Planning commission advances change to allow bulk oil and propane storage by conditional use in B1

The Northumberland County Planning Commission voted on June 18 to advance a pair of zoning-text changes that would allow bulk oil and propane storage in B1 business districts as a conditional use and revise the definition to permit retail sales by conditional use.

Staff and applicants told commissioners the change is prompted by a property owner approached by a fuel company seeking to develop a service station that would include bulk propane storage. Philip, a county planning staff member, explained that bulk storage historically was handled as a "special exception" in past ordinances but that special exceptions were removed; the use now exists as a conditional use in M1 (light industry) and A1 (agricultural) districts. The applicant’s representative, Mr. Marston, said the owner would rather avoid rezoning the parcel to A1 and instead asked whether the ordinance could permit bulk storage in B1 by conditional use.

Commissioners flagged a direct conflict in the current definition — it states "such facilities shall not include retail sales," while the applicant’s plan includes retail gasoline sales. After discussion, several commissioners supported amending the definition so that such facilities "may include retail sales," with conditional-use review to address site-specific conditions. Miss Wilkins moved to change the definition and advance the draft; the motion carried and the commission also moved to add bulk oil storage as a conditional use in B1. Staff said both actions will be advertised for public hearing at the next meeting.

The measure is procedural at this stage: the change to the ordinance language and the addition to the B1 use table will allow future individual proposals to come forward for conditional-use review, where site-specific impacts, operating conditions and public comments will be considered. The commission did not adopt final operating standards at this meeting and no site-specific permit was granted.

The next step is a public hearing on the proposed text amendments; staff will publish hearing notices and gather public comment before the commission issues a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.