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Waynesboro council tables proposed zoning change on service bay door orientation
Summary
Council deferred action on a zoning text amendment that would relax where service bay doors for car washes and vehicle service facilities may face, asking staff to return with consistent review criteria and screening options.
Waynesboro City Council on May 27 voted to table a zoning text amendment that would change how service bay doors at car washes and vehicle sales/service operations are oriented relative to entrance corridors and adjacent residences.
The amendment would have revised city code language in Chapter 98 to allow site-review discretion on bay-door orientation and require additional screening when needed, rather than the current strict rule that doors face away from designated entrance corridors and adjacent residential uses. Planning staff and the planning commission had recommended the amendment, but council members asked for clearer, consistent criteria before final action.
Miss Tate, a city staff member who presented the item, said the amendment "aims to more consistently reduce the visual impact bay doors may have to adjacent residential areas and within the entrance corridors," and described examples in the city where the current requirement produced mixed results. She pointed to existing developments such as a Take 5 site and a Discount Tire location to illustrate different visual outcomes depending on site layout and screening.
Council member Lehi said he was not opposed to the concept but pressed for a documented, consistent review process so developers would have predictability. Lehi said, "the last thing I would also wanna do from a customer service perspective is the last thing a developer wants is, not to know what they're gonna get themselves into." He asked staff to return with evaluation criteria or a scoring protocol for site review decisions.
Council member Stewart seconded a motion to table the amendment so staff could prepare clearer review criteria and screening standards. The motion to table carried on a voice vote.
The amendment under consideration would have changed references in the city code that address bay door orientation for car washes and vehicle sales/service and added language allowing the zoning administrator to require "additional screening deemed necessary" as part of site-plan review. Council did not adopt the ordinance and directed staff to draft objective criteria and consistency measures before returning the item for further consideration.
