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Planning commission grants waivers and approves Valvoline site plan at DuPont Boulevard corner
Summary
The commission unanimously approved parking‑screening and buffer waivers and granted preliminary site plan approval for a 2,108‑square‑foot Valvoline Instant Oil Change store on a small corner lot on DuPont Boulevard, after the applicant and adjacent neighbor negotiated fence height and planting options.
The Georgetown Planning Commission on June 18 granted waivers and approved the preliminary site plan for a Valvoline Instant Oil Change store on a small corner lot on DuPont Boulevard.
Attorney David Hutt, representing property owner M and S Limited Partnership and operator Mid Atlantic Lubes LLC, described the reused lot (previous car‑wash site) and said the store footprint is about 2,108 square feet with three service bays. He told the commission that prior Board of Adjustment action granted two variances for signage and a waiver for a loading space; the commission was being asked to consider two additional waivers and the preliminary site plan.
The waivers included a partial reduction in the town’s parking‑lot screening requirement along West North Street and a waiver allowing an encroachment on the 25‑foot buffer yard adjacent to an eastern neighbor so the applicant could install fencing and limited plantings. The applicant said staff and the owner had met with the adjacent property owner, who is a landscaper and indicated a preference for an 8‑foot vinyl fence; the applicants proposed either a 6‑foot vinyl fence with a 2‑foot lattice top or an 8‑foot fence if preferred by the neighbor, and offered to provide plantings on the neighbor’s property at the applicant’s expense if the neighbor consents.
Commission discussion focused on whether the planting obligation should be attached to the neighboring property and the planning commission’s discretion under local code language. Staff cited the development design language (section referenced in the record) that allows a planning‑commission‑approved fence design or size in lieu of strict buffer placement. Commissioners voted to approve the parking‑screening waiver, then separately approved the buffer/fence waiver, and then approved the preliminary site plan "as presented," each action passing on roll‑call votes with all members present voting yes.
The approval allows the applicant to proceed with final engineering and the remaining clerical plan updates and agency approvals the applicant noted were still in process.
