Planning commission votes to draft B2 zoning amendment to fix contradictions on height and uses

The Onancock Planning Commission voted to prepare a focused amendment to the town—2 zoning ordinance to resolve internal inconsistencies and clarify uses and height limits. Chairperson Greer, opening the discussion, said the issue was raised by a commissioner: "we had pointed out to him that the B1 and B2 zoning regulations had some inconsistencies that uh the worst one was that the B2 zoning said follow everything that's on B1, but then it allows below that it allows very tall buildings, right? It undercuts itself." The commission debated whether to patch B2 immediately or wait for a full rewrite of the zoning code, and decided to move forward with a corrective amendment now.

The motion to draft language was presented and seconded; commissioners voted in favor and the commission asked Jim (zoning staff) to draft recommended edits and send them to the town council with a recommendation and potential public hearing. The commission emphasized specific areas to address: reconcile the 60-foot height allowance with fire-department access (sideyard/setback increases tied to increased height), add landscape and frontage requirements for downtown B2 development, clarify signage thresholds (special exception process versus town council approval), and standardize the term "special exception" consistent with Virginia practice. The amendment will be prepared for town council consideration; a formal timeline and roll-call vote by council were not specified in the transcript.