FR Planning Commission Eyes Infrastructure Needs for Residential Projects, & Future Criteria for Data Center & Solar Farm Projects Here

At a work session on the second day of the new year 2025, the Front Royal Planning Commission looked to the future from two angles. First, there were three residential subdivision proposals currently under scrutiny in the first phase of the Town’s governmental review process.

And secondly, preparing for the likelihood of a not-too-distant-in-the future upswing in requests for the development of Data Centers attracted by the smaller Northern Shenandoah Valley rural community’s available land and lower fee structure than that found to our east where such development has focused in recent years. Attached to that topic was future consideration of solar farm proposals brought to the town government.

A 3-member quorum of the FR Planning Commission, to left of photo, and 3 staff to right and at podium, reviews coming residential development proposals before moving to solidification of future criteria for data center and solar farm consideration. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

How will the Town of Front Royal balance both existing and future residential and certain commercial development proposals to a positive socio-economic balance was the theme of the one-hour-five-minute work session undertaken by a three-member quorum of Chairman Connie Marshner, Vice-Chairman Allen Neel, and member Andrew Brooks. Absent was Megan Marrazzo, and the commission’s fifth seat remains vacant at this time.

Staff present included Executive Assistant Connie Potter, Deputy Zoning Administrator/Planner 1 John Ware, and Town Attorney George Sonnett.

Ware presented the overviews of the three residential proposals looming  for Commission review later this month at the commission’s regular monthly meeting, and resultant recommendation to Town Council on approval, denial, or further project negotiations.

The FR Planning Commission quorum of Chairman Connie Marshner, Vice-Chair Allen Neel, and member Andrew Brooks listen as Town Planning Department staffer John Ware presented informational detail on three residential development proposals facing the Planning Commission this month.

As the “Work Session Business” summary noted those proposals are:

• 2400421 – A request for preliminary plan approval for a major subdivision submitted by Ali Billoo for a subdivision containing nine (9) lots and sixteen (16) dwelling units located at 336 W Strasburg Road, identified on tax map 20A11, section 4, parcel 23B. The property is zoned R-2, Residential District (presented at :28-second mark of linked Town video).

Two graphics from the summary of the preliminary plan approval request for a ‘major subdivision’ of 16 dwelling units on 9 lots at 336 W. Strasburg Rd. by applicant Ali Billoo on R-2 Residential-zoned parcels.

• 2400673 – A Special Use Permit Application submitted by Pennoni Associates Inc. c/o Mike Artz for Multi-Family Apartments containing thirty-six (36) units in three (3) separate apartment houses containing twelve (12) units each and an office on a vacant parcel off of Royal Lane, identified by Tax Map 20A17-1-14B1. The property is zoned C-1, Community Business District (presented at 22:38 linked video mark).
• 2400687 – A Rezoning application submitted by Skyline Realty Investments, LLC requesting an amendment to the zoning map to reclassify addresses 10, 30, 44, 52, 60 and a vacant lot on W. Strasburg Road identified by Tax Map 20A12, Section 3, Parcels 22, 26, 27A, 31C, 31 and 23 from C-1, Community Business District to R-3, Residential District (presented at 41:57 linked video mark).

Following the graphics-assisted review of the above three proposals before them this month, the Commission discussed the potential of adjusting Data Center fees and requirements in consideration of future applications (discussion begins at 49:24 linked video mark). Vice-Chairman Neel led the commission into that topic, as well as future solar farm development submissions.

Chairman Connie Marshner and Vice-Chair Allen Neel listen intently to staff presentation on residential development proposals. Each took their turn in propelling the resultant conversations forward.

“Currently our zoning ordinance codes, we don’t have anything that addresses either solar farms or data centers on what kind of construction standards would have to be met in order to go into the zoning. So, what this chart is, is kind of an introduction to both of those things. And a bit of what that type of code would look like,” Neel told his colleagues in opening the discussion.

“But what we need right now as I understand it, is to get a consensus of us to ask the zoning folks to go off and study this and start to work on incorporating that into the documents we’re using right now,” he added of what he described as a rather lengthy proposal at this point.

Zoning official Ware suggested reaching out to regional communities who have gone through the approval process in establishing solar farms, as well as data centers, in recent years to find out from their experiences what has worked and what hasn’t.

“Our fees are below average when compared to other municipalities,” Ware noted, adding that once a project is submitted under the existing fee structure, the community is pretty well locked in to considering that project at that fee structure. So, movement toward adjusted fees to keep the town in a favorable position by contemporary fee rate standards would best be moved on as soon as possible.

See that discussion in its entirety, as well as the three earlier residential project reviews in the above-referenced linked Town video:

Click here to watch the Front Royal Planning Commission Meeting of January 2, 2025.