Town Planning Commission on Target to Advance a Comprehensive Plan Amendment

On the evening of Wednesday, December 4, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Front Royal Town Hall at 102 East Main Street, the Front Royal Planning Commission met for a work session in which business items ranged from tobacco, smoke, or vape ordinance to a proposed amendment of the Town’s comprehensive plan. The meeting began with Chairman Connie Marshner’s acknowledgment of absent commissioner Gary Gillispie’s resignation from his position on the commission. After voting in favor of accepting Gillispie’s resignation, the commissioners proceeded with their meeting.

The Front Royal Planning Commission transacts a work session on the evening of Wednesday, December 4. Royal Examiner Photo Credits: Brenden McHugh

Once again, the commission discussed a proposed zoning text amendment that would regulate the sale of tobacco, smoke, or vape products in the town’s C-1 and C-3 commercial districts. There are two regulatory mechanisms that are under consideration, by-right on the one hand and special-use permit on the other. The commission can recommend to the Town Council one or both mechanisms. By-right would be an administrative process in which staff enforce performance standards on the sale of any such products in whatever amount at any business, even a gas station, that sells them. The special-use permit route would require a business to apply to Town Council for a special-use permit in the case that their sale of tobacco, smoke, or vape reaches a certain threshold in terms of volume of sale in relation to total inventory, or the size of the display area for these products. All the commissioners stood by their former positions, Commissioner Megan Marrazzo in favor of the special-use permit route, while commissioners Allen Neel and Andrew Brooks, accompanied by Chairman Marshner, favor the employment of both mechanisms. The performance standards under by-right, which could be applied to special-use permit as well, would control the proximity of new businesses selling tobacco, smoke, or vape to establishments such as a day care center or a school. Shops that are already in existence will not be affected by this amendment, should it go through.

Deputy Zoning Administrator John Ware presents to the commission the items on the agenda.

After hearing from Deputy Zoning Administrator John Ware about the final plan approval for a major subdivision on 344 West Main Street and after considering an illuminated, ground-mounted sign proposed by a car wash in the entrance corridor, the commission turned to a proposed amendment to the Town’s comprehensive plan. It concerns the Riverton Planning District, an area between Strasburg Road and Duck Street to Rugby Street, where property ideally suited to residential use is still imagined by the comprehensive plan as being commercial. The statement of justification in the agenda packet reads as follows: “The current Comprehensive Plan adopted in May of 2023, designates this area of Town for commercial use. In the 1980s, this portion of Town was rezoned from residential to C-1 Commercial however the underlying land uses have always been residential in nature. In the past year, there have been several rezoning applications to revert parcels in this area to R-3 Residential. As this part of town has seen limited commercial development since the initial rezoning, and because the dimensional standards set forth in the Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Ordinance have the capacity to severely limit viable commercial development, the recommendation from staff is that the area, for the purposes of good planning, should be designated as neighborhood residential.” Even if the amendment to the comprehensive plan is approved, the owners of the lots that are zoned commercial in this area would still need to apply for rezoning to expand upon a residential use.

Having completed their business in under an hour, the commission adjourned.

Click here to watch the Front Royal Planning Commission Meeting of December 4, 2024.