Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pittsylvania County BZA approves 3 special-use permits, grants variance for volunteer fire department
Summary
At its December meeting, the Pittsylvania County Board of Zoning Appeals approved three special-use permits — including a 197-foot wireless monopole — and granted a variance to the Batchelor Hall Volunteer Fire Department for a 50-by-60 pole barn; planning staff and the planning commission had recommended approval of the cases.
Pittsylvania County’s Board of Zoning Appeals on Tuesday approved three special-use permits and granted a variance for the Batchelor Hall Volunteer Fire Department during a brief December meeting.
The board approved a special-use permit for a 197-foot monopole-style wireless communications facility on a 248.72-acre parcel on State Road 640 (Spring Garden Road) in the Bannister Election District. The petition was filed by the Marshall Bridal Trust in the care of Jonathan Yates; the Planning Commission recommended approval 5–0 at its Nov. 6 meeting. Sean Chai, speaking for Verizon and Arcola Towers, told the board he was available to answer technical questions. With no members of the public signed up to speak and a staff recommendation of no conditions, Commissioner Easley moved to approve and Commissioner Yaman seconded; the motion carried.
The board also approved a special-use permit for a manufactured home on 0.5 acres on State Road 686 (Elkhorn Road) filed by SCA Investments LLC in the care of William Alderson. The Planning Commission recommended approval 5–0. Alderson attended but did not present; the board moved and unanimously approved the permit.
A third special-use permit was granted to Cindy Reynolds for placement of a single-wide manufactured home on 1.64 acres on State Road 604 (Glade Road) in the Stanton River District. Reynolds said the septic system was already in place and the home was for her granddaughter. The Planning Commission had recommended approval 5–0, and the board approved the permit with no conditions.
On a separate matter, the board granted a variance to the Batchelor Hall Volunteer Fire Department to construct a 50-by-60 pole barn on a 0.621-acre parcel on State Road 878 (Duncan Drive) in the Westover Election District. Timothy Cassell, identified in the petition as the fire chief, said the department needs more apparatus to serve a nearby “mega park” and requested the variance from minimum yard dimension requirements in the county zoning ordinance. The board found that strict application of the ordinance would produce undue hardship and approved the variance.
All four actions were taken with motions and recorded as "motion carries" in the meeting transcript; the Planning Commission’s unanimous favorable recommendations were noted in the staff packet for each case. The board chair read the authority for the hearing, citing "Article 5 Division 7 of the Pittsylvania County zoning ordinance," and limited non-applicant public comments on zoning cases to three minutes.
The board received a brief staff report at the start of the meeting introducing substitute legal counsel Mark Popovich, senior administrative assistant Sabrina Folks and new senior planner Kelly Smith. Staff also announced a new website to support the county’s comprehensive plan update, www.pitcoplan.com, and said an online application for a projects advisory/steering committee will close on December 18.
The BZA noted there were no special-use or variance cases at the recent planning commission meeting that would produce a January BZA docket, so the board likely will not meet at the start of January. The chair adjourned the meeting after closing the agenda items.
