiring a year to go by before reapplication is too restrictive. The proposed amendment would require a year, but the commissioners were able to agree upon six months, and Zoning Administrator Chase Lenz assured the commission that staff would make the necessary adjustment. In addition to the time requirement, the amendment also provides that in the case of termination, the planning commission hold a public hearing prior to making their recommendation to the supervisors. With the six-month adjustment having been articulated, the motion was then unanimously passed to forward the amendment to the supervisors with a recommendation for approval.

Planner Kelly Wahl and Zoning Administrator Chase Lenz.

There are currently no adult businesses in Warren County. But it does not hurt to be prepared. “Currently,” this agenda item’s summary reads, “the Warren County zoning ordinance does not have any definition, procedures, or standards for adult business that would differentiate such use from other listed uses permitted by right in the Commercial zoning district, such as retail stores, convenience stores, and indoor theaters. The purpose of this proposed amendment is to add a definition for adult business, make adult businesses permissible only by conditional use permit in the Commercial and Industrial zoning districts, and to set legal criteria for denial of a conditional use permit for an adult business to avoid potential legal challenges under the first amendment. At this time, the Planning staff has not received any applications for adult businesses nor any communications related to prospective adult businesses in Warren County. This text amendment is preemptive in nature so that the County has procedures and standards for adult businesses in place should an application to establish an adult business be received in the future.”

The language of the amendment defines adult business as “any premises or part thereof (1) to which juveniles may not be lawfully admitted pursuant to Virginia Code § 18.2-391, as amended, and (2) whose principal use is the sale, exhibition, or display of books, magazines, newspapers, films, images, devices, performances, or other photographic or written reproductions thereof. For the purposes of this definition, ‘principal use’ is five percent or more of the retail space of the premises.” It goes on to say: “notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, adult businesses are distinct from and mutually exclusive of all other uses. Any use falling within the definition of an adult business may not qualify as general retail, restaurant, convenience store, indoor theatre, or other use.” How such an establishment impacts the surrounding environment, for example, its proximity to a school or a church or private dwellings, is a relevant consideration for the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors in granting or denying a conditional use permit to an adult business.

Again, the amendment passed unanimously. Accompanying these two proposed amendments, both of which required public hearings, was a public hearing that came first and was related to a short-term rental, which the commission forwarded to the supervisors with a recommendation for approval. After the consent agenda was authorized to be advertised and commission matters were transacted, the meeting adjourned at 8:08 p.m.

Click here to watch the December 11, 2024 meeting of the Warren County Planning Commission.