By Matt de Simone
Plans for a new grocery store in Daleville Town Center are headed to the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors after receiving a favorable recommendation from the county’s Planning Commission.
The proposal, which calls for a 50,800-square-foot grocery store with a drive-thru pharmacy, requires two Special Exception Permits (SEP) and is scheduled for consideration by the Board of Supervisors during its June 23 meeting.
The store would be constructed on a vacant 5.889-acre parcel at the southwest corner of Roanoke Road and Glebe Road within Daleville Town Center. Preliminary plans indicate the facility would include a bakery, deli, butcher shop, and pharmacy. According to industry data from FMI (The Food Industry Association), the average supermarket in the United States is approximately 48,000 square feet, placing the proposed Daleville store in line with the size of many modern full-service grocery stores.
According to application materials submitted to Botetourt County, a grocery store has been contemplated as part of the Daleville Town Center development since the area’s original rezoning in 2005. The proposed site is adjacent to the Wawa convenience store under construction and near existing commercial uses, including restaurants, a hotel, and a bank.
County records show the applicant is seeking special approval because the proposed store exceeds the 40,000-square-foot threshold permitted by right within the Traditional Neighborhood Development district. Additional permit requests involve the location of the proposed parking area and modifications to landscaping buffer requirements along Glebe Road. The applicant has proposed additional landscaping and screening measures to offset the reduced buffer width.
As part of the review process, a Traffic Impact Analysis was completed to evaluate the project’s effect on surrounding roadways. The study identified roadway and traffic improvements that would be coordinated with the Virginia Department of Transportation, including consideration of a signalized intersection at Roanoke Road and Glebe Road. The applicant has stated it will comply with all applicable VDOT standards and requirements.
Some residents have questioned whether another grocery store is needed in Daleville, given existing options nearby. However, Planning Commission Chair Beth Leffel said market demand is not a factor considered by the commission when evaluating development proposals.
“The Planning Commission has a pretty clear responsibility, as an advisory body,” Leffel explained. “We make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors based on alignment with the Comprehensive Plan, our zoning ordinances, and adherence to sound land use principles. It is not within our purview to make market decisions.”
Addressing the requested special exceptions, Leffel noted that planners first considered whether the project was consistent with the county’s long-range planning documents.
“We always start from the baseline consideration of whether the project fits within confines of the Comprehensive Plan, which this one did,” she said. Leffel added that the Daleville Town Center master development plan, which is incorporated into the Comprehensive Plan, specifically envisioned a grocery store of approximately this size in the proposed location.
She further noted that the inclusion of a drive-thru pharmacy created additional site-design challenges that contributed to the need for the special exceptions. Ultimately, the commission determined the request was appropriate because the proposed store was only slightly larger than other grocery stores in the county and would provide the added convenience of a drive-thru pharmacy within a planned mixed-use commercial area.
The application also notes that there are currently no operating grocery stores within Daleville Town Center and argues the project would serve a growing residential population in the area, including new single-family homes, condominiums, and townhomes.
The Board of Supervisors will review the Planning Commission’s recommendation and receive public input before making a final decision on the SEP requests during its June 23 meeting.
In other action, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended denial of a proposed 5-megawatt utility-scale solar facility on the Barkett property along Roanoke Road near Fincastle. Commissioners voted 5-0 to recommend denial of both the Commission Permit and Special Exception Permit, citing concerns that the project was not consistent with the county’s Comprehensive Plan. The board is scheduled to consider the application June 23. A separate utility-scale solar proposal, the Emory Solar project, is also scheduled for a public hearing during a joint Planning Commission-Board of Supervisors session that evening.
