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Accomack BZA denies habitation of travel trailer for Chapman, approves accessory structures
Summary
The Accomack County Board of Zoning Appeals denied a special‑use permit to inhabit a travel trailer on Donald Chapman’s Winterville Road parcel but approved permits for accessory structures with conditions, citing floodplain rules and neighborhood character concerns.
The Accomack County Board of Zoning Appeals voted Dec. 3 to deny the travel‑trailer habitation portion of SUSE0000972025 for property on Winterville Road and to approve special‑use permits for accessory structures on the same parcel.
Staff Code Enforcement Officer Cindy Jones told the board the application sought permission for habitation of a travel trailer and multiple accessory structures on an approximately 18‑acre agricultural parcel and recommended denial of the trailer portion. Jones said travel trailers “can adversely affect property values, and are unattractive,” and noted the site lacks public water and sewer and sits in a flood zone subject to specific floodplain rules.
Applicant Donald Chapman, sworn to give testimony, described the accessory‑structure plan and said earlier building staff had described the structure as a pole barn though it included a shooting platform. Chapman asked the board for leniency, saying he had recently been ill: “I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, had major surgery. I also had a heart attack less than a month ago,” and requested an extension for the RV approval if possible.
Board members pressed staff on prior 2023 approvals and the county’s floodplain interpretation, including the rolling 180‑day rule for stationary travel trailers. Staff said past conditions had not all been met for a pole building and offered adding a condition requiring the applicant to notify staff when moving an RV so county staff can confirm removal and reset the 180‑day count.
A board member moved to deny the travel‑trailer habitation portion of SUSE0000972025 under Accomack County Code section 106‑5314 with staff‑recommended conditions; the motion carried. The board then voted to approve the accessory‑structure portion as a special‑use permit pursuant to Accomack County Code section 106‑5327 with the four conditions recommended by staff.
The approvals and denials take effect as announced by the board; staff will prepare written findings and updated permit language reflecting the revised expiration date and clarified conditions. The applicant was present; staff said they will follow up to ensure compliance with floodplain, permitting and maintenance conditions.
