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Residents turn out for land‑use forums; commissioners weigh special‑use approach for large developments
Summary
Planning commissioners reported strong turnout at land‑use public forums (about 200–250 attendees across events) and heard recurring resident concerns about large projects such as data centers and solar farms; commissioners discussed using special‑use permits as a regulatory approach.
Wythe County planning officials said public forums on the county’s land‑use classification ordinance have attracted significant participation and repeated concerns about how large developments would be regulated.
A county official reported roughly 200–250 people attended recent public forums and urged residents to submit suggestions through the county website to ensure comments are catalogued. Speakers said many attendees asked how proposed land‑use changes would affect individual properties and requested clarification about how parcels are depicted on draft maps. "A lot of them are asking questions about how is it going to affect my property?" the official said.
Commissioners and staff repeatedly identified large uses — including proposed data centers and utility‑scale solar farms — as sources of concern for residents. One commissioner recommended treating those uses through special‑use or special‑exception permits rather than listing them as permitted uses in the zoning text so each proposal would be addressed case‑by‑case.
Staff cautioned that the county’s mapping is incomplete in places; one speaker noted Wythe County has about 19,000 parcels and that only about a dozen owners have formally requested zoning changes so far through meetings or the county website. Commissioners asked county staff to consider consistent formats for future forums (for example, FAQ materials and standardized question forms) to ensure fairness across sites.
No formal policy change was made at the May 4 meeting; the discussion centered on public engagement methods and options for how the Board of Supervisors might treat large or controversial land uses in subsequent ordinance drafts.
