Pearisburg sets Aug. 11 hearing on electronic signs and accessory dwelling units

Pearisburg Town Council has scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday, Aug. 11, on proposed changes to the town’s zoning code that would address electronic signs and accessory dwelling units.

The hearing is set for 6:30 p.m., or as soon afterward as the item is reached on the agenda, at the Pearisburg Municipal Building Council Chambers. The town council will receive public comments on the proposed amendments.

What the proposals cover

One proposed amendment would define and permit electronic signs in specified zones. The public notice does not identify those zones, and the exact standards for the signs require review of the proposed ordinance text.

A second proposal would amend lot-use and area requirements for manufactured homes to define and permit accessory dwelling units, commonly called ADUs. The packet does not provide the proposed dimensional standards or other detailed permitting requirements.

Both measures would amend Chapter 24, Pearisburg’s 1996 zoning code. Town materials dated May 27 also identified accessory dwelling units as a subject of proposed Chapter 24 changes, providing earlier zoning-code context for the later hearing notice.

What the hearing means for Pearisburg

The hearing gives residents and property owners a direct opportunity to comment before the town council takes any action. The issues could affect businesses considering commercial signage and homeowners or other property owners seeking to create an accessory dwelling unit, depending on the final language adopted.

For businesses, the electronic-sign proposal concerns where such signs could be permitted under the town’s zoning rules. For property owners, the ADU proposal concerns how accessory units would be defined and what lot-use and area requirements would apply if the amendment is approved.

The proposals are not currently established as law by the hearing notice. The notice does not say whether the council will adopt, reject or revise the amendments at the hearing or afterward. It also does not establish that electronic signs or ADUs are legal under the proposed rules yet.

Next step

The next known step is the Aug. 11 public hearing at the municipal building. Residents and property owners who want to comment should review the proposed ordinance text for the exact zones, dimensional standards and other details; those specifics are not included in the hearing notice summarized here.