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Council approves conditional use permit for Oceanana Development LLC to host contractor storage yard with enhanced buffers
Summary
Council approved a conditional use permit allowing a contractor's temporary materials and equipment storage yard in an industrial zone, subject to an enhanced landscape buffer, an 8‑ft privacy fence along residential edges, and limits on lighting and pole heights to reduce neighborhood impacts.
City Council voted to approve a conditional use permit for Oceanana Development LLC to operate a bulk outdoor storage yard to serve a local civil contractor. Kimley‑Horn principal Greg Schmidt said the site would temporarily hold items such as sewer pipe, storm structures and equipment between jobs, then stage materials for installation at project sites.
Schmidt emphasized preservation of wetland and resource protection areas across the site and said the plan added an enhanced buffer and an 8‑ft tall privacy fence where the layout approached residential lots. He told council the site was rezoned industrial in 2005 and that the nearest storage area is more than twice the proffered 100‑ft buffer for nearby Nottingham Estates.
Neighbors asked council to enforce strict operating hours, keep light poles low and ensure stormwater runoff is handled on‑site rather than flowing into adjacent backyards and creeks. Neighbors also asked for robust, mature plantings rather than small saplings that take years to provide screening. Applicant representatives said the parking and developed areas will be graded and drained to the on‑site stormwater retention pond originally designed for the park, and that lighting will comply with city rules and permit conditions limiting light pole heights.
Planning staff recommended approval with conditions to minimize residential impacts; council approved the CUP 9‑0.
Why it matters: The decision keeps a local contractor's operations in Virginia Beach while imposing buffers and infrastructure controls intended to limit impacts on adjacent neighborhoods and wetlands. The discussion underscores the tradeoffs in industrial land uses mingled with residential edges.
What comes next: Applicant must meet permit conditions on buffers, fence height and lighting; staff will ensure site plan conformity with stormwater and wetland protections during permitting.
