Planning Commission approves accessory garage on vacant lot with condition limiting outside storage

Randall and Carl Taylor presented a request for a Special Use Permit to construct an accessory building (a personal garage exceeding 150 square feet) on a vacant lot adjacent to existing property in the Agricultural/Rural district. Neighbors opposed the application citing concerns the garage would be used to work on and store race cars, creating noise and reducing property values.

The applicant said the garage was intended for storage of collectible cars and that routine minor maintenance — such as oil changes — might occur but that major mechanical work would be done offsite. Neighbors said they feared noise and vehicle traffic. County staff explained the Zoning Ordinance does not prohibit homeowners from working on vehicles on their property but would allow enforcement if a property became an automobile graveyard or junkyard. The commission discussed that approving the permit with an explicit restriction would better protect neighbors than denying it.

The Planning Commission approved the Special Use Permit with a restriction that "No motor vehicle shall be parked or stored outside of the garage on this lot unless the same shall be properly registered, inspected, and tagged for legal operation on the highways of the Commonwealth of Virginia." The motion passed unanimously (vote recorded: 7 ayes). The restriction will be recorded with the permit and applies to future owners as well as the current applicant.