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Planning commission backs rezoning for TowneBank site, flags traffic changes for later phase
Summary
Southampton County planning commissioners unanimously recommended rezoning 16 acres for commercial use with TowneBank as the first tenant, approving proffers and a two-phase traffic plan; commissioners and neighbors pressed for clarity about future median changes and turn movements in Phase 2.
Greg Schmidt, representing Kinley Horn, presented a rezoning application for 16 acres that would allow TowneBank to occupy the first four to five acres and start a multi-phase commercial development. "Phase 1 will include a right turn lane and a left turn lane into the bank access," Schmidt said, adding that proffers would require later phases to meet the bank’s architectural and landscaping standards.
Commissioners and nearby residents focused on access and median changes planned for Phase 2. One commissioner warned that a directional median in front of the Simmons residence could block eastbound turns; Schmidt said the project’s traffic impact analysis (TIA), coordinated with VDOT, modeled worst-case uses and that the proffers allow agencies or future applicants to modify the TIA based on an eventual tenant mix. "We build a traffic kind of program for what the site could be," Schmidt said, describing the phased approach to safety and access.
Adjacent landowner Warren Simmons told the commission he welcomed the bank but worried the eventual median modifications could force him to use a more distant intersection to turn eastbound. "We are thankful that TowneBank has come along and wanted to go there," Simmons said, while also urging careful planning so residents retain safe access to Route 58.
Jason Fowler of the Virginia Department of Transportation confirmed the concept plan shows the access breaks VDOT expects and said some spacing relief (an access-management waiver) is part of the review. Fowler said Phase 1 establishes a new median break in front of the bank and that some of the Phase 2 access locations will be tied to future approvals.
After discussion about corridor character, architecture and long-term access, a commissioner moved and the commission seconded a recommendation that the Board of Supervisors rezone the parcel from A-1 (Agriculture) to B-3 (Business District) with the offered proffers. The chair called for the vote and commissioners answered “aye”; the commission recorded a unanimous recommendation to forward the application. Staff said the item will be advertised for a Board of Supervisors public hearing in September.
What’s next: the Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on the rezoning, advertised for the September meeting. The commission and citizens were invited to attend and provide testimony there.
