Harrisonburg Planning Commission Meeting: June 10, 2026: STR, Meat Processing, Townhome Rezoning
Harrisonburg Planning Commission Meeting - June 10, 2026
The Harrisonburg Planning Commission met on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, at 6:00 PM in the City Council Chambers. The meeting covered four public hearing items: a short-term rental (STR) special use permit, a meat processing facility special use permit, and a rezoning and special use permit request for townhomes on East Market Street. The Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the STR and meat processing permits, and voted 3-2 to recommend denial of the townhome rezoning and special use permit. The meeting adjourned at 8:24 PM.
Discussion Items
1. Short-Term Rental Special Use Permit – 453 West Water Street
- Applicant: Sean Ryan and Lisa Lopez-Ryan requested a special use permit to operate a short-term rental (STR) in an accessory structure (former detached garage) on a 10,297-square-foot property in the R-2 Residential District. The applicant stated they will reside in one of the duplex units and host up to four guests in two accommodation spaces in the garage. The accessory structure was renovated without permits prior to purchase; the applicant is now obtaining permits and a certificate of occupancy.
- Staff Recommendation: Approval with conditions limiting STR to the accessory structure, two guestrooms, four guests, and requiring a pre-operation form and nuisance recall provision.
- Commissioner Discussion: Kettler noted the STR does not remove housing stock; Dent clarified it is an accessory structure, not a dwelling unit.
- Vote: Unanimous (5-0) to recommend approval to City Council, due back July 14, 2026.
2. Meat Processing and Storage Facility Special Use Permit – 256 Charles Street
- Applicant: Honest Meats LLC requested a special use permit to legalize an existing nonconforming meat processing (slaughterhouse) facility in the M-1 General Industrial District. The facility has operated for about 90 years, processing fewer than 100 animals per month for local organic farmers. The applicant proposed self-imposed conditions including screening, no outdoor pens, parking delineation, and a grease trap.
- Staff Recommendation: Approval with conditions.
- Commissioner Discussion: Jezior raised concerns about future residential expansion near the facility. Dent recalled that City Council also defined poultry processing when adding the meat processing definition.
- Vote: Unanimous (5-0) to recommend approval to City Council, due back July 14, 2026.
3. Rezoning and Special Use Permit for Townhomes – 2210 and 2230 East Market Street
- Applicant: WFS Hanson LLC (contract purchaser Providence Acquisitions Partners) requested rezoning from R-1 to R-8 and a special use permit to allow 49 townhomes on a 6.6-acre site. The property has been marketed for commercial development for 10 years without success. The applicant proffered conditions including a maximum of 49 units, 10 guest parking spaces (later willing to proffer 23), a 10,000-square-foot tot lot, a 20-foot landscape buffer, 6-foot opaque fence, 20-foot right-of-way dedication for a future shared-use path, and sidewalk along Betts Road.
- Staff Recommendation: Denial, citing inconsistency with the Comprehensive Plan's Limited Commercial designation and incompatibility with adjacent single-family neighborhoods.
- Public Comments: Several residents from Fairway Hills and Chatham Square opposed the project, citing traffic congestion on Betts Road and East Market Street, inadequate guest parking, pedestrian safety, and the lack of a secondary access point. Some residents expressed support for growth but not this density with the current access constraints.
- Commissioner Discussion: Seitz and Jezior emphasized traffic concerns and the need for a signalized entrance off Evelyn Byrd Avenue. Dent and Kettler supported the housing need and questioned the land use guide's applicability. Porter noted concerns about the non-proffered site plan. The applicant offered to proffer general conformance to the illustrative plan and additional parking, but the motion to deny proceeded.
- Vote: 3-2 to recommend denial of the rezoning and special use permit to City Council (Porter, Seitz, Jezior in favor of denial; Dent and Kettler opposed).
Key Outcomes
- Short-Term Rental (453 W. Water St.): Approved 5-0; recommendation to City Council on July 14, 2026.
- Meat Processing (256 Charles St.): Approved 5-0; recommendation to City Council on July 14, 2026.
- Townhome Rezoning & SUP (2210/2230 E. Market St.): Denied 3-2; recommendation to City Council on July 14, 2026.
- Other Reports: Vice Chair Porter reported on the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting (June 1, 2026). Councilmember Dent reported on recent City Council actions, including approval of a special use permit at 1315 Carrera Lane, rezoning of 850 Canterbury Court, and tabling of a rezoning at 1340 South Main Street.
- Next Meeting: The Commission will hold a work session on June 16, 2026, to discuss the zoning ordinance update.
Meeting Transcript
I will call to order the uh meeting of the Harrisonburg Planning Commission uh for June 10th, 2026. I beg everybody's forgiveness and uh as this is my first time chairing one of these meetings, so it's a little bit like my 16-year-old daughter driving. We will get to where we're supposed to go, but it might not be as smooth as we all like it to be. So I appreciate your grace and patience. Uh we're gonna go ahead and and uh just go ahead and do our roll call and determine our quorum. We do have a quorum this evening. We are missing Chairman Baugh and Commissioner Al Cindy, but we have five members present. Um and we will now move to the approval of our minutes of the May 13th meeting. I move to approve the minutes. Second. Okay, there's a motion and a second. Any comments? All right. Um roll call vote? Actually, let's go ahead and just call for a verbal vote. All in favor? Aye. Aye. All opposed. Hearing none, we've accepted the minutes as submitted. We're gonna go ahead and move on to the new business. Uh the first item for agenda is uh item 4A, which is the request for a special use permit to allow a short-term rental at 453 West Water Street. And we'll go ahead and turn it over to staff. Good evening. I am Nira Massalfa with community development. So the applicant is requesting a special use permit for section 10340 subsection eight to allow short-term rental in the R2 residential district. All surrounding properties are also zoned R2. The comprehensive plan designates this site as neighbor this site as neighborhood residential, which contains a mixture of densities and a mixture of housing types. The pros the proposed special use permit does not add dwelling units nor does it increase density. The 10,002 square foot property is addressed at 453 West Water Street and is identified as tax map parcel 36 S12. If approved, the applicant plans to operate a short-term rental on the property. So the zoning ordinance allows two options for operating uh short-term transient lodging, commonly known as Airbnbs. The the uh buy-right homestead and a short-term rental by special use permit. To operate a home stay, the property must be the operator's primary residence, may host up to four guests, may operate up to 90 nights per calendar year, and guests must stay in within the main dwelling unit. If the operator wants to operate outside of what is permitted by right, they must apply for the special use permit. The applicant intends to host guests in an accessory structure on the site. The property is a stacked duplex and an accessory structure. The applicant has stated that they that they will be the uh short-term rental operator and will reside in one of the dwellings. They will operate the short-term rental and the accessory structure on the property, offer two accommodation spaces, and host no more than four guests. Uh the one off-street parking space is required for each dwelling and for each accommodation space for a total of four off-street parking spaces. The driveway can accommodate the required spaces. So as explained within the submitted application materials, the applicant would operate the short-term rental in the existing accessory structure, which was formerly a detached garage that was renovated without the required permits before the applicant purchased the property. The applicant has applied for building permits to bring the accessory structure into compliance and to obtain a certificate of occupancy. They have been informed that a certificate of occupancy is required before they can begin operations. Staff recommends conditions limiting the short-term rental to the accessory structure described in the application, limiting limiting it to two accommodation spaces and no more than four guests at a time, and not requiring that off-street parking spaces be delineated. Additional con conditions include requiring a pre-operation form and allowing plant planning commission or city council to review and recall the special use permit if it becomes a nuisance. Staff recommends approval of the special use permit with the conditions. Any questions? Actually, I had one. I don't know.
openpublica.com