Planners ask supervisors to consider allowing open‑sided gazebos over private piers

Craig Palovinski, a marine‑structures designer and Bay Coral Shores resident, asked the Northumberland County Planning Commission on June 18 to ask the Board of Supervisors to amend the county's pier zoning rules to allow open‑sided roof structures (commonly called gazebos) over private piers.

Palovinski told the commission the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) has added an exemption that allows open‑sided gazebos up to 400 square feet and allows open‑sided boathouses or covered slips up to 700 square feet when adjoining waterfront property owners do not object. "They also allow boathouse or open sided boathouses up to 700 square feet," Palovinski said, and he described the VMRC change that added gazebos at the smaller size threshold.

Why it matters: local pier rules affect shoreline property owners, neighboring view corridors and when a public hearing is required. Palovinski said his clients increasingly request covered pier footprints that are not currently permitted by the county and that county staff advised a path forward that would align the local ordinance with VMRC practice.

Commission discussion clarified limits and process. County staff (Philip) told commissioners that VMRC treats the gazebo exemption as a state permit matter when neighbors object and that, locally, covered‑slip permits run a 10‑day public notice; if there is opposition a conditional use permit is required and the matter advances to the planning commission and the Board of Supervisors. Palovinski gave typical sizes he has designed (an 18-by-20 gazebo, about 360 square feet, often tied to a 672‑square‑foot covered slip) and emphasized that VMRC and the county require open sides with "no doors, no walls, no screens," according to a letter the county circulated from Jeff Madden.

Action taken: a commissioner moved that the planning commission send a memo to the Board of Supervisors asking for permission to draft an amendment adding "gazebos" to the county's boathouse/covered slip ordinance and the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The commission did not adopt ordinance text; it voted to request the board's authorization to proceed with drafting and review.

Next steps: staff will send the memo to the Board of Supervisors. If supervisors approve the commission's request, the planning commission will draft ordinance language (including a definition of "gazebo" and the open‑side requirement) and then follow the county's public‑notice and conditional‑use procedures if objections arise. VMRC hearings in Fort Monroe may be required where the state exemption is contested.

Supporting details: Palovinski identified neighboring counties that have adopted similar language (King George, Middlesex and Essex) and provided a copy of VMRC statutory language and a letter from Jeff Madden describing VMRC's local practice and the definition of "adjacent property owners" as those who share a waterfront property line, not property across a creek.

Ending: The commission's vote asks the Board of Supervisors to authorize staff and the commission to draft ordinance language; any future ordinance change will return to the planning commission and, if required by county rules or public comment, to a public hearing before the Board of Supervisors.