Grayson planning commission approves criteria to allow reduced setbacks in special-use permits

The Grayson County Planning Commission voted Aug. 19 to add explicit criteria to Section 5-11-3 of the county zoning ordinance allowing the board of supervisors to approve reduced setback standards, including interior lot-line setbacks, as part of special-use permits. The change responds to a formal request from Deer Creek and is intended to give officials clearer standards for varying setbacks.

Planning Department staff said the new language models Code of Virginia guidance for special-use permits and lists findings the board may make when approving reduced setbacks. “Such modifications may be approved if the board finds that the reduced setback is necessary and desirable based on specific circumstances,” staff read aloud during the meeting, adding that the change ties decisions to factors such as compatibility with surrounding development, topographic or physical constraints, historic preservation, public benefit or essential services, and mitigation measures such as screening or buffering.

The language inserted into 5-11-3 would let the board approve modifications by resolution if it makes the required findings. Commissioners discussed whether to enumerate common situations in the ordinance to make decision criteria more uniform. The commission voted to add a list of “common situations” where smaller setbacks may be permitted — examples cited were topography, compatibility, protection of wetlands or trees, and essential public services — and to forward the amended text for a public hearing. The motion to add those situations carried on a voice vote with all present saying “aye.”

Staff told commissioners that the Board of Supervisors had already considered a related resolution and that supervisors had approved exhibit language on the issue by a 3-0 vote, with Supervisors Cornett and Anderson absent. The commission’s approval is a text-amendment recommendation; staff will include the commission’s edits in the packet for the public hearing that must precede a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.

Commissioners and staff emphasized the intent to keep the ordinance language sufficiently flexible so that individual special-use permits could include site-specific conditions rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all rule. Staff said applicants could propose mitigation such as buffering or design changes to offset reduced setbacks.

No public commenters spoke on the item during the meeting. The commission directed staff to prepare the ordinance amendment, include the enumerated common situations in 5-11-3, and schedule a public hearing before forwarding a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.