Commission approves rezoning of 5612 Edgewood but denies rezoning of adjacent 5616 to preserve residential buffer

The Lynchburg Planning Commission voted to approve a rezoning for 5612 Edgewood Avenue to a B3C (conditional Community Business) district while denying a separate petition to rezone the adjacent 5616 Edgewood Avenue from R2 (low-medium density residential) to B3C. Planning staff presented a split recommendation: approval for the commercially used 5612 parcel and denial for 5616 to preserve a residential buffer between the business and neighboring homes.

Planning staff (Rachel) told commissioners that 5612 contains an approximately 6,800-square-foot commercial structure occupied by Perimeter Roofing since 2019 and that the owner had recently added roughly 15,000 square feet of gravel parking and a drive aisle without permits. The parcel at 5616 is a 1,400-square-foot, 1944 rental house that staff said acts as a buffer between the business and nearby residences. The staff recommendation reflected the property histories and concerns about expanding commercial zoning into a residential neighborhood.

Owner Philip Pantana (speaker 10) and his representative said the gravel expansion followed a contractor’s mistaken advice and that they have a lease with Norfolk Southern Railway for overflow parking on the railroad property. Pantana said he intended to keep the house as a rental and had taken steps to tidy and maintain the commercial parcel. “I don’t want to be a nuisance to the neighbors,” Pantana said, adding he planned privacy screening and had invested in landscaping to reduce visibility of trucks and trailers.

A nearby resident, John Caldwell, spoke in favor of the owner and praised improvements to the site: “He’s made that lot look real pretty,” Caldwell said, urging the commission to consider the positive change in the neighborhood.

Commission discussion focused on the extent of gravel on residentially zoned land, the railroad lease (which covers most of the expanded parking area), water-management concerns related to the gravel addition, and the feasibility of removing or reseeding portions of the gravel on the residential parcel if rezoning were denied. Planning staff noted the owner had been cited for land-disturbance violations and that zoning compliance and stormwater measures would be addressed at the site-plan phase if rezoning for 5612 were approved.

The commission moved to approve the rezoning for 5612 and to deny the rezoning for 5616, consistent with staff recommendations. The motion carried; staff told applicants they would have the opportunity to present the matter to City Council.

The commission’s split decision leaves the commercial use at 5612 permitted under a conditional B3C designation while preserving the residential designation on 5616 to maintain a buffer between the business and neighboring homes.