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Planning Commission recommends rezoning for Food Bank distribution campus off Dam Neck Road
Summary
The commission recommended approval of a conditional rezoning for a 24‑acre site to host a large Food Bank distribution facility, with proffers that preserve tree buffers and require additional site details before City Council; vote was 10–0.
Eddie Bridal, attorney for the applicant, and Chris Tan, president and CEO of the Food Bank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, presented a conditional rezoning for a 24‑acre agricultural parcel off Dam Neck Road. Bridal said the property is constrained by FAA/DoD‑related Article 18 compatibility zones but is suitable for a light‑industrial, warehouse distribution facility for the Food Bank.
Tan told commissioners the food bank has outgrown its Norfolk facility and plans a 110,000‑square‑foot warehouse to support regional distribution; he stressed the site is not a public food distribution center but a volunteer‑and‑partner distribution hub. "We will be able to provide probably 10,000,000 a year solely through this facility in 3 years," Tan said, describing anticipated expansion in capacity and volunteer engagement.
Neighbors raised repeated concerns about notice, tree removal, the location and size of a required stormwater basin (BMP), truck traffic and potential cut‑throughs into adjacent residential streets. Applicant representatives agreed to proffer a preservation easement over wooded buffers, move or reshape BMPs to reduce direct visual impact on adjoining yards, and darken exterior finishes and landscaping to screen the building. Commissioners discussed BMP sizing and agreed buffer language should run with the land.
Outcome: The commission recommended the conditional rezoning (Item 12) with proffers and agreed, on the record, that the applicant will expand preservation easements and adjust site elements prior to the City Council hearing. Vote: 10–0.
