Warren County Planning Commission forwards multiple land-use requests, adopts comprehensive plan update

Robert Myers was re-elected chairman and Hugh Henry vice chairman as the Warren County Planning Commission opened its Jan. 8 meeting, then moved into public hearings that produced a mix of unanimous recommendations, a tabled short-term rental request and the commission’s adoption of the county’s 2024 comprehensive-plan update.

The commission voted to forward a number of conditional use permit (CUP) requests to the Board of Supervisors with staff-recommended conditions, including: a short-term tourist rental for property owners who intend to manage rentals locally; a plan for a rural resort center at Ratana Vineyards; a church expansion at Mountaintop Church at Skyline; and a set of land‑use and permitting changes proposed by Little Boy Ventures to allow a social hall, a training facility and limited private camping on a former fire-station property on Rivermont Drive.

Why it matters: The decisions (and the comprehensive-plan vote) shape where new lodging, events venues, and light industrial or community uses can locate in Warren County, and set the conditions — occupancy caps, health- and fire-department approvals, lighting and septic/well testing — under which those uses can operate.

Key permit discussions and outcomes

Ratana Vineyards rural resort center — forward to supervisors with conditions Shelly Cook, owner of Ratana Vineyards, asked the commission to allow a commercial kitchen and a phased build-out of up to 20 cabins in association with her vineyard and tasting room. Staff told commissioners that county code generally limits farm wineries from operating a restaurant and that the county’s supplementary regulations for a rural resort center require a minimum acreage (30 acres) where restaurant service is proposed. Cook asked the commission not to require combining the vineyard’s existing rural-events CUP parcel with the tasting‑room parcel and asked that the commission permit the tasting-room parcel at 28 acres rather than the 30-acre supplemental standard. Planning staff and county counsel advised the commission they can make exceptions to the supplemental 30-acre minimum in specific CUP cases.

The commission voted to forward the application for Ratana Vineyards (Bridal Resort/Rural Resort Center, commercial kitchen and the possibility of future lodging) to the Board of Supervisors with conditions recommended by staff, including: compliance with VDOT, Warren County Health Department and state fire code requirements; a 300-person maximum occupancy across the property consistent with earlier approvals; final illustrative development plans prior to permits; and limits on camping and permanent residency in cabins.

Little Boy Ventures zoning text amendment and CUPs — forward to supervisors Little Boy Ventures (Rick Rumbarger) filed a zoning-text amendment to create or clarify two new use types — “social hall” and “training facility” — and requested CUPs for a social hall, training facility and up to four recreational vehicles for private volunteer housing on a property formerly used as a volunteer fire station on Rivermont Drive.

Planning staff described proposed definitions and supplementary regulations for both new use types: minimum acreage (2 acres), setbacks, illustrative development plans, limits on hours and decibel caps for training activities, screening for stored equipment, and occupancy caps tied to building and health‑department occupancy limits. The applicant told the commission he intends to continue community-support activities previously carried out at the old fire station, remove a previously proposed commercial kitchen from the social-hall plan, and use RV units only for volunteers and personal use, not as paid rentals.

The commission heard both opposition and support during public comment. Adjacent property owners and other residents raised concerns about potential noise, traffic and the general commercial character of certain training activities; others — including neighbors who said they knew and supported the applicants — urged the commission to preserve a rehabilitated building and allow community activities. Several speakers said any future uses should be tightly conditioned.

After public comment the commission voted to forward the text amendment and each of the three CUP requests (training facility, social hall, private-use camping up to four RVs) to the Board of Supervisors with staff’s recommended conditions, including a 100-person overall cap for the social-hall and training-facility occupancy (subject to final building- and health-department determinations), hours limits (indoor/outdoor), and screening/operational conditions for stored vehicles and equipment.

Short-term rental (STR) applications — several forwarded, one tabled The commission considered multiple STR conditional‑use applications across the county. For applications where staff found required notices and health‑department records in place and where neighbors did not submit objections, the commission generally voted to forward staff‑recommended approvals. Examples: the conditional use permit for a short-term tourist rental at 1444 Stokes Airport Road (applicant: Isaiah Droege) was forwarded to the Board of Supervisors with staff conditions on health, septic/well testing and occupancy limits.

At least one STR application in the Riverbend Farm subdivision (6 Raleigh Ridge Drive, applicant Kimberly Colton) was tabled to allow the applicant time to obtain a written statement from a neighbor who lives within 100 feet; the commission said past practice has been to require written, documented neighbor approval when parcels fall inside the 100-foot setback waiver threshold.

Church expansion and other CUPs The commission also forwarded a CUP for Mountaintop Church at Skyline to the Board of Supervisors, including staff conditions tied to site plans, lighting that complies with the county code and at least one hard-surfaced handicap parking stall within a year of permit approval. A neighbor had raised concerns during public comment about existing exterior lighting; staff said lighting compliance will be confirmed during site-plan review and final inspections.

Comprehensive plan adoption (Option 3) — commission recommends draft 2024 comp plan with Rockland-area change Planning staff presented the draft 2024 Warren County Comprehensive Plan and three mapped options specific to the Route 522/Family Dollar/Slate Run area. After public comment (more than a dozen residents and local groups spoke at length, largely urging preservation of agricultural character north of the Family Dollar distribution center) and internal discussion, the commission voted to adopt the 2024 comprehensive-plan update and to recommend Option 3 for the future‑land‑use map. Public testimony emphasized protection of the Rockland area’s rural character and asked the county to keep certain parcels agricultural rather than designating new industrial uses.

What conditions and approvals will be required next All CUPs the commission forwarded carry staff-recommended conditions that rely on final approvals from the Warren County Health Department, the Virginia Department of Transportation for commercial entrances, Warren County Building Inspections and the county fire marshal or Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code, where applicable. Any changes to future land use enacted by the Board of Supervisors would be followed by rezoning or site-plan review as necessary.

Ending: What comes next Each forwarded item goes to the Warren County Board of Supervisors for final action. Several items will require final site plans, health‑department certifications for water and septic, and VDOT review of entrances before building or zoning certificates can be issued. The commission also directed staff to continue refining accessory-dwelling unit language and other ordinance text where the comprehensive plan recommends future code work.

Direct quotes (from meeting transcript) • “I am here tonight to get a CUP for a commercial kitchen from my tasting room at Ratana Vineyards,” applicant Shelly Cook said, adding she wants the commission to avoid vacating an earlier CUP for the adjacent parcel. • “We purchased the property in December of last year… we intend to be a good community member,” applicant Rick Rumbarger said of Little Boy Ventures’ plans for the former fire station site. • “It would be devastating to change that and to bring industrial north of, where it is today,” resident Nathan Evans said during the comprehensive-plan hearing.