Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everyone. At this time, we'd like to call to order the September 10th, 2026 meeting of the Planning Commission. And I'd like to welcome each of you to this particular meeting this evening. If you could, if you're able, would you please join us standing for the Pledge of Allegiance? At this time, whether on WebEx or in person, any news media? If not, looking at the commission up here this evening, it looks like we have a full quorum. Mr. Daniel Schmidt, right on time, man. I'm telling you, that is on cue. I couldn't have planned that any better. Indeed, indeed. We appreciate you on the hustle. I got word that you're in route. Absolutely. So as I was saying, Mr. Daniel Schmidt from the Brooklyn district supervisors joining us all year, um, he will refrain from any, any votes unless it's absolutely necessary. So welcome once again, uh, Mr. Sill.

Uh, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'll, I'll join you in joining everyone to tonight's planning commission meeting. This evening, it is requested that all public comment be provided from the lectern at the rear of the room. For everyone who is watching on live stream on the county website, you can participate in tonight's meeting from home by following these guidelines. You would want to go to the Planning Department's meeting webpage at henrico.gov slash planning slash meetings. You'll scroll down under the Planning Commission and click on the WebEx event for this evening. Once you have joined that WebEx event, please click the chat button in the bottom right corner of your screen. Staff will send a message asking if anyone would like to speak on the upcoming case. To respond, you'll want to select Neha Shinde from the drop-down menu and send her a message. She will place you in the queue to speak at that time. The Commission does have guidelines for its public hearings. The applicant or their representatives will have 10 minutes to present testimony. A portion of that time can be saved for rebuttal to opposition statements. Individual speakers in support and not part of the applicant's presentation will have up to two minutes to present their testimony and collectively will not exceed 10 minutes unless the chair extends that time. Individual speakers in opposition will also have up to two minutes to present their testimony and will not exceed a total of 10 minutes unless again the chair extends that time. A group representative may speak for support or opposition for up to 10 minutes if four other citizens appear at the podium, identify themselves, and each cede their two minutes of time to the speaker. Time to respond to questions to the commissions will not be included in the allotted time for public participation. The commission does maintain verbatim minutes of this meeting and commenters must therefore provide their name and address prior to speaking for the record. It would also be helpful if you could spell your last name to assist in that record keeping. Thank you again for your participation this evening. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I think we can move on to request for withdrawals and deferrals, which are the first item on your agenda. Those will be presented by Mr. Seth Humphries. Thank you very much.

We have two deferrals this evening. The first case for the request for deferral is REZ 2026-10149, or 101149, O.P. Holdings, LLC. applicant is requesting the rezone from a1 and b3 to b3c it is located on the west line of osborne turnpike approximately 450 feet north of its intersection with archie lane an indoor event space and outdoor recreation use are proposed mr hubfords which date are they requesting oh they're they're requesting uh deferral to the um October 15th meeting.

Thank you. Is there anyone present on WebEx who's opposed to the deferral of case number REZ2026101149?

Mr. Chairman, there is no one on WebEx for this case.

All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Seeing there's no opposition, I move that REZ-2026-101149 OP Holdings LLC be deferred to the October 15, 2026 meeting at the request of the applicant. Second.

A motion by Mr. Mackey, second by Mr. Winterhall. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes.

Second case is also on the first page of your agenda this evening. It's PUP 2026-101-216. It's a companion case by the same applicant on the same property. Its provisional use permit would allow the outdoor recreation use. The B3C requested by the previous case would be required to allow this use. Are they also requesting deferral to October 15th meeting?

All right, thank you. I know it's a companion case, but is there anyone present on WebEx who is opposed to the deferral of case number PUP-2026-101-216?

Mr. Chairman, there is no one on VEBX for this case.

All right. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I move that PUP-2026-101216 OP Holdings LLC be deferred to the October 15, 2026 meeting at the request of the applicant. Second.

I have a motion by Mr. Mack. A second by Mr. Feltz. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes.

Mr. Chairman, next on your agenda is request for expedited items, and there are none of those this evening. So we will move into your regular agenda. The first case is in the Veranda District on page one of your agenda. This is REZ 2026-100434, Ace Investments, LLC. This is a request to conditionally rezone from A1 and M2C to M2C, parcels 822-699-9433 and 824-701-3334, containing just shy of 74 acres located on the north line of Pocahontas Parkway, approximately 400 feet east of Monaghan Road. With this request, the applicant is proposing outdoor storage and office uses. The comprehensive plan recommends planned industry, and the staff report will be presented by Ms. Kelly Drash.

How are you, Mrs. Drash?

Doing well, thank you.

One second right before you get started. Is there anyone in the audience or on WebEx that would like to speak to this case? All right, Ms. Drash.

Mr. Chairman, there is no one on WebEx for this case.

All right, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a request to conditionally rezone 73.665 acres located at the north line of Pocahontas Parkway approximately 410 feet east of Monahan Road from A1 and M2C to M2C for outdoor storage and office. The site consists of two parcels stretching from the north line of Pocahontas Parkway to Charles City Road. The larger parcel is vacant, cleared on the west side and forested on the east. The smaller northern parcel is also partially wooded with areas cleared for outdoor storage and farm use. A portion of the northern parcel was rezoned from A1 to M2C in 2023 to address zoning violations related to the outdoor storage use. Surrounding uses include large acreage single family residences and other wooded parcels. The 2026 Comprehensive Plan recommends planned industry for this and many surrounding properties, encouraging high environmental quality standards, coordinated design, a planned layout, and minimal impacts on adjacent uses. As shown on the revised concept plan in your handout, a 16,000 square foot office and maintenance shop, a large gravel storage yard, and a water tank for the hydro-seeding business are proposed on the site's southern end with an industrial pad and two other offices proposed with no additional detail. The eastern portion of the parcel would remain forested with no indication for future development. Access would be off Charles City Road with Monahan Road providing gated emergency only access. On the Charles City Road parcel, the access road would be paved and a 50 foot buffer would be provided along the eastern and western property lines. The remainder of this parcel would largely reflect what it currently exists. In addition to the concept plan, the applicant submitted revised elevations and proffers, which are also in your handout. Some of the topics addressed by the proffers include permitted uses, emergency access and future access, primary access road, buffers, the provision of utilities and related phasing, and repair and maintenance, with the new additions of a right-of-way dedication and the assurance that the bay doors would face away from Monaghan Road. This rendering shows the anticipated appearance of the main structure, that could be up to 30 feet tall, and the proffers provide details about the exterior building materials. The revisions before you this evening adequately address staff's previous concerns about utility connections, buffers, elevations, and overall site design. While the proposed use is industrial in nature, it would not fully implement the goals of unified development with adjacent properties as attended with the planned industry design designation. However, the proposed use would be similar to other existing uses in the vicinity, and public water and sewer would be extended and connected if more than 16,000 square feet of usable building space is constructed. With this and other proffered commitments in place, staff believes the proposed use could be reasonably compatible with adjacent properties. The applicant held a community meeting on May 20, 2026, with several surrounding residents in attendance. This concludes my presentation. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you, Ms. Drash. Anyone on the commission have any questions?

No, I don't have any questions.

Thank you, Ms. Drash.

I'd like to hear from the applicant. Bless you. I'd like to hear from the applicant.

Good evening, Mr. Chair, members of the commission. My name is Andy Conlon, here with me with Kate Lafayette and various representatives of the applicant. First, I'd like to say thank you to Ms. Drash, who... There's been a complicated case involving not only a property that's from a standpoint of a local development, but also because it had the M2 property in an existing case with existing buildings. So we've had to coordinate all that with the access, and she's been patient and persistent in making sure it's right. So I think we're in a good place at this point with respect to the property. Ms. Drasher has already provided a lot of information. The developer in this case is the owner, as a local business, Ace Investments, which is a local company in Varina for the last 20 years, providing hydro seeding and land management and transportation services with over 100 local employees. They currently have a number of locations that they want to consolidate into this location, and with that 16,000-square-foot building, we'll house not only their offices but a maintenance facility, as was talked about, and then be able to use the existing facility that's on the Charles City Road on that stem that leads up to the north at that point. So while the property is designated public, With planned industry on the county's land use plan, really we're trying to balance the fact that given the number of residents on Monaghan Road in the area, not to have heavy, intensive industrial uses, but try to counter that with some of the uses that we've proposed, which really are limited to offices, contractor services, maintenance facility, R&D, and outside storage. Also, of course, important in this fact is that no access to Monaghan. There has been some other proposals on this property, which did require access to Monaghan Road. More intensive uses would require a second point of access. We are providing for emergency only, which I think is pretty critical to our conversations with the community. At this point, we'd be happy to answer any questions you may have and ask that you recommend this case before to the Board of Supervisors.

Thank you, Mr. Conlon. Anyone on the commission have any questions?

Uh, I just, I've never really questioned a couple of comments. Did anybody else have anything? Uh, thank you, Mr. Conlon. Um, we had a good conversation, um, with Ms. Lafayette, uh, the other day. Um, appreciate, um, the concerns, you know, that had been raised that you were able to, um, clear up some of the, um, wording on, um, some of the proffers and, uh, and talking about the, um, dedication of the roadway and everything that was, um, That was very helpful in this case. It's always good to see some local guys have a business in Verona and be able to keep it in Verona and hopefully continue to grow in Verona. We look forward to that. Those are the only comments I had. I thank Ms. Drash for all the work she's done on this case. She's done a fine job, as always. With that, Mr. Chairman, I move that we recommend approval of REZ 2026-100434, Ace Investments, LLC, with the revised proffers dated September 8, 2026. Second.

I have a motion by Mr. Mackey, second by Mr. Feltz. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes.

Mr. Chairman, moving on to page two of your agenda, our two companion requests. The first is RAZ 2026101745, Cornerstone, Midlothian, LLC. This is a request to rezone from O2 Office District to B2C Business District Conditional, a parcel containing just shy of 0.6 acres, located at the southwest intersection of South Laburnum Avenue and Finlay Street. The applicant here is proposing a drive-through restaurant, and the 2045 Comprehensive Plan recommends office. The companion request is PUP 2026101746, also Cornerstone Midlothian LLC, and this is a request for a provisional use permit on that same parcel to allow extended hours of operation for the proposed drive-thru restaurant. Both requests will be presented by Ms. Molly Mallow and will require separate actions by the Commission. Understood. How are you, Mrs. Mallow?

Doing well, Mr. Chairman. How are you?

I'm doing well. Right before, let me just ask, is there anyone on WebEx or in the audience who would like to speak to this case?

Mr. Chairman, there's no one on WebEx for this case.

Mrs. Malo, you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the Commission. These are companion requests to allow for a drive-through coffee shop with extended hours of operation. The site is located in the Laburnum Square Office Park. at the southwest intersection of South Laburnum Avenue and Finley Street and is currently zoned 02 Office District. Surrounding uses include a Zaxby's drive-thru restaurant to the north and other uses in the Laburnum Square Office Park, including a daycare. The applicant is requesting B2 zoning to allow for a 7-brew drive-thru coffee shop. The site is currently in an approximately 1,600-square-foot granite showroom. However, with this request, the applicant is proposing to remove the structure and construct a 510-square-foot drive-thru coffee shop with a 276-square-foot exterior cooler. Although no indoor dining is proposed with this request, there is a walk-up window and convenient seating area. The property would be accessed via an internal road from Finley Street. In addition to the rezoning request, the applicant is requesting a provisional use permit to allow for extended hours of operations. Hours in the B2 district are limited to 6 a.m. to midnight. However, with the provisional use permit, the applicant is requesting to operate from 5.30 in the morning to 11 p.m. A septet plan would also be required due to the extended hours of operation. Included in tonight's handouts are two additional conceptual layouts showing alternative locations for the dumpster along with a chalk turn exhibit. This potential placement shows the dumpster at the southwestern portion of the site. The applicant is encouraged to continue discussions regarding the dumpster placement at the time of plan development review to help mitigate potential impacts on other uses in the office park. The applicant has submitted proffers with the rezoning request, which includes sidewalks along both South Laburnum Avenue and Finley Street, landscape buffers, building elevations, the conceptual plan, and a list of prohibited uses. To mitigate potential impacts from the extended hours of operation, staff has recommended conditions with the provisional use permit. These include specifying the hours of operation, security improvements, and limitations on outdoor speakers. The 2045 Comprehensive Plan recommends office for the subject parcel. Although these requests are not consistent with this designation, the proposed drive-through coffee shop would be consistent with the adjacent Zaxby's, and the proffers and recommended conditions listed in the staff report should help mitigate potential impacts from the proposed use in extended hours of operation. For these reasons, staff is supportive of these requests, and separate actions would have to be made for the rezoning and provisional use permit. This concludes my presentation. I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, Mrs. Mallow. Anyone on the commission have any questions or comments?

Did you have something? Oh, I had a question. In regards to the PUP, the extended hours, they want to start at 530. Do we currently have any other businesses in that area that have that provision?

Yes, the Starbucks and the White Oak Shopping Center opens at 430. Oh, okay.

All right. That was all I had. Thank you.

The applicant please step to the podium, thank you.

Good evening, Kate Lafayette here with Andy Collin who stepped outside from Roth Jackson on behalf of the applicant. Cornerstone Midlothian. Molly did a great job kind of giving overview of the property. So I'm just going to touch base quickly on the Seven Brew that's proposed here. So Seven Brew is a national chain. They're a drive-through and walk-up model only. So there's no indoor seating. So how this works, it's similar to a Chick-fil-A because I know Seven Brews are newer in the area. So they have employees inside making the drinks and they have two or three employees outside, kind of manning the lines, making sure the lines are moving efficiently, meeting you at your car, taking orders, and just trying to make it as speedy as possible to get you on the way with your coffee in the morning. With the PUP, we're opening at 530 in the morning. With that comes conditions. So for example, like the sound of when you're ordering your coffee has to be limited decibel-wise and suppressed so that way you can't hear it off the property lines, as well as working with police and installing surveillance cameras on the property. since we are opening 30 minutes early from the designated time in B2. There's going to be about 60 jobs opening with this location, so it's a great addition to this area in terms of workforce and great benefit to the shopping center. There's a lot of service-based industries in that shopping center, daycares, and for parents dropping their kids off, or there's hair salon and barber shops, so for those workers and clients as well. So we think it would be a great addition, and we kindly ask for your support. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Lafayette. I didn't have any questions. I think they did a very good job explaining everything. I appreciate all the work that was done by Ms. Milo and Ms. Lafayette. On our phone calls, we were able to clear up a few little things. I think... The issue with the garbage disposal will be addressed at the time of POD and make sure that's as safe as possible. I don't think that's an issue that would cause any problem at all, so I would definitely throw my support behind this case. Having said that... Mr. Chairman, I move that we recommend approval of REZ 2026-101745 Cornerstone, Midlothian, LSC with the profits dated August 24, 2026. Second.

I have a motion by Mr. Mackey, second by Mr. Shippey. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes.

For the PUP, Mr. Chairman, I move that we recommend approval of PUP-2026-101746, Cornerstone, Midlothian, LLC, with the conditions listed in the staff report. Second.

I have a motion by Mr. Mack. Second by Mr. Winterhoff. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes.

Next, Mr. Chairman, staying on page two of your agenda in the Three Chop District is REZ 2026101574, Deck Star, LLC. This is a request to conditionally rezone from B2C to B3C, parcel 743-762-1340, containing one acre located at the northwest intersection of Springfield Church Lane and Tom Leonard Drive. The applicant here proposes a kennel, and the 2045 comprehensive plan recommends commercial arterial. This case will be presented by Ms. Honvu.

How are you, Mrs. Vu?

Hello.

All right. One second before you get started. Is there anyone in the audience on WebEx who would like to speak to this case?

Mr. Chairman, there's no one on WebEx for this case.

Thank you. Ms. Vu, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the commission. This is a request to conditionally rezone a 1.03-acre partially vacant parcel from B2C to B3C to construct and operate a dock kennel at the northwest intersection of Springfield Church Lane and Tom Leonard Drive. This is within the West Broad Street Overlay District. The property was rezoned to B2C in 2003 for a four-acre office and commercial site, which has since developed differently, leaving this remaining piece. As seen on this aerial photo, The site includes an existing graveyard located on the northwest portion of the parcel. To the south and west is Brook Hollow Shopping Center, north is Extra Space Storage Facility, and to the east is Goodwill Thrift Store. As illustrated on the proposed site layout, the applicant wishes to construct a 15,000 square foot building which includes office space, animal boarding areas, and indoor exercise space. While the ultimate design of the building is still being engineered, the representation on the concept plan represents the maximum footprint. This may change depending on the mix of indoor versus outdoor exercise space ultimately needed. The access and parking areas are shown off of Springfield Church Lane, and a walkway is proposed linking the parking area and the proposed building. At the boundary lines, vegetated buffers of evergreen trees and shrubs would be required to provide visual and sound screening. The proposed dock services facility would offer dock day care as well as short and long-term boarding services. The business would operate from Monday through Friday from 7.30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Most drop-offs are anticipated to be between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., and pickups are from 4.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. And the formal location of dock services on Pouncey Track Road typically accommodated between 40 to 50 docks per day. The 2045 comprehensive plan recommends the site as commercial arterial. The proposed B3 zoning would be consistent with this designation and would be in keeping with other commercial uses in the shopping center. Proffers submitted by the applicant are generally consistent with the assurances currently regulating the site, and for these reasons, staff supports this request. This concludes my presentation, and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you, Mrs. Vu. Anyone on the commission have any questions or want to speak to the case?

No, I'd like to hear from the applicant. Absolutely.

Hi, Kate Lafayette with Ralph Jackson here with Andy Collin on behalf of the applicant Dextar LLC. The applicant team is actually here with us tonight. We have Al, Carl, and Michael with Dog Services. They have owned and operated Dog Services in this county for over a decade, so they do have that current location operating on 4800 Thalbro Street in the Brooklyn District. They did operate the 45 Pouncey Track Road location for many years. That property is now being redeveloped, so they've been looking for a new location. Many of their clients utilize their services for doggy daycare, like day boarding and overnight boarding. So it's very important to them to stay in the three-drop district near their clients so that it's convenient for their clients to drop off their dogs and pick them up for work. we are requesting rezoning from B2 to B3C but the only additional B3 use we're requesting is the kennel use so it's the kennel use and then all B2 permitted uses and then prohibited uses that have remained on the property since it was rezoned many years ago for the shopping center there it's a unique location it's next to a stormwater pond behind the coals and next to a cemetery as well as next to an extra space storage so It's a more secluded location, so it's a great space for dogs to play and for any noise can be drowned out by the highway that's nearby. We kindly ask for your support in this proposed use. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the applicant for bringing this case. I'm familiar with the former location over at Pouncey Tract. I think this is actually a really good new spot for this use. I want to thank Han for working on this case. It's kind of a tricky parcel. It's not very large, and it's difficult to find a good use for it, I think. Supervisor Rountree and I went out with the applicant and looked at it and did a good walkthrough of it, and it's, you know, between the graveyard and some of the other things that are there, it's kind of a challenge to fit anything there, but I think this is a very good use, and I'm supportive of of this request so having said that i move that we recommend approval of rez 2026 101574 dexstar llc with the proffers dated august 14th 2026. second motion by mr shippy second by mr mackie all in favor aye aye any opposed motion passes

Mr. Chairman, that completes the rezoning and provisional use permit cases on your agenda, but there is a discussion item. It's PCR 5-26. This is the proposed initiation of zoning ordinance amendments related to recent General Assembly legislation regarding the Cannabis Control Act and some other clarifications on floor-based overlay standards. So this is something where staff of the General Assembly has taken some action that will necessitate some changes to the zoning ordinance. Staff is recommending some of that ordinance work be done. This resolution would initiate those ordinance amendments, and then we'd be back to you at a future time with the proposed draft. We've also, this will be discussed with the Board of Supervisors at a coming date as well. So this will be moving quickly, but we would hope to be back to you relatively soon with the draft amendments.

Accordingly, Mr. Chairman, I can paraphrase the resolution For brevity's sake, Resolution PCR-5-2026, Initiation of Zoning Ordinance Amendments. Whereas new state laws establishing a retail marijuana market in the Commonwealth make amendments to the zoning ordinance appropriate and necessary, therefore be it resolved that the Planning Commission directs county staff to research and prepare zoning ordinance amendments to regulate, as permitted by the Cannabis Control Act, businesses engaged in cultivating, delivering, processing, transporting, and selling marijuana, and to clarify, correct, and update the provisions of the zoning ordinance for review and recommendations after a public hearing. Thank you, Mr. Shippey.

Second.

Second. Motion by Mr. Shippey, second by Mr. Winterhall. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes.

Next, Mr. Chairman, is the approval of your minutes from the Planning Commission's meeting on August 13th, 2026. I don't believe there's an errata sheet, but we'd certainly be happy to make any other corrections that you've come across. Okay.

A motion to approve minutes from our August 13th meeting. Second.

All right. Thank you. I have a motion by Mr. Phelps, second by Mr. Shippey. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Aye. Motion to accept the minutes.

Mr. Chairman, the last item I have for you this evening is I'm happy that I get to be here tonight to announce that Mr. Seth Humphreys has been promoted to the Senior Principal Planner role in the Comprehensive Planning Division. So Seth has been with the county for quite a long time and we are sure that he will be filling that role admirably. So If you have any questions, you can certainly skip right past me and go straight to Seth moving forward. I think Gene will also appreciate the fact that we filled that role and we'll have some direct assistance on that.

Congratulations, Mr. Humphreys, once again. They put the bullseye on you, so questions will be coming in your direction, hot and heavy.

Mr. Chairman, I have nothing else for the commission this evening.

All right. All minds clear? 631 meeting adjourned.