Planning commission recommends approval for mini-storage, RV storage and proffer amendment on George Washington Memorial Highway

The York County Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of three related actions for a multi-parcel site on George Washington Memorial Highway: a proffer amendment for a four-acre portion of the site and two special-use permits to authorize a single-story mini-storage facility and recreational vehicle (RV) storage.

Staff told the commission the combined site includes two parcels (one listed as 12100 George Washington Memorial Highway and the larger parcel listed as 2044) totaling a little more than seven acres, and that roughly four acres of the property were rezoned in 1993 with proffers that staff proposed to amend to allow RV storage. Staff said the property is designated General Business (GB) in the county comprehensive plan and is within the Route 17 corridor overlay.

Why it matters: the applications would replace an existing contractor/junkyard use with a clustered, single-story storage development. Staff said the project is consistent with the comprehensive plan and that conditions can limit impacts on adjacent residential areas.

Staff overview and conditions

Staff described a sketch plan showing a consolidated single main entrance (to replace two existing driveways), a front facade facing Route 17 designed to meet Route 17 overlay aesthetics, a 35-foot transitional buffer abutting the Tab Lakes residential neighborhood, and an existing berm and tree cover that staff proposed to augment with an eight-foot opaque fence where needed. Staff said the application proposes about 572 storage units, a mix of climate-controlled and non-climate-controlled units, three customer parking spaces near the on-site office, and parallel parking inside the gated storage area for the bulk of required parking.

On lighting, staff referenced the county zoning ordinance's foot-candle limits and full-cutoff fixture requirements, noting that at a residential property line light levels must be very low (about 0.1 foot-candle) and that fixtures are required to be cut-off to avoid uplighting.

Staff said the RV-storage area would include covered canopy parking with full-cutoff fixtures; the RV pull-in spaces would…