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Planning commission recommends public-utility major be allowed by special exception in residential districts
Summary
The commission unanimously recommended adding 'public utility service major' as a use by special exception in R1 and R2 residential districts, allowing the county to review larger utility installations in residences under special-exception procedures.
The Rockbridge County Planning Commission on June 10 unanimously recommended that the Board of Supervisors amend county code to list "public utility service major" as a use by special exception in the R1 (general residential) and R2 (mixed residential) zoning districts.
Staff explained that the current code permits only "public utility service minor" uses in those districts and that the draft language would allow major utility installations to be considered through a special-exception review process. The commission opened a public hearing, received no public comment, and closed the hearing.
A motion to recommend approval as presented was made and seconded; the commission approved the referral by voice vote with no recorded nays. Staff noted the amendment aligns the residential code with the commission's recent decision to categorize certain utilities and preserves the county's limited ability to adopt residential-specific restrictions through local ordinance.
The referral will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors for formal consideration.
