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Planning commission recommends approval of 8-foot screening fence at CSX storage yard
Summary
On Aug. 19 the Winchester City Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of Conditional Use Permit CP25231 allowing an eight-foot screening fence along the CSX storage yard and two adjacent city-owned lots on North Kent Street, subject to design and replacement conditions and community coordination.
The Winchester City Planning Commission on Aug. 19 recommended approval of Conditional Use Permit CP25231 to allow an eight-foot screening fence in the front yard of a CSX railroad storage yard and two adjacent city-owned parcels at 421–501 and 521 North Kent Street.
Mr. Benson, a planning staff member, told the commission the proposal would place an eight-foot screening wall where front-yard fencing normally is limited to four feet. The main stated purpose is to screen the CSX storage yard from a new retention-pond green space the city is building nearby. Benson said staff added conditions after a work session to require the city to work with the North End community committee on varying the wall’s height and adding vertical reveals to avoid a long, monotonous appearance. He also said any repair or replacement that results in a height greater than eight feet would require a new conditional use permit.
The motion to recommend approval included those conditions and was seconded. Commissioner Piper raised multiple objections during discussion, saying she worried the city’s approval could set a precedent that would be cited by private property owners seeking similar eight-foot fences. Piper also asked whether the city had sought cleanup or enforcement from CSX and whether the railroad’s storage use was permitted under the property’s CM-1 zoning. Planning staff said CM-1 allows outdoor storage and that parts of the CSX site appear to have existed before current zoning; they also warned that federal preemption affecting railroads limits local land-use control over CSX property.
Other commissioners described the site as untidy and said a screening wall would improve views from the new park. Commissioners and staff repeatedly emphasized the planned collaboration with the North End community for mural artwork and periodic setbacks in the wall design to reduce the pedestrian-scale impact.
A name vote was recorded. Commissioner Piper voted no. Commissioners Ramirez, Williams and Joan Burnett voted yes. The motion carried and the commission recommended approval of CP25231 subject to the stated design and replacement conditions.
The action directs that if the fence ever must be repaired or replaced resulting in a height greater than eight feet it will require a new conditional use permit. Staff also recorded that the city will coordinate with the North End community committee on final design details and height modulation.
