Planning commission recommends approval of special-use permit to convert upper floors at 40 Cross Street into two apartments

The Urbanna Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of Special Use Permit 2025-03, allowing the conversion of the second and third floors of the former bank and office building at 40 Cross Street into two apartments. The commission’s recommendation, made after a staff presentation and public comment, will be forwarded to the town council for a public hearing the next evening at 6 p.m.

Planning staff member Ted Costin summarized the application and legal basis for the hearing, saying, “This is a public hearing under the authority of §15.2-2204 of the Code of Virginia,” and noting that the application file is available for public inspection. Costin identified the property’s parcels (20A159 and 60), said the building sits in the B-1 zoning district and the historic overlay, and reported that contacted state and regional agencies returned no objections.

Costin recommended conditions to preserve the commercial character of the ground floor and to mitigate parking impacts. He explained the parking condition proposed by staff: “all street parking shall be marked for two spaces per dwelling unit, total four, one of which shall be marked as handicap parking,” and said town water, sewer and the Hampton Roads Sanitation District reviewed the request and indicated the infrastructure can handle the expected load.

Applicants Sean Hackney and Marnie said they intend to follow the downtown pattern of commercial uses at street level with residences above, preserve historical character and provide accessible units. Sean Hackney (attending telephonically) said the building’s elevator makes the units more accessible to older residents. Marnie said the two apartments will be about 1,000 square feet each, with two bedrooms, two full bathrooms and in-unit laundry.

Commissioners asked about ownership and use of the rear parking lot; applicants and staff confirmed the lot is part of the parcels in question and that the intent is to reserve the marked resident spaces so businesses retain street parking. Commissioners also asked about egress and safety; applicants said an exterior staircase/fire escape exists and that the building’s sprinkler system is updated and functional.

A member of the public, Jane Folliard, asked whether the two units would be the same size; the applicants said the immediate conversion would create two similarly sized units and that a third-floor office tenant (Andy Burry) would not be converted immediately. Another commenter, Dan Snead, urged caution about the extent of renovation needed when converting offices to residential space; he also asked about sprinklers, which the applicants confirmed are present and updated.

A zoning question arose about short-term rentals. Costin said that after recent ordinance language changes, uses previously mirrored from R-1 were removed from B-1, meaning short-term rentals are not permitted in the B-1 district under the current ordinance language.

After public comment closed, the commission moved, seconded and took a voice vote to recommend approval of Special Use Permit 2025-03 subject to the conditions in the staff report. Chair called the roll by naming commissioners (Katie, Ricky, Gary and Mary), and the commission voiced support for forwarding the recommendation to the town council for its public hearing the following evening.

The town council will hold the next public hearing and decide whether to grant the special use permit. If approved by the council, the special use permit runs with the land and may be acted on at any time by the property owner.