Stor Moore Self Storage had a facility-expansion proposal rejected this week by York County, Va., planning commissioners. The commission voted 3-1 against the project after neighboring residents vocalized concerns about increased noise pollution. The proposal would have expanded the Yorktown self-storage facility onto an 8.6-acre vacant property that borders a neighborhood and is zoned for residential use.
The self-storage operator wants to add 81,400 square feet of storage space by constructing nine additional buildings to the existing facility. Planning staff told commissioners in a memorandum that the expansion would impose minimal traffic impact on the neighborhood because the new buildings would be accessible only from the existing facility.
Facility owner Dale Moore also argued that noise would be minimized by having unit doors face inward, away from residences. He also said new construction would be separated from homes by a 75-foot buffer of trees.
However, residents complained about the noise level that already emanates from the storage property, including construction equipment stored in a contractors yard at the rear of the facility and helicopter use from a helipad that was permitted under previous zoning. Moore said he uses the helicopter for law-enforcement purposes and was careful to abide by Federal Aviation Administration regulations.
York County supervisors last year rejected a 55,000-square-foot self-storage project that would have been built about 1,500 feet away from the Stor Moore facility. During that meeting, supervisors expressed concern about the abundance of self-storage businesses already along the Route 17 corridor, citing a comprised 216,000 square feet of storage space in the county.
Stor Moore operates two self-storage facilities in Yorktown and one in nearby Grafton.
Sources:
- Williamsburg Yorktown Daily: York Planners Reject Stor Moore Expansion
