Planning commission forwards wild‑game processing text amendment to supervisors with recommendation of approval

The Fauquier County Planning Commission voted to forward a proposed zoning‑ordinance amendment that would establish a defined use category for wild‑game processing (processing, cutting and packaging of non‑domesticated animals harvested in the wild) to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation of approval.

Staff said the amendment — initiated by the Board of Supervisors in November 2024 — would allow a narrowly defined, non‑slaughter wild‑game processing use in certain industrial and agricultural zoning districts with special‑permit or special‑exception approval, and would not permit slaughter or keeping of animals on site. The draft would treat small industrial parcels (up to 4 acres) differently from larger parcels and proposes additional site‑specific standards drawn from existing ordinance sections for kennels, major home occupations and agricultural avatars.

Planning staff presented the proposal in the work session and again at the public hearing. No speakers came forward in opposition during the public hearing. A commissioner moved to forward the text amendment to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation of approval; the motion was seconded and adopted on the record at the meeting.

The commission’s action sends the draft ordinance language and the commission recommendation to the Board of Supervisors for their consideration; if supervisors adopt the amendment it would change permitted uses and approval standards in the cited zoning districts.

The record from the meeting notes staff’s position that the proposed use would not be appropriate in RA or Village zoning for parcels smaller than 4 acres due to proximity to neighboring property owners, and that additional standards were proposed to address food‑safety, odor, and operations concerns typical to processing uses. The Board of Supervisors will receive the ordinance text and commission recommendation at a future meeting.