The Harrisonburg Planning Commission met on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, at 6:00 PM in City Council Chambers. The meeting was called to order with six members present (Richard Baugh, Laura Dent, Heja Alsindi, Shannon Porter, Kenneth Kettler, and Randall Seitz). The agenda included a public hearing for a special use permit (SUP) for a mobile food truck, election of a Vice Chair and Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) representative, and a detailed discussion of the rezoning and development review process. The meeting adjourned at 7:43 PM.
Oh, yeah. Well, the meeting went on after I left, but not much longer when I was leaving. Oh, no, I saw me or something. I saw there was a bad rabble, but I was like, oh, you're three minutes. Microphones are on. All right. I will call to order the August 13th, 2025 meeting Harrison Bird Planning Commission. We have a quorum presence present. We uh welcome to us, uh Commissioner's Kevin site. Uh express our sympathies to those of us who are here who were who were also here until like midnight last night or um but the note that we have a quorum. All right. So just double checking here. Yeah, okay. All right. Next item is approval of minutes from the July 9, 2025. I will approve or make a motion to approve the minutes is submitted. Second. All right. Move by Commissioner Porter, seconded, Commissioner Al Cindy. Joe the discussion review. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Minutes stand approved as presented. All right. New business item four a public hearing. Request for a special use permit to allow a restaurant at 1710 Country Club Road. All right, good afternoon or good evening, you all. Uh tonight, uh the applicant is um requesting a special use permit to allow restaurants in the M1 district at uh 1710 Country Club Road. The applicant currently operates it an on-site vehicle repair and service establishment is is requesting the special use permit for the food truck. Um the the site now is zoned M1 and across Country Couple Road, as you can see, there is B2, and then to the north, there's B2C zone property, which you all had seen semi-recently with the divinity um the divinity church rezoning request. Here is a land use guide map that shows that the comprehensive plane has envisions has envisioned this area as mixed use with planned commercial across country club road. And then here is an aerial of the site where the uh existing service rope service shop is, and then across country cover road there is non-conforming uh the nonconforming spots with home trailer park. In May 2025 this year, um staff became aware of a mobile food truck operating illegally on the site and had issued a notice of violation with the property owner. After that notice of violation was issued, um staff began working with these applicant and they had decided the special use permit was the route they would like to go to amend this violation. Um a little bit about the site. This property is almost entirely located within the hundred year floodplain and the floodway. Um the site um the sorry. Simply put, the floodplain is the broader area in the floodplain is that the specific part within the grander area, the f where the floodways where the water goes. Um in this area, it is unclear that whether seating tables and other structures related to the mobile food business um located within the floodplain would be allowed without completing an engineering study. Um staff has reached out to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, DCR, um, for guidance, but we had not received we have not received response back from them. In the meantime, staff has determined that um if they were wanting to keep the tables and chairs and other structures outside, um, they would not be allowed to remain unless they can meet the requirements for uh development plan within the floodway. Um unless they we hear back from DCR other guidelines for us to follow. And then additionally, while reviewing the site, staff had learned that the property owner had completed um some additional work on the site um within the floodway without obtaining the proper uh approvals. We are working with them separately from this special use permit to amend those and get to correct this violation. So for the site, um present zoning ordinance, vehicle service and repair uses require six parking spaces for this particular business. And then a mobile food business does not require any parking. And then although it's not required, it is beneficial to the applicant. They have informed us that they have an agreement with the neighboring property owner to use the gravel lot indicated by the yellow star on the screen.