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Planning commission tables proposed text change on service‑bay orientation, asks staff for stronger residential protections
Summary
Commissioners heard a staff proposal to let the site‑review team decide how service bay doors (car wash/vehicle service) are oriented, but raised concerns about noise, traffic and residential impacts and voted to table the item for staff to draft alternate language that more clearly prioritizes protection for adjacent homes.
The Waynesboro Planning Commission on March 18 opened a public hearing and heard a staff proposal to amend zoning code language that currently requires service bay doors "to face away from adjacent residential uses and from corridors." Staff proposed replacing that absolute requirement with site‑by‑site orientation determined by the site review team and with authority for the zoning administrator to require additional screening.
Allison, planning staff, told commissioners the change was intended to reduce inconsistent visual results under the current rule and to let staff and developers account for site specifics such as topography, mature trees, materials and buffers. Using local examples — Take 5, Tidal Wave, Discount Tire, Rightway Hyundai and Mister Tire — staff showed cases where bay doors set parallel to corridors had different visual impacts depending on context.
Applicant Seth Roderick of Monteverde Engineering, speaking for a prospective car‑wash tenant at Waynesboro Marketplace on Rosser Avenue, said the proposed language lets the site review team weigh residential impacts first and corridor appearance second. He said the subject lot in the marketplace is behind the front row of businesses and that his design would orient bays toward an adjacent Sheetz and include an evergreen fence and vegetative buffer to reduce headlights and noise.
Commissioners expressed several concerns. Some asked whether traffic — vehicles exiting bays directly into a high‑speed corridor — would be mitigated by setbacks and site plan review; staff answered that setbacks and the site review process address traffic and safety concerns. Others highlighted noise and late‑night activity from tire shops or car washes and asked whether the ordinance should explicitly consider noise and hours.
After discussion, the commission voted to table the zoning text amendment and asked staff to return with clearer options that increase protection for residential uses. Commissioner Stewart moved to table the matter to the commission’s next regular meeting; Commissioner Lee seconded the motion. The motion carried and the matter will be set over for further staff work and another public hearing if the text is materially changed.
No members of the public who had signed up spoke during the hearing, and staff said the applicant will work with the planning department on proposed buffers and fence details for the Waynesboro Marketplace site if the text amendment moves forward.
