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Planning commission recommends special exception at 60470 Fourth Street after neighbors raise address‑assignment concerns
Summary
Commission recommended approval of a special exception to build a two‑story home on a 35‑foot-wide lot at 60470 Fourth Street; nearby property owners raised concerns about confusing existing addresses for adjacent Newmarket Apartments, and planning staff said the city adjusted GIS addresses to resolve the issue.
The Newport News Planning Commission voted 7-0 to recommend approval of a special exception allowing construction of a two‑story single-family dwelling on a 35-foot-wide nonconforming lot at 60470 Fourth Street and forwarded the case to the Board of Zoning Appeals.
City planner Zakar presented the application by Blue Chip Realty Corporation, describing the lot as approximately 0.080 acres and noting surrounding uses include single-family homes, an apartment complex and commercial property. Staff said the proposal calls for a two-story house with a covered front porch, brick veneer first-floor façade and an attached one-car garage recessed to meet ordinance requirements.
During public comment, adjacent-property representatives said address confusion on the block has caused practical problems for mail, service of court documents and emergency response. Irvin ("Chip") Goldstein, representing the owner of Newmarket Apartments, said the apartment property had been referred to variously as 600, 602 and 604 Fourth Street and that sheriffs had at times refused service because of the discrepancies: "What I would like is for the address confusion to be cleared up once and for all," Goldstein said.
Planner Zakar and staff said they investigated with the assessor’s office and GIS, and that the parcel addressing was updated so the parcel now shows as 604 in the city GIS; Zakar said police, fire and the sheriff’s department had been notified and were appreciative of the correction. Bailey Wong, manager and owner‑representative for the adjacent apartment property, confirmed the clarification and said she appreciated the follow-up.
Staff recommended nine or ten standard conditions (staff wording varied in the presentation), including director review of elevations and materials and a brick veneer requirement for the front façade and steps. Commissioner questions about the property line and a chain-link fence were answered by staff saying the site survey and setbacks, not the fence location, govern required setbacks.
Commissioner Williams moved to accept staff’s recommendation; the motion was seconded and passed on a roll-call vote of 7-0. Staff said the case will go to the Board of Zoning Appeals in March 2025.
