Planning commission recommends denial of storage facility proffer amendment after neighbors, commissioners raise buffer concerns

The Hanover County Planning Commission voted to recommend denial of REZ2026-00012, an amendment to proffers for Antique Lane Storage LP that would sharply reduce side and rear landscape plantings and install a six-foot white vinyl privacy fence.

Planning staff outlined the proposal: the 6.17-acre site previously approved up to 700 storage units and a landscape plan that included dense plantings to soften the development from adjacent properties and the I-295 gateway. The amendment would greatly reduce the number of plantings (staff noted a proposed 90% reduction compared with the approved plan) and place a white vinyl fence inside a revised landscape layout. Staff proposed and the applicant accepted an additional proffer requiring fence maintenance, but commissioners and neighbors expressed concern the result would present a visible white barrier to surrounding residents while failing to meet the comprehensive plan’s gateway-design expectations.

Anne Miller, planner for the applicant (Westwood Professional Services), said the change flips the fence and planting arrangement so vegetation is outside the fence and can mature over time; she also said the 6-foot PVC material was chosen for long-term durability and that the owners agreed to the staff-recommended fence-maintenance proffer. Neighbors and a local landscape professional (Rob Wilhoite) argued the white fence would be conspicuous to adjacent houses and recommended neutral colors or more substantial plantings. Commissioners pressed the applicant on whether the site’s previously chosen 20-foot buffer was a practical standard and whether the 20-foot buffer’s density had created the problem; staff explained the 20-foot buffer option contains the densest planting requirement and is applied countywide for industrial buffers.

After discussion, Commissioner Martin moved to recommend denial; the motion passed. The transcript records commissioners’ concerns about aesthetics, maintenance enforcement, and whether the zoning amendment would meet the comprehensive plan’s community-gateway standards. The denial is a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors; the applicant may revise the proffers or pursue the matter further with the board.