Harrisonburg Planning Commission Meeting Summary – September 10, 2025
Harrisonburg Planning Commission Meeting – September 10, 2025
The Harrisonburg Planning Commission met at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, in City Council Chambers at 409 South Main Street. Six members were present: Chair Richard Baugh, Vice Chair Shannon Porter, Councilmember Laura Dent, Commissioner Heja Alsindi, Commissioner Kenneth Kettler, and Commissioner Randy Seitz, with one commission vacancy. The commission approved the August minutes, held public hearings on two rezoning requests, considered one alley closing, received staff and liaison reports, and recommended three items to City Council for October 14, 2025. The meeting adjourned at 7:18 p.m.
Call to Order, Roll Call, and Minutes
- Chair Baugh called the meeting to order and confirmed a quorum.
- The commission approved the August 13, 2025 Planning Commission minutes by voice vote (6-0), on a motion by Commissioner Kettler seconded by Vice Chair Porter.
Public Hearing – Anicira Veterinary Center Rezoning, 910 North Liberty Street
- Commissioner Seitz recused himself from this item, stating that Anicira is a client of his firm.
- Staff reviewed the request to rezone a +/-26,800-square-foot parcel from M-1 General Industrial District to B-2C General Business District Conditional. Anicira Veterinary Center operates on the site, and the applicant plans to lease it to Little Roots Early Learning Center for childcare for up to 30 children, ages 12 weeks to 6 years, with proposed hours of 6:45 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
- The applicant offered proffers prohibiting funeral homes, vehicle fuel stations and related facilities, and drive-through facilities, and limiting traffic-generating uses to 100 vehicle trips in either peak hour unless a Traffic Impact Analysis and improvements are completed.
- Staff noted the existing entrance is roughly 100 feet wide, exceeding the city maximum of 50 feet for commercial entrances, and identified parking layout and floodplain/floodway concerns. Staff stated they do not endorse locating a childcare center in the floodplain but acknowledged the great community need for childcare and recommended approval because the rezoning aligns with the Comprehensive Plan.
- Applicant representative Erin Layman said Anicira and Little Roots are very concerned about child safety, are addressing floodplain and licensing requirements, and noted that most local daycares have waiting lists of about four months. She said the veterinary clinic would remain an authorized use under either zoning designation even if the childcare use did not proceed.
- Commissioners expressed support based on oversight from DSS, building and flood permitting, and the need for childcare slots.
- Vote: Recommended approval to City Council 5-0, with Commissioner Seitz recused.
Public Hearing – Bluestone Town Center Proffer Amendment
- Staff reviewed a request from EP Harrisonburg Owner LLC and Cook Creek Church of the Brethren Cemetery to amend the 2023-approved R-7 proffers for Bluestone Town Center at 1010 Garbers Church Road, 1645 Erickson Avenue, 1781 South High Street, and South Dogwood Drive.
- The proposed amendment changes Proffer 1.a.ii so that 100% of for-purchase units will be initially sold to and restricted only to households with incomes below 120% of Area Median Income, removing the previous lower bound of 80% AMI and allowing buyers below 80% AMI.
- The applicant also proposed marking proffers 2.b. and 4 with the notation 'Not Approved by City Council on February 28, 2023,' because those proffers were not adopted in the 2023 approval.
- Applicant Michael Wong, representing the Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority and co-developer Equity Plus LLC, said Ryan Homes had been engaged to build for-purchase townhomes and single-family homes, with townhomes priced around $220,000 to $240,000 (about $1,600 per month mortgage) and financing available. He said this could serve families at 60% AMI, around $63,000 to $64,000 for a family of four.
- Wong said townhomes would likely be built first, with infrastructure extended later to senior and multifamily housing supported by about $11 million in soft monies and grants and 9% tax credits.
- In response to a question about nearby agricultural odors, Wong said the long-term likelihood of the poultry farm continuing was very minimal.
- Commissioners expressed support: Vice Chair Porter, now Executive Director of Central Valley Habitat for Humanity, said the amendment delivers on Bluestone’s affordable housing promise; Commissioner Alsindi said it expands the project’s value; Commissioner Kettler welcomed inclusion of lower-income households; Councilmember Dent noted Ryan Homes’ financing improves affordability.
- No public speakers testified on this item.
- Vote: Recommended approval to City Council 6-0.
Alley Closing – 530 North Main Street
- Staff reviewed a request from GC&T LLC to close a +/-2,760-square-foot public alley between parcels 34-E-1 and 34-E-2, near 530 North Main Street. The applicant owns both adjacent parcels and wants to eliminate future maintenance and access questions and enable future redevelopment.
- Records show the 12-foot alley has existed since 1859; a segment was vacated during 1960s Urban Renewal. Staff contacted the Northeast Neighborhood Association and Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project, and neither organization expressed concerns.
- The alley contains public power lines and a public culvert. Staff recommended approval on condition that a public general utility easement and a public storm drainage easement be reserved at locations determined by survey before second reading.
- A caller’s attempted public comment on this item was unintelligible due to technical problems.
- Commissioners discussed the city’s potential ownership interest versus a public easement and the alley’s limited usefulness. Commissioner Kettler said his general inclination is to keep alleys open, but the ownership status and clear alternative routes made closure acceptable; Commissioner Seitz said the alley’s fate effectively was determined by 1960s Urban Renewal; Vice Chair Porter said no public interest outweighed the closure.
- Vote: Recommended approval to City Council 6-0.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Panayotis Giannakouros, a city resident, spoke on publicly owned land and alley vacations. He said the key question should be what the public and the city receive in exchange for giving up land, referenced the city’s past attempt to give up all paper alleys, and noted that paper alleys carry protections for future owners. He also observed that the phone-in system appeared to have technical problems.
Reports
- Rockingham County Planning Commission Liaison Report: Vice Chair Porter reported on the September 2, 2025 county meeting. The county commission recommended approval of a 20.885-acre rezoning from B-1 to BX-C for Highway 81 LLC, recommended denial of a 4.19-acre rezoning from B-1C to I-1C for B&A Group LLC, and recommended approval of a zoning ordinance amendment regarding single-family detached dwellings with independent living quarters. The county commission also approved CIP planning advisory committee membership.
- City Council Report: Councilmember Dent reported that City Council approved the second reading of a rezoning at 320 South Main Street on August 26, 2025, and approved first reading of a special use permit at 1710 Country Club Road on September 9, 2025. She also provided an update on The Link: the city’s role is limited to convening potential facilitators and the developer; an update is expected by September 23, meetings are likely in late September or early October, and a report is expected back to the Planning Commission on October 14.
Other Matters
- The commission voted to move its November 2025 Planning Commission meeting to Thursday, November 13, 2025, to accommodate the City Council schedule. Councilmember Dent abstained. The other proposed date was Tuesday, November 18.
- Staff previewed October applications: a rezoning on Reservoir Street and a rezoning on Chicago Avenue, with a recommendation to hold one meeting.
Key Outcomes
- Approved August 13, 2025 Planning Commission minutes by voice vote (6-0).
- Recommended approval of the Anicira Veterinary Center rezoning at 910 North Liberty Street to City Council by a 5-0 vote, with Commissioner Seitz recused.
- Recommended approval of the Bluestone Town Center proffer amendment to City Council by a 6-0 vote.
- Recommended approval of the 530 North Main Street alley closing to City Council by a 6-0 vote.
- All three recommendations are scheduled to go before City Council on October 14, 2025.
- Moved the November 2025 Planning Commission meeting to Thursday, November 13, 2025, by voice vote, with Councilmember Dent abstaining.
Meeting Transcript
Four minutes. No, I didn't I was trying to microphone. Three minutes. Let's test the microphones on turn them off. They went on my thing. Okay. Yep. All right. With that, I will call to order the September 10, 2025 meeting Harrisonburg Planning Commission. Um we have all current members present. We have a vacancy, but I guess all six of us are here, so we have a quorum. So the first item of business then is uh review and approval of minutes of the August 13th meeting. Motion to approve. Second. Moved by Commissioner Kettler, seconded. Commissioner Porter. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. All right, minutes stand approved. Move on to new business first item to get two public hearing matters first. Item 4A, request from Anna Surah Veterinary Center to rezone 910 North Liberty Street. Mr. Chair. Yeah, uh the Virginia State and Local Government Conflict of Interest Acts require that I make a disclosure to be recorded in the city records in any matter in which I choose not to participate. Therefore, I'm making the following disclosure. I choose not to participate in this matter because Anna Sarah is a client of our firm. All right. And we'll come get you. All right. All right. So now if the record Commissioner Seitz was recusing himself from this matter. Let everybody get situated and see you. Okay. Good evening. All right. So the site is zoned M1, General Industrial District, and is surrounded by M1 on the north, west, and south, and to the east is zoned R7. The land use guide designates this area as commercial, and the proposed rezoning conforms to the comprehensive plans land use guide. So this the property here is bounded in red. The property north of the 910 North Liberty is a vehicle repair shop. Across North Liberty is a truck fueling station, and to the south is an office building. So the applicant is requesting to rezone 26,800 square foot parcel from M1 to B2C, General Business District Conditional. And a Syrah veterinary center currently operates at the site. If the zoning request is approved, the applicant intends to lease the property to Little Roots Early Learning Center, a child care center. The applicant plans to remodel the 2300 square foot facility to accommodate child care for a maximum of 30 children, ranging from 12 weeks to six years of age. So the existing entrance width right here is about a hundred feet wide, which exceeds the city's allowable maximum of 50 feet for commercial entrances per the DCSM. And the parking configuration is perpendicular to the building to the public street right of way. And the zoning ordinance does not allow backing out into the public right of way. At staff's request, the applicant submitted a conceptual parking layout demonstrating how the property might be might accommodate the required uh entrance and parking requirements.
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