Planners await details on performance theater, flea market on Lee Highway

Mountainside Physical Therapy proposes an ambitious expansion

Deciding they needed more information, the members of the Rappahannock County Planning Commission on July 21 tabled a request by Anne and Dennis Williams to amend conditions on the use of their property so they can add a flea market, small live performance theater, and food service at their property at 12625 Lee Highway, Washington. The site currently has a building offering office space, retail, exercise studio and Mountainside Physical Therapy.

The Williams couple bought the property in 2017. At one time it housed a construction company office and supply yard with a warehouse. The property’s neighbors include a veterinary clinic, bed and breakfast and winery to the west on Route 211. The 4.6 acre property, once zoned agricultural, was rezoned for commercial use in 1989.

Approval by the commission would amend existing conditions on the property to allow expanded use. The existing dance studio would be remodeled and would have a capacity of 25. A small theater to the rear of the property is also part of the Williams’ vision. Food trucks would be brought in to serve theater goers, clinic workers and patients.

The existing 65-car capacity parking lot on the property would provide enough space to accommodate visitors, Anne Williams assured the commission members during the July 21 meeting.

A county staff report said the applicant needs to have an engineer or soil analyst evaluate the condition of the property’s septic system. Comments from the Virginia Department of Transportation on traffic impact are pending.

Hampton Planner Al Henry cautioned Williams that “you may need additional drain field capacity. You need a big enough capacity.” Regarding her plans to build at the property’s rear, Henry added, “Be sure to keep enough land back there” should an expansion of the drain field be necessary.

In answer to questions by commission members about her concept for the use of the property, Williams said that her “ultimate vision is a closed building that looks like a barn” for stage performances. Until that is built, audience members could be sitting on lawn chairs to view outdoor performances or be seated in an open air pavilion that would be built as a step toward constructing an enclosed building. The flea market could be situated indoors or in the parking lot, Williams said.

An antique shop housed in the existing building was run by a tenant who has retired. Williams said she hopes to offer more retail “but if retail doesn’t make it I’m trying to plan ahead” with other options.

“I feel a real bond with Rappahannock County,” Williams said. The building seemingly “called out to me” when she first drove past it and noted it was empty and available.

Commission members sought more specificity about her plans. Wakefield planner Brian Scheulen asked if there was a conceptual site plan showing the placement of a new building.

Williams showed the commission a layout of the property.

“Having something out back may be an issue for the neighbors,” said

Jackson Planner Rick Kohler, noting the nearby homes.

The commission’s vote to table the matter upon the motion of Stonewall-Hawthorne Planner Gary Light was unanimous, with one member, Piedmont Planner Mary Katherine Ishee, absent.

Commission members were generally supportive of the applicant’s goals.

Henry told Williams that she shouldn’t view the commission’s delay in taking action as “a roadblock.”

“We want to help you,” Henry said. “I’m just confused about the direction you want to go.”

In other business, the commission postponed preliminary review of a request to subdivide a property in Chester Gap into two pieces. The postponement was requested by the applicant, James Pugh III. Pugh’s 2.2-acre property is at the corner of Chester Gap Road and Lee Ridge in the Mt. Royal subdivision and is presently zoned village residential with a density of one home per acre allowed.