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Accomack supervisors approve rezoning for Virginia Space at former seafood plant
Summary
The Accomack County Board of Supervisors approved a proffered rezoning of about 55 acres from agricultural to industrial to allow Virginia Space to use a former seafood-plant building for aerospace-related activities, with two proffers restricting uses and requiring review of hazardous-material storage.
The Accomack County Board of Supervisors voted to rezone roughly 55 acres of land adjacent to Route 13 in District 5, clearing the way for Virginia Space to repurpose a former seafood-plant building for aerospace manufacturing, offices and related uses.
Deputy county administrator Lee Pambid told the board the application is a companion to a larger industrial complex previously considered by the county and that staff and the planning commission recommended approval following review. He said the rezoning includes two proffers that limit permitted uses to those associated with aerospace and related support functions and that the applicant specifically proffered out hot test firing. "The proffers have been found to be legally sufficient and address impacts of development arising from the rezoning," Pambid said.
John Custis, attorney for Virginia Space, framed the request as an adaptive reuse of an existing building and asked the board to approve the application. "We respectfully request that you, in the name of economic development, approve the rezoning application for my client, Virginia Space," Custis said, noting prior public outreach, a unanimous planning-commission recommendation and the site's preexisting limited industrial use granted in 2022.
Staff reported no major environmental constraints on the site and noted that partner agencies raised no technical objections beyond transportation improvements to be resolved at the site-plan stage. The Virginia Department of Transportation asked for a scaled concept drawing; the Virginia Department of Health would review any subsequent site plans affecting drinking-water services.
A motion to approve the rezoning was moved and seconded; the board approved it by voice vote.
The decision was procedural: any future hazardous-material storage would require a conditional-use permit and return to the planning commission and board for review and public hearing. The board's approval is the rezoning decision; subsequent site plans and any requests for additional uses will be reviewed under the county's normal permitting process.
