Planning commission forwards Moonlight drive‑in special‑exception to supervisors with conditions

The Washington County Planning Commission voted 4–1 to forward a special‑exception application for the Moonlight drive‑in and an attached one‑family dwelling for security to the Board of Supervisors, attaching eight conditions the applicant must satisfy before operation.

A commission member introduced the motion to recommend approval with stipulations including a detailed site plan, hours of operation from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday, no commercial ingress or egress through Melvin Hills Subdivision, VDOT approval for a commercial entrance, Virginia Department of Health approval for food preparation, approval from the Washington County Service Authority for sewage disposal, trash disposal, and an adequate security plan reviewed by the Washington County Sheriff's Department. The motion passed on a 4–1 vote.

The packet reviewed by commissioners included letters from VDOT, the state police and the health department and event planning materials for a prior large concert (the Clint Black event). Planning staff noted that the Moonlight Theater had been a preexisting nonconforming use, but because operation had ceased previously it requires a special exception under B‑2 zoning to resume as a drive‑in and to allow any dwelling attached to the business.

Applicant Blevins told the commission that the Clint Black concert drew "a little over a thousand" ticketed attendees and that the site had handled the event’s ingress and egress under a state‑police plan. She estimated the property could "comfortably" hold about 2,500–3,000 in the largest configuration but said large events would be limited to no more than two per year. On the question of alcohol, Blevins said the applicant had not decided whether vendors would sell alcohol and that such sales would be considered on an event‑by‑event basis.

Commissioners pressing for more detail cited missing engineering designs and drainage calculations that VDOT requires for a commercial entrance permit, concerns about off‑site parking and how sewage and portable restroom arrangements were handled for large events. One commissioner said, "There are just too many unanswered questions," and emphasized that the lack of a detailed site plan and required technical documents raised health, safety and welfare concerns.

On sewage, Blevins said the site currently uses septic and plans to connect to county sewer when feasible, estimating tentatively that bringing sewer across Lee Highway could cost at least $10,000. She said the septic system is cleaned on a scheduled basis to prevent shutdowns.

During discussion a commissioner and the applicant disputed whether a former board member had contacted agencies on behalf of neighbors. Blevins raised a perceived conflict of interest; a commission member replied that they had only contacted the county administrator and denied making other agency contacts.

The commission noted that event‑type uses outside the core drive‑in function (festivals, flea markets, car shows) may be better handled through the county's event permit process, and several commissioners supported forwarding only the drive‑in portion to the supervisors while leaving separate event permitting for later.

The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider the application Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m. The planning commission's recommendation includes the eight conditions the applicant must satisfy; the supervisors may accept, modify or reject that recommendation.

No public commenters signed up at the end of the session and the meeting was adjourned.