ISLE OF WIGHT
Isle of Wight County’s Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 with one absent last Thursday to approve the following changes to its zoning ordinance:

Article I. General Provisions

• Section 1-1021 has been amended to remove posting requirements for preliminary site plan applications. This was done because review is an administrative process only and no public comment is required.

• Posting requirements have been added for “Home Occupation – Gunsmith,” which reflects a prior request from the Board of Supervisors.

Article II. Definitions

• Section 2-1002 has been amended to add a definition of docks and piers to clarify that the ordinance regulates these structures. Definitions of garage or yard sales and internet sweepstakes cafes have also been added.

• A building height explanatory graphic has also been added to clarify how the ordinance defines this term.

Article III. Use Types

• Section 3-2000 has been amended to change the definition of sawmill to include only private sawmills as an agricultural use type.

• Section 3-3000 has been amended to change “housekeeping unit” to “dwelling unit” in accessory apartment use types to reflect modern nomenclature. “Congregate housing” has also been added as a residential use type.

• Section 3-6000 has been amended to add internet sweepstakes cafes to adult entertainment use types. The definition of antique shops has also been removed, because it was duplicate with the retail sales use type.

• Section 3-7000 has been amended to include concrete plants with asphalt plants as an industrial use type. A definition for a commercial sawmill, which is different than a private sawmill permitted in the RAC district, has also been added. Convenience Centers are also renamed as Refuse and Recycling Centers to match the county’s nomenclature in other sections of the county code.

Article IV. Zoning Districts

• Antique shops have been removed from the list of permitted or conditional uses in RAC, LC, GC and PD-CP.

• Concrete plants have been added to a list of conditional uses in GI, GIC and PD-IP.

• Commercial sawmills have been added as a permitted use in GI and GIC, and as a conditional use in LI.

• Congregate housing has been added as a permitted use in UR, PD-R, PD-MX and as a conditional use in SR.

• Minimum tract size requirements have been removed from PD-R, PD-CP and PD-MX.

• Corresponding revisions have been made to the table of permitted uses.

Article V. Supplementary Use Regulations

• Section 5-2000.G has been amended to add criteria to permit solid screen fences greater than 4 feet in height in the secondary front yards of corner lots and through lots.

• Section 5-5002 has been amended to add docks and piers to boathouse supplemental use regulations. Also, the minimum lot size requirement for an accessory apartment has been reduced to 100 percent of the minimum required lot size of the underlying zoning district.

There are also revisions to multifamily and townhouse criteria and revisions to guest house requirements.

• Section 5-5005 has been amended to increase adjoiner notice requirements for adult entertainment and commercial kennels. Also, setback requirements for commercial kennels have been changed in the RAC and GC districts. Supplementary use regulations for antique stores have also been removed.

• Section 5-5006 has been amended to revise borrow pit requirements that are duplicative with state requirements and to include concrete plants in asphalt plant supplemental use criteria.

• Section 5-5—7 has been amended to increase adjoiner notice requirements for outdoor shooting ranges per an earlier request by the Board of Supervisors.

Article VI. Overlay Districts

• Architectural design criteria has been changed to exempt building sides not visible from the public right-of-way as determined by the zoning administrator in the Newport Development and Highway Corridor Overlay Districts.

• Design requirements have been changed for facades greater than 100 feet in length in the Newport Development and Highway Corridor Overlay Districts.

• Zoning administrator approval is required for minor exemptions in the historic overlay.

Article VII. General Design Guidelines

• Section 7-2007 has been amended to remove “adjacent property owners, or” from Section 7-2007.A (2) in the administrative review process.

• Zoning administrator discretion has been added for the number of copies of preliminary site plan application documents required under Section 7-2007.C and D to recognize that some documents may be available in digital format.

Article VIII. Landscaping

• Section 8-1005 has been amended to correct the foundation zone graphic.