Planning Commission delays decision on Church of God at Midland special-exception requests

The Fauquier County Planning Commission left the public hearing open and postponed consideration of a special-exception application from the Church of God at Midland for a proposed major place of worship and a multi-day Class B event.

The application covers just under 61 acres at the Catlett Road and Metz Road intersection and proposes a main worship building of roughly 35,000 square feet, an auxiliary building, pavilion, sports and outdoor recreation areas, a 261-space parking field, private well and drain-field reserves, and an underground water storage tank for fire suppression. The applicants proposed two Sunday services (each with 325 seats), weekly services and a multi-day annual fellowship meeting that would run up to six days and draw a cumulative attendance of about 3,000 people.

Ms. Marshall, community development staff, reported outstanding issues including whether wastewater calculations should be based on seats or on weekly attendance and that the zoning ordinance requires Class B event sites to contain a minimum of 100 acres; the subject parcel contains under 61 acres so any approval would require a specific finding that less restrictive standards would not negatively impact general or specific standards. Marshall said staff had included a proposed condition limiting weekly attendance and restricting class-B event frequency, and recommended postponing to allow the applicant and the Virginia Department of Health to reconcile wastewater and septic calculations.

Applicant representatives, including Kurt Crouch (engineer and trustee) and Pastor Todd Wilcoxen, told the commission they agreed with postponement while they finalize health-department review and clarified the Sunday-service attendance calculation. The applicants said the proposed 4,000-gallon storage tank with a 600-gallon-per-day dosing design should accommodate typical daily load and occasional weddings or funerals.

Public commenters expressed concerns about septic/drain-field capacity, traffic on Route 28, access and noise. After discussion the commission left the public hearing open and voted to postpone the matter to the next regularly scheduled Planning Commission meeting (roughly 30–34 days), allowing applicants to follow up with the health department and staff to clarify conditions.

Discussion vs. decision: commissioners did not approve the special exceptions; they postponed action and kept the public hearing open to allow additional technical review and clearer conditions to be drafted.

Next steps: applicants and staff will coordinate with the Virginia Department of Health, VDOT and emergency services to provide required technical clarifications and return the item to the Planning Commission at its next regular meeting.