Planning Board recommends light‑industrial rezoning for Goins property despite neighbor objections

The Rockingham County Planning Board voted Feb. 9 to recommend that the Board of Commissioners approve a rezoning that would change a parcel west of 1923 Victory Hill Church Road from Residential‑Agricultural to Light Industrial.

Staff said the parcel is located in a rural area near the Virginia border and that some light‑industrial zoning exists within about 1,500 feet. The applicant, Steve Goins, said a shop has been on the site for roughly 40 years and that the recent lean‑to addition prompted the need to regularize zoning so the structure could remain; Goins said he has largely retired from his prior logging and shipping operations and expects only light‑truck use and equipment storage.

Neighbors opposed the rezoning. Casey Brown, speaking on behalf of Tim and Judy Boyd whose property adjoins the site, asked the board to deny the request as unnecessary because the applicant already owns a nearby parcel zoned for industrial use. Brown requested that, at minimum, strict buffering be required to screen the property if the rezoning is approved.

Planning staff explained that a general‑use rezoning would allow a range of light‑industrial uses and that permitting and site‑plan review would be required if the owner pursued new construction or different uses that would trigger buffering and environmental safeguards. Several board members said they were sympathetic to the neighbors but also noted the immediate applicant’s stated intent was limited and the parcel’s sub‑2‑acre size constrained certain agricultural accessory allowances.

The board moved to recommend approval based on the consistency and reasonableness statements in the staff packet; the motion carried and the recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of Commissioners for a public hearing. Staff said if the parcel owner later pursues any changes that require permits, buffers and runoff controls would be addressed during permit review.