BARC cooperative wins two-year approval to make Millboro laydown yard permanent after neighbors object

The Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors on April 14 approved revised conditions allowing BARC Electrical Cooperative to continue using its Millboro property in Cars Creek as a permanent equipment laydown site and to pursue covered storage, after more than two hours of public comment from residents and a presentation by BARC leadership.

The board voted to accept a set of planning-commission-recommended conditions as revised by county staff and on the record, and set the permit to a two-year period of validity so the cooperative and neighbors could finalize building details, stormwater and floodplain plans and the new Fredericksburg Road entrance. The motion passed unanimously.

The application asked to convert an area that has repeatedly been permitted as a temporary laydown yard into a longer-term facility with covered storage and a warehouse/shop building. BARC CEO Bill Buchanan told the board the site supports both electric service operations and BarkConnex broadband construction and maintenance: “The lay down yard is pretty critical for the continuation of us building broadband,” he said, adding the yard reduces response times during storms and preserves equipment life.

Dozens of Cars Creek residents objected, saying the location is in a rural village zone and the county’s comprehensive plan favors preserving agricultural character there. Several residents said a 30,000-square-foot warehouse (as shown in BARC planning materials) would be out of scale, would increase heavy-vehicle traffic at the Highland Bell intersection, and could increase runoff because the area is at least partially in the 100‑year floodplain. Resident Catherine Daniel said the community “envision[s] a place where rural character, scenic beauty and agricultural roots are respected,” and urged denial. Other speakers highlighted possible impacts to nearby businesses, wedding venues, farms and streams.

County planning staff and BARC representatives said engineering, VDOT entrance approval, floodplain design and a decommissioning/security surety would be required before final construction. Chris (county planning staff) told the board the site previously received a LOMA (letter of map amendment) that removed parts of the originally mapped floodplain for the parcel BARC then owned; staff noted portions of the 7.24-acre area acquired later remain within the mapped 100‑year floodplain and would need building‑code floodproofing measures if structures are approved. Staff proposed revised permit conditions that remove the immediate requirement to build the warehouse but require a decommissioning agreement and surety, chain-link fencing with slats and screening, undergrounding of certain lines, and a specified timetable for planting and other mitigation; the board’s adopted language also included a two-year period of validity.

Several speakers who support BARC stressed the cooperative’s role in providing electric reliability and expanding broadband. Tim Goodbar, who described a local medical dependency on uninterrupted power, told the board that quick material staging near the county aids storm response and restores service faster.

The adopted motion directs BARC to supply further, site-specific engineering and stormwater information and requires VDOT approval of the Fredericksburg Road access; county staff said the adopted conditions make the permit valid for two years and require additional submittals and surety before vertical construction of any warehouse/shop building. The board’s approval does not rezone the parcel; it amends conditions tied to a special-exception permit under the A-2 agricultural/general‑use zoning classification.

The decision closes a long-running, contentious chapter in Cars Creek land-use debates: the parcel has operated under a sequence of temporary special-exception authorizations since 2015, and neighbors told the supervisors they fear repeated renewals have effectively created an industrial enclave in a rural area. Supporters argued the laydown yard supports essential services and broadband expansion that benefit many county residents.

What happens next: county staff will track the required technical submittals, VDOT entrance permit, the decommissioning agreement and the financial surety. If BARC returns with final, code‑compliant building and stormwater plans that meet the adopted conditions, the county will proceed with inspections and permits required for construction.