Board tables decision on Dominion permit

On Thursday, the Augusta County Board of Zoning Appeals tabled a decision on a special use permit for Dominion.

The decision has been tabled for 30 days, which means Dominion and members of the community will have to wait to see if the company behind the Atlantic Coast Pipeline will be allowed to store pipes in western Augusta county.

Dominion has applied for a special use permit on land in West Augusta, in what would become a contractor yard for part of the pipeline. Dominion says the area would be used for equipment and material storage.

At the public hearing, a Dominion representative said having the staging area would improve safety.

"This is to address a logistics issue, and a safety issue from a traffic standpoint."

The property is owned by Scottland Land Company, and they've allowed VDOT to use the land for a similar purpose in the past.

"We are in favor of the project being able to move forward, as well as providing a convenient staging area to allow for timely completion of the project," said Leslie Hewitt, agent for Scottland Land Company.

But some members of the community are concerned about the impact the staging area may have. Some are concerned the staging area would damage the environment and about the impact of additional traffic.

"The contractor yard location would obliterate this pristine view-share of Elliott Knob that you saw in the earlier slide," a community member said at the meeting.

Last month, the city of Staunton forced Dominion to remove equipment from land owned by Staunton Tractor after getting a notice of violation. A similar request by Dominion to store pipes in Churchville was denied in March.