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.
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.