Chesapeake Planning Commission Public Hearing - July 10, 2024
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Chesapeake Planning Commission Public Hearing - July 10, 2024
The Chesapeake Planning Commission held a public hearing on July 10, 2024, at 7:00 PM in the City Council Chambers. The commission acted on 10 items, including rezonings, conditional use permits, PUD deviations, and text amendments. The meeting concluded at 9:08 PM after approving cancellation of the July 24 meeting.
Consent Calendar
- Item 2 (Forbes Organization rezoning): Approved 8–0–1 (Commissioner Forbes abstained). Conditional rezoning of 0.56 acres from R-15s to O&I at 536 Johnstown Road, with proffers restricting uses and requiring Great Bridge Village design standards.
- Item 3 (Forbes Overflow Parking Lot): Approved 8–0–1 (Forbes abstained). Conditional use permit for overflow parking on a residential lot at 522 Johnstown Road, with stipulations including right-of-way reservation and Buffer Yard F landscaping.
- Item 5 (Pickle Ball PUD deviation): Approved 8–0–1 (Chairman Gerloff abstained). Deviation from Edinburgh PUD to allow a 9.6-foot buffer (instead of 25 feet) along Armstrong Lane, with stipulations requiring 33% more plant material and PUD-compliant building elevations.
- Item 7 (Home Occupations text amendment): Approved 9–0. Amends zoning code to permit Level I home occupations in all residential dwelling types and conditionally allow Level II home occupations in all residential dwelling types (version dated May 31, 2024).
- Item 8 (R-6 Residential District in Urban Overlay): Approved 9–0. Permits R-6 development in the Urban Overlay District under certain requirements (version dated May 30, 2024).
- Item 9 (Reasonable Deviations text amendment): Approved 9–0. Grants City Council authority to grant reasonable deviations to development standards with specific process requirements (version dated June 11, 2024).
Public Hearing Regular Items
1. PLN-REZ-2023-018 – Heron Point
Approved 8–0–1 (Gerloff abstained). Conditional rezoning of 30.8 acres from A-1 to R-MF-1 (22.9 acres) and C-2 (7.9 acres) at 1145 Jolliff Road for a 147-unit residential development (attached and detached condominiums) with a density of 5.8 dwelling units per acre. Proffers include design standards, right-of-way dedication, a 10-foot multi-use trail, and interior walking trails. Public speakers expressed concerns about traffic, flooding, notification, and loss of farmland. Commissioner Steiner noted the need for housing to support economic development in Western Branch.
4. PLN-REZ-2024-006 – Cardinal Meadows Proffer Modification
Approved 6–3 (Commissioners Gerloff, Gilbert, and Steiner opposed). Proffer modification on a 1.4-acre parcel at Shillelagh Road and Ward Road to remove a commercial/mixed-use requirement and allow 20 additional single-family attached homes (total not to exceed 247 units). The applicant argued that the market no longer supports commercial use, while opponents preferred retaining mixed-use. Staff recommended denial, citing inconsistency with the Dominion Boulevard Corridor Study. The approved proffers include architectural standards, cash contributions ($3,000 per unit), and street tree planting.
6. PLN-USE-2024-014 – Nurtured In Nature
Approved 8–1 (Commissioner Barefield opposed). Conditional use permit for a family home daycare (Level II Home Occupation) at 4913 Vico Drive, with alternative parking surface. Stipulations limit care to 8 children (excluding provider’s own), hours 6:30 AM–6:00 PM Monday–Friday, and require licensure and water testing. Neighbors strongly opposed, citing traffic, noise, safety, and property value concerns. The applicant, Anais McGwin, clarified she does not offer overnight care and resides on the property under a lease through April 2026. Commission discussion focused on compatibility and the applicant’s qualifications.
10. PLN-TXT-2024-005 – Residential Assemblies
Approved 8–1 (Chairman Gerloff opposed). Amends zoning regulations for regular periodic assemblies on residentially zoned property (version dated June 4, 2024). Staff noted practical enforcement challenges, while Gerloff expressed concern about lack of oversight. Proponents argued the amendment prevents unnecessary violations for community groups.
Business Items
- Cancellation of July 24, 2024 Meeting: Approved by unanimous consent due to lack of business.
- Comprehensive Planning Update: Staff presented progress on the 2045 Comprehensive Plan, Greenbrier Area Plan, South Norfolk Design Guidelines, and the Trails and Connectivity Plan. The draft trails plan will be posted for public comment on July 15, 2024, with consideration by the Planning Commission in August.
Attendance and Voting Notes
- Commissioners present: Joshua Gerloff (Chair), Clinton Crews (Vice Chair), Kristina Forbes (Secretary), Muriel Barefield, Harold Gilbert, David Hackworth, Barbara Sgueglia, Marc Steiner, Eric Stichler.
- Commissioner Forbes abstained on Items 2 and 3 due to familial relationship with the applicant.
- Chairman Gerloff abstained on Items 1 and 5 due to providing services to the applicants.
- Votes were recorded as noted; no discrepancies between agenda, minutes, and transcript.
Meeting Transcript
All right, good evening, everybody. The planning commission pre-meeting for July tenth, twenty twenty-four is now in session. Welcome to the pre-meeting tonight. Glad to have everybody here. First order of business is the agenda overview discussion. Tonight we have a total of ten applications on the agenda, of which zero are uh recommended for continuance or or withdrawal. So we'll be acting on all ten of them as of now. We'll now review the agenda items and determine placement on either the consent or the regular agenda. So our first item uh to hear about is item one, PLNREZ twenty twenty-three zero one eight hair in point. Miss Neal. Good evening. Any uh updates for us? Let me see how this works. Uh can you hear me okay? Yeah. All right. Good evening, Commissioners. Uh, we have no updates. I've received um three phone calls and two emails for this project. The two emails were emailed to you all earlier today. One was in support, one was in opposition, uh, support from the site planner, and then opposition. And then um the three phone calls, two of them were really just general inquiries about the project. Um both of them said that you really can't stop progress. And um, one of them was just happy to have had thirty years in the area before any development occurred. Um, and then the other one cited just private property matters. All right, very good. Thank you. Commissioners, any conflicts with this application. I actually have a conflict, so I will be abstaining um from action on this. It will prevent us from putting on the consent agenda if that's the will of the commission, but I will be abstaining. Uh any commissioners have any questions for staff. Any discussion? I just uh suggest we put on regular agenda, being that it is violated or is a deviation from the uh current land use. No problem. So item one will be placed on the regular agenda. All right. Next items are numbers two and three. Uh the Forbes organization and Forbes overflow parking lot. Mr. Bell, any updates for us? Good evening, Commissioner. Staff has no updates on this application, and we did not receive any citizen comments. Okay. Thank you. Commissioners, uh any conflicts with this one? I do have a conflict and we'll be abstaining from this vote. All right. Thank you. Commissioners, uh, any questions for staff? Any discussion?
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