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A conditional rezoning for an Airbnb in Brownsburg was recommended for approval last Wednesday by the Rockbridge County Planning Commission.
Following the conclusion of a public hearing that had been continued from the previous month, the Commission voted 5-0 to recommend a conditional rezoning from general residential (R-1) to general business (B-1) for a .26-acre property at 8 Hays Creek Road. The Board of Supervisors will consider the recommendation at its next regular meeting this Monday, June 26.
Sam and Beth Rowe, who purchased the historic circa 1785 Lucas House a year ago, are seeking to offer one or two bedrooms for short-term rentals on the Airbnb platform. The Rowes own another historic property in Augusta County that they rent on a short-term basis through Airbnb. They have indicated they would operate the Brownsburg Airbnb in a similar manner, renting it an average of eight-to-ten nights a month, mostly on weekends in the fall, spring and summer.
The proposal has drawn mixed reactions from Brownsburg residents, with supporters contending that the historic village is a welcoming community that encourages visitors and critics arguing that the business would create noise and traffic issues, detracting from the idyllic character of a peaceful, quiet neighborhood.
Defending his plans, Sam Rowe said Brownsburg is “a historic district that once contained businesses. It had stores, taverns, blacksmith shops and overnight lodging facilities to accommodate guests taking the stage coach between Staunton and Lexington.” He noted that the Lucas House has been used for business purposes for much of its 238 years – a tradition that he would continue. “The guests that come to stay at the Lucas House will generate revenue for Rockbridge County – stores, meals, wineries, breweries, the horse center, museums, restaurants and the sort.”
He pointed out that the Lucas House is located within an area zoned for mixed uses. Two properties to the south are zoned for business – the former Sprint Centel building and the former Brownsburg bank building. To the north and across Hays Creek Road, he said, are two additional properties zoned for business – a building formerly housing the Old South Antiques Store and the Brownsburg Post Office.
Other land adjoining his property, said Rowe, is zoned both residential and agriculture and is used for “high density horse grazing resulting in bare ground, high fecal production, which produces smell that can permeate the village.” This use could endanger ground water, he said, in contrast to the septic system for the Lucas House, which is an “advanced tech engineered private sewage treatment plant” registered with both the Virginia Department of Health and Department of Environmental Health that is inspected annually.
Rowe said he found, to his surprise, that the Brownsburg Museum is zoned residential when it should be zoned for business. As a new member of the Brownsburg Community Association, owner of the museum, the nonconforming zoning “leaves me with a sense of perplexity as to why the association [hasn’t taken action to make the property’s zoning] compliant.”
Colleen Cosgriff , a representative of the BCA, said she has heard “many different opinions” from members regarding the Rowes’ rezoning request. The mission of the association, she said, “is to promote a sense of community spirit in the Brownsburg area by protecting, enhancing and preserving the quality of life.” For the second straight month, she asked the Commission to postpone taking action so the views of BCA members could be better ascertained and a process undertaken to determine the future direction of the village.
Jeff Shingleton urged the Commission to recommend denial of the rezoning request. There are only 20 houses in the historic village, he said, and each one lost to business use diminishes the community. He also posed questions about the Lucas House’s septic system. Chris Lego said another property in the village that’s already zoned for business is being converted into an Airbnb. “We feel like that’s enough. We don’t need another one on Hays Creek Road.”
“Don’t let the camel get the nose under your tent,” said Mike Smith. “Its whole body will follow.” He expressed concern over what will come next if the “nose is let in. … Unique and desirable qualities of this community will be lost in the process. Residential zoning works well for our community.”
On the other side of the issue, Lois Key, in a letter to the Commission, said the Rowes “are a wonderful asset to this community. They will maintain their property carefully and continue the vision that [museum and BCS founder] Dick Barnes established many years ago for Brownsburg. I ask the Commission not to discourage the Rowes from having a simple shortterm rental so more people may enjoy this historical community of Rockbridge County.”
Kin Welliver also spoke in favor of the rezoning. A neighbor of the Rowes’ Airbnb in Augusta County, he said that property “is always neat and at no time has any guest caused undo commotion in the community.” The Rowes, he said, go “above and beyond what most people with an Airbnb do.”
After the public hearing was closed, Commission Chair Melissa Hennis said she felt members of the community had been given ample time to air their views and that she was comfortable with recommending approval of the rezoning. Alluding to the other planned Airbnb that’s already zoned for business, she asked, “How can you tell one person it’s okay and then another person it’s not.” Also, she pointed out, the property is “located next to other business-zoned properties.”
Robert Lucas said he’d visited the property and found that there was adequate off-street parking space for up to five good-size vehicles – more than enough to accommodate four guests that would be allowed under the rezoning.
A motion by Shan Watkins, Walkers Creek member, to recommend the rezoning was seconded by Lucas and approved unanimously.
