Newport News Planning Commission defers vote on Morrison Station rezoning after hours of testimony

The Newport News Planning Commission on June 4 deferred for 60 days a decision on CZ2025Tech0002, a conditional rezoning that would allow redevelopment of the Camp Morrison industrial site as a 638‑unit residential community called Morrison Station.

Planner Saul (staff) presented the rezoning request and said the application would change the property’s conditional proffers and conceptual master plan to allow a mixed‑use, neo‑traditional overlay development on about 108.9 acres. Saul said the proposed master plan and new proffers include a conceptual “Morrison Station” design guideline, traffic improvements proffered in a traffic impact analysis, right‑of‑way dedications, and stormwater and sanitary requirements including a sanitary pump station that must be operational before any occupancy.

The change proposed by the applicant limits residential units to no more than 638—one fewer than the previously approved proposal—and would provide roughly 21 acres of amenity green space (7 acres of which count toward perimeter buffers), about 2 acres dedicated to stormwater management, a 2.5‑acre city park (to be built in phase 1 and dedicated to the city) and a separate 1.6‑acre parcel at Warwick Boulevard intended for an entertainment or recreation use to be developed by others. Saul said Newport News Public Schools reviewed the proposal and “expressed no concerns with meeting capacity.”

Developer representatives described the changes as a modernization of the 2013 rezoning to meet current engineering, stormwater and fire apparatus standards. Brian Rowe, vice president of D.R. Horton Southern Virginia, said, “We are going to continue to adhere to the architectural standards of the original rezoning. We haven't deviated from any of the architectural standards.” Grady Palmer, counsel for the applicant, told commissioners the developer had proffered the full recommendations in the traffic impact analysis and that “the city will ultimately have enforcement authority in perpetuity, for these design guidelines.” Melissa Venable, a land planner who compared the 2013 plan to the current proposal, said the previous plan included 47 lots of about 7,000 square feet that are no longer part of the current layout; she said most single‑family lots in the new plan are about 3,780 to roughly 4,860 square feet and that townhomes would be 20 feet wide.

Public comment stretched for more than three hours. Supporters said the site’s warehouses are derelict and that new housing would revitalize the corridor and help retain workers who commute to the shipyard and other employers. “Newport News desperately needs new housing,” said Wendy Drucker, a Hilton area resident. Several business owners and property owners also urged approval, saying the development would bring customers to adjacent shopping centers.

Opponents and nearby residents raised recurring…