Culpeper planning commission recommends special‑use permit for contractor yard on James Madison Highway

The Culpeper County Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of a special‑use permit for Generation 2 LLC to operate a contractor’s office and warehouse with outdoor storage and truck/equipment parking at 1529 James Madison Highway. The commission attached three staff conditions: limit outdoor storage to the areas shown on the concept plan, prohibit storage of inoperable or junk vehicles, and require that outdoor storage not commence until a site plan consistent with Article 20 of the zoning ordinance is approved.

Staff presented the case as U224724‑1, saying the property lies adjacent to Route 1529 in the Stevensburg Magisterial District and that the entrance corridor overlay (Article 30) governs design and compatibility. Staff noted the applicant had already obtained an Architecture Review Board certificate of appropriateness for the building and that the special‑use review focused on the proposed outdoor storage area north of the structure.

The applicant’s representative, Darren Smith of Carter Run Consulting, told the commission he had no additional changes beyond staff’s recommendations and accepted the conditions. On a commissioner question about a hatched area west of the building, Smith said that area was intended as gravel maneuvering space and not for permanent storage: “That that is essentially part of the parking lot.”

The commission held a public hearing; no members of the public spoke on this application. A commissioner moved to approve the special‑use permit with the three staff conditions; the commission approved the motion by voice vote and forwarded the recommendation of approval to the Board of Supervisors.

Next steps: the Board of Supervisors will receive the commission’s recommendation and consider the special‑use permit at a future meeting.