Residents Oppose Self-Storage Development in Scottsville, VA

Self-storage developer Isaac Shelley is facing resident opposition in his quest to build a self-storage facility in Scottsville, Va. Shelley applied for a special-use permit to construct the property in an area currently zoned for residential use. The Scottsville Town Planning Commission will vote on Feb. 1 whether to approve a code amendment to allow self-storage, which isn’t currently defined by local zoning ordinances. If the amendment is approved, it would also add to the list of business types that could be allowed in residential areas through the procurement of a special-use permit, according to the source.

Resident Susan Cable claims the permit would be a violation of the town's comprehensive plan, and a self-storage facility would “threaten their comfort level in their home.”

"We're concerned about, obviously, security. It will not be managed property. It will be [lit] 24 hours of the day. There will be traffic coming in at all hours of the day and night,” said Cable, who’s lived in the neighborhood for four years with her husband, Louis Cable. "We're not opposed to storage units per se. Mainly, it just does not belong in a residential area."

Shelley’s application states there’s an unmet demand for self-storage in the community, and no facility like the one he proposes exists within a 15-mile radius, the source reported.

Ron Smith, a planning-commission and town-council board member, is in favor of approving the text amendment, but said he’s not sure he’d vote in favor of a special-use permit for the storage development because the unmanned site won’t generate any jobs. Although the Cables worry the amendment will open residential areas up to more business development, Smith said it was unlikely.

"To me, if it does end up in the special-use permit scope of the village residential zoning, it would be much more difficult for a business such as this to get into that or get approval for that," Smith said.

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