Harrisonburg Planning Commission Regular Meeting - November 13, 2025
Harrisonburg Planning Commission Regular Meeting - November 13, 2025
The Harrisonburg Planning Commission held its regular meeting on Thursday, November 13, 2025, at 6:00 PM in the City Council Chambers. Five of seven members were present (Baugh, Porter, Kettler, Seitz, Jezior), with Councilmember Dent and Commissioner Alsindi absent. The meeting covered approval of prior minutes, a public hearing on a zoning ordinance amendment for inpatient substance use disorder treatment facilities, initiation of three other zoning ordinance amendments, and committee reports.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes (3.a, 3.b, 3.c): The Commission unanimously approved (5-0) the minutes from the September 10, 2025 regular meeting, the October 8, 2025 regular meeting, and the October 30, 2025 special meeting.
Public Hearing: Inpatient Substance Use Disorder Treatment Facility Zoning Amendment (4.a)
Staff (Thanh Dang, Deputy Director of Community Development) presented a zoning ordinance amendment to add a definition for "inpatient substance use disorder treatment facility" and separate it from other medical uses. Currently, such facilities are allowed by right in the R-3 Medium Density Residential District as part of a broad category. The amendment would allow them only by Special Use Permit (SUP) in the R-3 and B-2 districts, enabling case-by-case review of location and impacts. The proposal also includes adding definitions for "hospital" and "institutional care facility," modifying existing definitions (e.g., "assisted living facility," "family," "nursing home," "professional offices"), changing "clinic" to "medical clinic," and adjusting where medical clinics are permitted. Notably, a building permit for an inpatient facility on R-3 property was filed on September 15, 2025, which may vest rights to operate as a lawful nonconforming use if the amendment is adopted. No other inpatient facilities exist in the city. No public comments were received during the public hearing.
Commissioner Shannon Porter expressed support for the facility type but raised concerns about operational security and discharge protocols, especially in residential areas, supporting the change to require SUP review. The Commission voted 5-0 to recommend approval of the amendment to City Council, which will be heard on November 25, 2025, with a second reading on December 10, 2025.
Initiation of Zoning Ordinance Amendments (5.a)
Staff requested the Commission initiate consideration of three unrelated zoning ordinance amendments:
- R-8 District Setbacks (AM Yoder & Co): Amend Section 10-3-59.4 to allow exterior walls with openings and penetrations in limited circumstances where a reduced side yard setback (zero feet) is approved by SUP. Currently, the ordinance prohibits openings in walls adjacent to the reduced setback. Staff noted the Fire Department now supports certain openings that meet fire safety requirements, and any openings must comply with the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code.
- Meat Processing and Storage Facility in M-1 District (Honest Meats LLC): Add a new SUP use for slaughterhouses and create a new term/definition for “meat processing and storage facility,” while clarifying poultry processing remains allowed by right.
- Sign Regulations (Staff-generated): Amend Article EE to update definitions and requirements related to roof signs and signage in parking lots.
Commissioner Randy Seitz, an architect, questioned whether window-related provisions belong in the zoning code versus the building code, but acknowledged the Fire Department’s concerns and the special use permit as an appropriate vehicle. Commissioner Seitz expressed no objection to initiating the amendments. The Commission voted 5-0 to initiate the amendments, with staff directed to prepare draft ordinances for future public hearings.
Reports and Other Matters
- Rockingham County Planning Commission Liaison Report (8.a): Vice Chair Porter reported that the November 5, 2025 meeting included two rezoning requests (one from RR-1 to A-2, another from A-2 to R-5) that were both tabled.
- Board of Zoning Appeals Report (8.b): Staff announced that Todd Alexander was appointed to the BZA.
- City Council Report (8.c): Director Adam Fletcher reported that the rezoning of 2410 Reservoir Street (five efficiency units) and the rehearing of 320 South Main Street were both approved by City Council on November 12, 2025.
- Zoning Reform Update: Staff reported that work continues on the broader zoning ordinance reform, with Deputy City Attorney Wesley Russ now co-leading. No public engagement timeline is set yet, but staff hopes to have information in 2026. The Comprehensive Plan update will follow the zoning reform completion.
- Next Month's Agenda Preview: Staff noted five items for the December meeting, including the R-8 amendment, a SUP at 380 Sunrise Avenue, a rezoning/proffer amendment for Sunshine Apartments, a rezoning at North Liberty and Charles Streets, and the M-1 meat processing amendment. The Commission agreed to hold a single meeting to cover all items.
Key Outcomes
- Approved Minutes: September 10, October 8, and October 30, 2025 (5-0).
- Recommended Approval of Zoning Amendment (4.a): Inpatient substance use disorder treatment facility amendments (5-0), to be forwarded to City Council for a public hearing on November 25, 2025.
- Initiated Zoning Ordinance Amendments (5.a): R-8 setbacks, M-1 meat processing/storage, and sign regulations (5-0), with staff directed to prepare draft ordinances.
The meeting adjourned at 6:29 PM.
Meeting Transcript
We're ready. Perfect. I will call to order the November 13th, 2025 meeting at Harrisonburg Planning Commission. Five of our seven members are present. Commissioner Dent's not with us. I think we knew for sure not anything in there. There'd been some lack of clarity about whether Commissioner Al Cindy would be here, but in any case, he's not with us at the moment. But we do have five years, so we have a quorum. And with that, our first item is we do have correction or yes, so therefore asking us to reapprove our September 10 minutes and also minutes from our last regular meeting on October 8 and the special meeting on October 30th. I'm happy to type them up as individuals or if there's no objection, we could always try to do it on one motion. I'm fine with one motion. That's a move to approve as presented. Second. Okay, so I've got the motion from from Commissioner Seitz, and I'll give the benefit to the tie this time to Commissioner Porter. Um in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed, no. All right. All three minutes under item three of the agenda stand approved as presented. All right. So first item of new business public hearing, consider requests from the city of Harrisonburg to amend zoning ordinance to add a new term, quote, inpatient substance use disorder treatment facility, end quote, and other related changes. Ms. Dang. Great, thank you very much. Some of you all have already seen this, but I will go through the presentation as you've seen before for the benefit of the public who uh might be watching this meeting from home. I'm Tond, I'm the deputy director in community development, and this is a staff generated zoning ordinance amendment to make amendments related to the inpatient substance use disorder treatment facility and other medical related terms within the zoning ordinance. For those of you who were here on October 8th, you had seen this as a public hearing item to consider the amendment that had passed unanimously. The reason why we're bringing it back to you all now is that since that time we learned that the code of Virginia requires that planning commission first take an action or make a motion rather to direct staff to initiate making zoning ordinance amendments. And that was the reason for that special meeting on October 30th that uh I believe all of you were present at. And um at that October 30th meeting, planning commission had made that motion, and so we're bringing this back for uh the public hearing. So currently, inpatient substance use disorder treatment facilities are allowed by right in the R3 medium uh density district uh under the section that's on the screen here. Uh it is combined in this description of hospitals, convalescent or nursing homes, funeral homes, medical offices, and professional offices as defined by Article F. Uh, what staff is proposing to do now is to add a new term and definition for the inpatient substance use disorder facility and then to make this use only allowed by special use permit in the R3 medium and the B2 uh general business district. Making these amendments would provide the community the opportunity to assess potential impacts of a desired location and how uh the use of this type of treatment facility could affect uh community services. Uh within the staff report there was also a description that um some information about that there are no there are not any inpatient substance use disorder treatment facilities currently operating in Harrisonburg, but that there was a building permit submitted for a property in the city that zoned R3 uh back in September, where the so they're operating under the zoning ordinance where it is currently allowed by right. So until this ordinance takes effect with council's uh second second vote, second reading, um the current ordinance stands in effect, and because of this, the applicant may have the opportunity to gain that vested right to operate the facility, and then the facility could become a lawfully non-conforming uh use if the zoning ordinance is amended. So that property owner is aware uh of these amendments and of these changes. So some other cleanup and things that are occurring uh with the proposed zoning ordinance amendment is uh we are adding a definition for the term hospital, as you saw it was in that just that by-writability within the B2B, sorry, the R3 district. Um we are making it allowed by right only within the B2 district where we feel that type of use uh is more appropriate as opposed to no residential district. We're adding a definition and creating a new use for institutional care facility, uh adding clarity and consistency with Virginia code definitions for the terms of assisted living facility, family, nursing home, and professional offices. Is because last time when I presented this back in October, we were gonna leave the term medical offices alone in R3 because we didn't properly advertise to make that change, but since we've had the opportunity to do this uh public hearing and to re-advertise, we put that in the in the uh public notice, and so uh we don't have to come back to you all to make that second amendment that we had planned to do. So at this time, the packet includes or the proposed amendments includes changing the term medical offices to medical clinic within the R3 medium density residential district. And then um this table here is also within your packet, and it just summarizes all those terms that I went through and where they would be allowed in different zoning districts, either by right or by special use permit. Let's see. And then I'll get to the recommendation here, which staff recommends approval of the zoning ordinance amendments. Uh we think that these type of treatment facilities could be it should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Um, and that the location and impacts could be evaluated uh at a time when somebody is submitting for that special use permit. One other change that I'd like to note is that um where typically we will present to council the following month an item. So typically this item was presented in November.
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