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Onancock council delays decision on Queen Street parking plan tied to farmers market
Summary
After lengthy discussion and public comment, council agreed to postpone a final decision on placing the farmers market in the Queen Street lot and added the item to next month’s agenda so stakeholders can review digital plans and stormwater concerns.
Onancock’s town council heard a detailed presentation about moving the farmers market to the Queen Street parking lot and decided to defer a final decision until a later meeting.
Cindy Holden, who presented the history and the most recent Hill Studio plans, said the market first requested relocation in May 2023 and the Hill Studio final report was presented in January 2024. Holden told council that the market has the partial support of a Virginia Department of Consumer Services grant and that private donor timelines created urgency: "It requires council action to say yes or no on the farmer's market being in that parking lot" (Cindy Holden). She also summarized outreach: a petition of more than 100 signatures and several stakeholder meetings that showed sharply divided local views.
A Main Street representative reported the town’s online survey received 404 responses: 55% of respondents live in Onancock, 10% have a second home in town, and 51% named the farmers market as a reason they come downtown. Holden showed the proposed layout — a permanent winter-market building and tent/truck slots for the summer market — and cautioned the diagrams were tentative.
Residents raised access and stormwater concerns. Joe Devaney, whose property borders the lot, described runoff and said neighborhood stakeholders had not been consistently included in briefings: "We have a stormwater problem in that lot" (Joe Devaney). Other merchants urged keeping the market downtown to support local businesses.
Council members said they were not comfortable voting on the plan without receiving the electronic site plans to study circulation, parking counts and stormwater mitigation. Rather than vote, council agreed to add the Queen Street/market matter to the April agenda and to circulate manager’s notes to broaden stakeholder outreach and notice before any final action.
The council’s decision preserves time for additional review of engineering and stormwater responses and leaves the farmers market’s funding timeline unresolved until the April meeting.
