Planning Commission backs reclassification of Atkins site for proposed CPV power plant

The Smyth County Planning Commission recommended that the Board of Supervisors amend the county’s 2013 Comprehensive Plan and future land use map to classify Competitive Power Ventures’ (CPV) Mulberry Lane site in Atkins as Institutional/Public Service, a change CPV said was needed to align the map with a previously approved Special Use Permit for an electric-generating facility.

At a Sept. 25 joint hearing, CPV representative Gener Gotiangco told the Board and Commission the company was actively pursuing air permitting and that the project remained on an expected schedule, with permitting steps underway. County staff said a map amendment is typically required to bring future land use language into accord with large, site-specific special-use approvals.

Opponents were not recorded at the public hearing; the Planning Commission voted to recommend the amendment and to include the proposed power-plant site in the Institutional/Public Service land-use category. County Attorney and staff noted the Comprehensive Plan must be revisited periodically; adoption of the amendment by the Board would change the plan but not by itself build the facility.

Supporters stated the map change would make the previously approved Special Use Permit consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Commissioners discussed other institutional designations around the county and asked CPV representatives about project timing; the company said work was ongoing but cautioned that large projects require multiple approvals.

The Board of Supervisors will consider the Planning Commission recommendation in a subsequent meeting. If the Board adopts the plan amendment, separate permitting and regulatory approvals will remain necessary for the facility to proceed.