Planning commission unanimously approves Bay Custom Auto conditional use permit for Jefferson Avenue site

Newport News Planning Commission on May 7 unanimously approved a conditional use permit for Bay Custom Auto to develop and operate an automobile body and paint shop at 11408 Jefferson Avenue.

The approval, for application CU2025Tech0002 submitted by RM William Properties LLC (owner) and Bay Custom Auto (applicant), was granted 9–0 with conditions recommended by planning staff. The commission’s vote follows a staff presentation and public comment from the applicant’s representatives and project engineer.

Planner Saul Garcia told the commission the 1.92-acre parcel is currently zoned C-2 (General Commercial) and has been zoned C-2 since the citywide rezoning that took effect Aug. 1, 1997. Garcia said the parcel’s future land use on the One City, One Future 2040 Comprehensive Plan designates neighborhood commercial uses. He described the proposal as a two-story, contemporary structure with metal panels and stone accents, and said the applicant intends all repair and paint work to occur indoors. “All work will happen indoors with the bay doors closed,” Garcia said. He added that city departments had no objections and that a Class 1 site plan and a landscape plan will be required before construction.

The staff report notes required transitional buffers where the property abuts multi-family and single-family residential zoning: a 20-foot buffer adjacent to multi-family and a 30-foot buffer adjacent to single-family residences. Garcia said the project will provide a 28-foot-wide landscaped area along Jefferson Avenue that includes the required 20-foot transitional buffer and an existing 9-foot drainage easement.

Representatives for the applicant told the commission the project replaces a blighted used-car sales lot and will include a perimeter fence to screen parked vehicles and portions of the workshop. An applicant representative said the perimeter fence will be solid. “It will be a solid fence,” the representative said. The applicant said weekday hours of operation will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, and that the business could have up to 12 employees in total though not all would be onsite at the same time.

Commissioners asked about traffic and the site’s access. Garcia said the existing entrances onto Jefferson Avenue will be removed and replaced with one 40-foot-wide commercial entrance; he and commissioners noted the segment of Jefferson Avenue at the site is four lanes with a median that limits turning movements. The staff recommendation lists 19 conditions, including submission of the required Class 1 site plan and a landscape plan; the full list of conditions is included in the staff report and will be part of any ordinance approved by city council.

Chairperson Taylor called the question after public comment and a motion to approve was made and seconded. A roll-call vote recorded each commissioner voting in favor; the motion carried 9–0. The planning commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Newport News City Council for consideration at its June 10, 2025 meeting.

The decision advances a redevelopment project for a commercial corridor that planning staff described as historically auto-related, and it includes review steps (site plan, landscape plan) intended to address buffers and visual impacts on adjacent residential properties.