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Planning commission backs buffer reductions at 12 Whittier Ave., forwards case to BZA
Summary
The Newport News Planning Commission voted 8–0 to recommend approval of a special-exception request to reduce transitional buffers at 12 Whittier Avenue to allow a parking lot serving GC Commercial; the case will be heard by the Board of Zoning Appeals on Jan. 20, 2026.
The Newport News Planning Commission on Tuesday voted unanimously to recommend that the Board of Zoning Appeals approve a special exception allowing reduced transitional buffers at 12 Whittier Avenue.
Planning staff, presented by Miss Okiki, told the commission the applicant, CG Investment Properties LLC, seeks to reduce the required transitional buffer from 30 to 10 feet along the eastern property line and from 30 to 15 feet along the northern property line to provide space for a parking lot serving employees of GC Commercial. The 0.16-acre parcel sits adjacent to single-family homes to the north and east and commercial uses to the west and south.
"The requested transitional buffer area reductions are not expected to adversely impact the surrounding neighborhood," Miss Okiki said, adding that the project will include a six-foot privacy fence along the eastern lot line and additional landscaping to meet required vegetative density. She said the proposed 24-foot aisle width and 18-foot parking stall depth meet minimum circulation standards.
Commissioner Williams asked whether placing a building on the parcel later would require a return to the commission or zoning appeals. "So if they decide to put a building on it, do they have to come back here or back to zoning appeals to do that?" Williams asked. Miss Okiki replied, "Back or apply again...through the planning department for another exception."
No members of the public spoke in opposition; the chair said the commission had three speaker cards but they were from the applicant and the applicant's engineer. After brief discussion, a commissioner moved to forward a recommendation of approval for Special Exception SC-2025-0016; the motion was seconded. Roll call passed 8–0.
The commission’s recommendation to approve is advisory; the final decision will be made by the Board of Zoning Appeals, which is scheduled to hear the case on Jan. 20, 2026. Staff noted approval would include eight conditions, among them submission and approval of a Class II site and landscape plan and a property-line vacation plat combining adjacent parcels owned by CG Investment Properties.
The commission’s staff report cited provisions of the local zoning ordinance governing transitional buffers and the Board of Zoning Appeals’ authority to grant exceptions.
