'Community-friendly': Staunton planning commission recommends denying entrance corridor amendments
STAUNTON - In the latest chapter stemming from the McDonough Toyota lighted sign appeal, the Staunton planning commission voted unanimously to recommend denying amendments to entrance corridor overlay zoning that would lay out separate rules for car dealerships.
The planning commission received over 20 emails from the public on the matter, all of which were opposed to the amendments requested by city council as a potential solution to the McDonough Toyota appeal. Multiple residents also made their voices heard at the public hearing with every speaker speaking against the proposed amendments.
Frank Strassler led off the public hearing with a detailed and lengthy discussion of how the proposed changes for dealerships were not good zoning practice, nor did they reflect the city’s comprehensive plan. These sentiments were echoed by most of the speakers, who also pushed back on the idea that such changes would be “business-friendly”.
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“If development is friendly to the entire community and to the entire community’s wishes, that’s good for business. If it’s businesses vs. the community, that can’t be good for business. It just can’t be.” Strassler said.
Ingrid Blanton, commenting via Zoom, added, “In this day and age, the only lighting that most people need is the lighting on their smart phones, because that’s how they find what it is that they want to purchase or do.”
Other residents pointed to the issues on the west end of Staunton and the push for more greenery and beautification as antithetical to the proposed amendments. The amendments also clash with the city’s vision in their comprehensive plan, which calls for entrance corridors to emphasize their “scenic beauty” and be attractive ways of getting downtown, something that potential large swathes of parking surfaces would not necessarily fit.
According to senior planner Rodney Rhodes upon questioning from commissioner Brad Arrowood, there has not been comments from dealerships in the entrance corridors for the amendments. Per city planner Tim Hartless, there are fifteen businesses in the entrance corridors that could be considered dealerships.
Other than the widely-known issues over lighting that led to Staunton City Council’s directive to staff to start drafting the amendments, a variety of other issues exist in the eyes of the commission. For one, the singling out of one industry for special rules did not sit well with them.
“The outside display of automobiles shouldn’t have preference over the outside display of tractors or lawn equipment or patio furniture,” said vice chair Jessica Robinson.
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There were also significant concerns raised by the commission about the changes to the parking surface and landscaping requirements around dealerships, with specific concerns raised about potential run-off by changing landscaping requirements, as well as the fact that the city is currently overhauling their entrance corridor overlay district guidelines.
"This is simply good planning practice," said commission chair Judith Wiegand, "I spent over 30 years being a practicing planner, and I found this a rather surprising situation to be confronted with this."
City council gave staff the directive for the amendments following the McDonough Toyota appeal to light their entrance portal despite violating zoning ordinances in the city, and it is unclear what next steps would be for the proposed amendments.
—Akhil Ganesh is the Government Reporter at The News Leader. You can contact him at aganesh@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @akhildoesthings.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Staunton planning commission recommends denying entrance corridor amendments
