Orange County planning commission recommends special-use permit for small-engine repair business, drops two entrance conditions

The Orange County Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend approval of special-use permit SUP-202500420 to allow Dunright Small Engine Repair LLC to operate a roughly 1,000-square-foot small-engine repair shop at 15672 Mountain Track Road.

Planning staff described the parcel as tax map 58-12C, about 3 acres in size, in an Agricultural A2 future land-use category. "The applicants are requesting a special use permit, in order to operate a small business, Dunright Small Engine Repair LLC," planning staff member Joe Ryan said during the public hearing.

The commission's action removes two recommended conditions from the draft resolution: one that would have required removal of a middle driveway entrance and another that would have required improvements to the southern entrance to meet VDOT Appendix F commercial-entrance standards. Commissioners debated sight-distance and access needs for the site before the vote.

Why it matters: the parcel is zoned agricultural, and the county's land-use plan lists scattered community commercial uses such as auto repair as compatible with the A2 designation. The applicant proposed operational and environmental safeguards, including on-site waste-fluid storage and a stormwater pollution prevention plan, which staff said mitigated anticipated negative impacts.

Details of the proposal and conditions Dunright Small Engine Repair LLC proposed repair and storage of outdoor power equipment and small gas-powered vehicles, including weed eaters, push mowers, chainsaws, zero-turn mowers, ATVs and similar items. Per staff, the use falls under the zoning definition for outdoor power equipment/motorcycle/ATV/watercraft repair and storage (section 70-303(u) cited by staff).

The applicant proposed a separate waste-fluid storage building that would hold four 55-gallon drums designated for oil, fuel, antifreeze, and transmission/hydraulic oil. "These fluids will be picked up every 3 months by Crystal Clear, a waste oil recovery service," Joe Ryan said.

Staff also presented a stormwater pollution prevention plan and said the business would maintain spill-containment supplies on-site and report spills to the Department of Environmental Quality if a reportable quantity is released.

Other conditions in the draft resolution (as presented by staff) included requiring a zoning permit for both the use and the waste-fluid storage building; that repair work occur within the shop building; that stored equipment awaiting repair be located within the building or on the concrete pad shown on the concept plan; exterior lighting comply with the zoning ordinance; limits on signage (no larger than 32 square feet and no taller than 8 feet); and hours for customer drop-off and pickup set at 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday–Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Applicant remarks and commission concerns "We wish to establish a waiver or a solution to this as the 2 entrances are crucial for many reasons and a necessity for how our business operates," applicant Winoka Nicklow told the commission, describing traffic flow and safety concerns for larger vehicles and waste-oil-trailer access. The applicant indicated agreement with most conditions but asked the commission to allow retention of both existing entrances.

Commissioners asked staff about the VDOT site-distance requirements, the details of Appendix F standards, and whether the county had received a formal waiver request for the dustless-surface requirement for the entrance. Staff said no waiver had been applied for and that, given the site's rural character, they had exercised discretion on the dustless-surface expectation.

Action taken After closing the public hearing, the commission moved to recommend approval of SUP-202500420 while deleting the two draft conditions addressing the middle entrance and the southern entrance. The motion text (as read in the meeting) was: "I make a motion to approve, excluding, numbers 9 and 10. 9 being the condition concerning the middle entrance and 10 being the condition concerning the southern entrance to the property." (motion unattributed in the record). The motion was seconded.

Roll-call vote: Vanhoven—Aye; Bradenton—Aye; de Pascual—Aye; Marshall—Aye; Chairman Capel—Aye. The motion carried 5-0.

What remains unresolved The commission's action removed the two entrance-related conditions from its recommendation. Staff and commissioners noted uncertainty about the precise obligations tied to a VDOT land-use permit and whether requiring Appendix F compliance would obligate the applicant to larger construction than simple gravel. Staff said VDOT had indicated in discussion that the southern entrance likely only required gravel, while the site-distance requirement from a nearby crest could be close to VDOT's nominal 500-foot recommendation.

The draft resolution and staff report also included several detailed operating and environmental conditions that remain in the recommended package. The commission closed the public hearing before taking its vote.