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Planning commission clears path for special-exception review of transmission-line projects in residential zones
Summary
The commission voted to send a zoning-text amendment to public hearing that would allow 'public utility service major'—limited to transmission and similar lines—as a special-exception use in R‑1 and R‑2 residential districts, enabling Dominion Energy to seek special-exception permits for work on existing transmission lines that cross residential zoning.
The Rockbridge County Planning Commission on May 13 instructed staff to prepare a public hearing on a zoning-text amendment that would permit limited major public‑utility transmission uses in residential zoning districts by special exception.
Staff presented language that would add a narrow special-exception path for "public utility service major" in R‑1 and R‑2 districts but expressly exclude generating plants, substations, large battery/storage facilities, data centers, wastewater or water-treatment plants and large ground-mounted solar arrays (panel zones of 0.25 acre or greater). The change is intended to allow utilities to apply for special-exception approval to rebuild or replace transmission lines that already cross residential areas.
Why it matters: staff said Dominion Energy has signaled it will apply for a special exception to rebuild a portion of an existing transmission line (the Rockbridge substation line) that crosses residential zoning. The amendment creates an administrative path that limits potential uses to transmission/gas lines and similar transmission infrastructure while excluding larger, land‑intensive facilities that staff judged unsuitable for residential districts.
Key details and legal context
Staff explained that certain very large transmission facilities (staff cited a threshold of about 138 kV and above) are exempt from local zoning under state law and federal or state regulatory oversight; the line segments typically in question locally are 115 kV and therefore remain subject to local zoning controls. The amendment therefore aims to preserve local review for typical transmission lines while providing a special-exception mechanism when utility projects run through residential districts.
Commission response and vote
Commissioners asked whether the proposal changes the underlying definition of "public utility service major" or merely creates a limited exception. Staff clarified the draft does not rewrite the definition globally but creates a limited special-exception allowance in R‑1 and R‑2 districts that omits examples unsuitable for residential settings. After discussion, the commission voted to instruct staff to finalize the draft and schedule a public hearing on June 10, 2026; the motion was recorded in the meeting as unanimous.
Next steps
Staff will finalize the amendment language, publish the public‑hearing advertisement and return the item for a June 10 public hearing and further commission consideration. Members and interested residents may comment at that hearing on the scope of allowed uses and the exclusions staff has proposed.
