The Botetourt County Planning Commission recommend approval of four land use requests Monday evening when it met in Fincastle.
The commissioners also forwarded one revised section and one new section of proposals for the county’s Comprehensive Plan to the Board of Supervisors for a public hearing on December 22.
The Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend rezoning 12.1 acres for a heavy equipment sales, rental and repair business on US 11 in Cloverdale.
LARE Inc. applied to rezone 12.1 acres from the Agricultural (A-1) Use District to Industrial (M-2) Use District for the proposed business. The property is located on the east side of Lee Highway (US 11) just south of its intersection with Bryant Road.
The property is bordered by Lawrence Transportation to the south and Hollins Mobile Home Park to the northeast and east. LARE Inc. is associated with Lawrence Companies.
The property was purchased by the Economic Development Authority of Botetourt County (EDA) from Ann Davis Whitesell in August then the EDA sold it to LARE Inc. for $1.12 million with several pages of covenants.
LARE wants to build a single, 15,000 square-foot building with six bays for heavy construction and agriculture equipment sales and service.
The structure would be the same as a similar facility the company plans on building in Augusta County, according to its rezoning application.
It would have up to 12 employees.
The planning commission also approved a special exceptions permit (SEP) so James V. Geiser and Donna E. Caldwell can operate a “Cabin or Cottage” short-term rental on a .608-acre lot at 83 Orchard Drive, Daleville just north of its intersection with Wendover Road.
The applicants live next door to the 2-bedroom home they own. They will manage the proposed rental. Under the county ordinance, a maximum of four people over the age of 2 would be allowed for overnight stays up to 30 days. That’s based on the number of bedrooms.
The commissioners recommended approving an SEP so Jeff Ragan Rudisill Sr. can construct a second accessory building in the Residential Use (R‑1) District on a .5-acre lot at 43 Meadow Circle, Daleville. The property is just west from its intersection with Orchard Lake Drive. The property already has a 12×12 accessory building, and the Planning Commission recommended a condition that the second building not exceed 468 square feet.
The commissioners voted to approve a commission permit and recommended approving an SEP to allow Shentel/Shenandoah Personal Communications to replace an existing 80-foot wooden telecommunications pole in order to construct a non-illuminated, 126-foot galvanized steel telecommunications pole within a 346 square-foot lease area 10.2 acres at 2457 Gravel Hill Road south of Fincastle. The company leases the lot from Hubert Jack Cassell.
Shentel officials reported they are in the process of enhancing coverage and capacity of its wireless telecommunications network in Botetourt County by replacing outdated equipment.
Shentel officials said they have to install additional antennas and radio heads on existing towers and the 80-foot wooden pole structure cannot support the weight of the additional equipment. The higher pole will also improve cell coverage along Gravel Hill Road.
Two cell carriers will use the new pole— Shentel and AT&T.
The Board of Supervisors will take up the Planning Commission recommendations at public hearings at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 22.
Comprehensive Plan
The commissioners also recommended the Board of Supervisors proceed with public hearings at 10:30 a.m. December 22 on proposed updates to the Transportation portion of the county’s Comprehensive Plan and the addition of a new chapter on Parks, Recreation and Greenways.
