Planning Commission OKs special-use permit for Shaw Development contractor storage yard with Saturday access

The Montgomery County Planning Commission voted April 9 to approve a special-use permit allowing Shaw Development LLC to operate a contractor storage yard on Flanagan Drive, with an amended condition permitting activity Monday through Saturday.

County planner Richard Cochran told commissioners the 18-acre site just outside Christiansburg would use an existing 18,000–18,500-square-foot building and adjacent gravel area for storage of equipment, vehicles and materials related to Shaw’s construction operations. "Employees of Shaw Development will be the primary users of the property, transporting equipment and materials to and from job sites as necessary, typically between the hours of 7AM to 5PM, Monday through Friday," Cochran said.

The property is zoned A-1 (agricultural), where contractor storage yards are allowed only by approved special-use permit. Cochran said the site is accessed via a 40-foot access easement, is outside flood hazard areas and requires no water or sewer for the proposed use. The Virginia Department of Transportation reviewed the application and "takes no exception" to the permit, staff said.

Kevin Connor of Shaw Development, the applicant, asked for a clarification on the hours condition, noting the company sometimes retrieves equipment on weekends. "The Monday through Friday, 8 to 5, sometimes we do work on Saturdays and Sundays," Connor said, asking that occasional weekend trips not become a technical violation. Commissioners amended staff condition No. 6 to allow activity on Saturdays and then moved to approve the permit with the other staff conditions unchanged.

The approval includes conditions requiring general conformance with the applicant’s concept sketch dated March 3, 2025; site-plan-level review of landscaping, screening, parking and signage; prohibition on public access to the yard; requirements that stored equipment be in good working condition; limits on exterior impacts such as noise, vibration, glare or odor; and dark-sky–compliant exterior lighting. No fencing is proposed; any future fencing would need to meet zoning standards.

Commissioners asked staff what would be required if the building were expanded substantially. Cochran said that if expansions exceeded roughly 50% or fell outside the approved concept, the applicant would be required to return for additional review. Public comment was not received at the hearing.

The motion to approve, with the amended day-of-week condition, passed on a roll call vote of the commissioners present.