County Leaders Examine Proposed Truck Stop Site | Rockingham County

MAUZY — Rockingham County officials visited a site proposed for a truck stop on Tuesday.

Gas City LLC, of Leesburg, is requesting to rezone 31.2 acres of land north of U.S. 11 and Mauzy Athlone Road, near the Mauzy Interstate 81 interchange, to a business interchange district.

Concurrent with the rezoning request, Gas City is also requesting a special-use permit for other amenities, such as a truck car wash, on site.

Rockingham County Planning Commissioners Kevin Flint, Jordan Rohrer and Michael Harvey, along with District 1 Supervisor Dewey Ritchie, toured the site Tuesday with county staff and Gas City representatives.

Bill Moore, an engineer with Staunton-based Balzer and Associates, said there is a large demand for truck stops on the I-81 corridor in Virginia. According to a draft conceptual site plan, Gas City proposes a 12,000-square-foot convenience store, a 12-vehicle fuel station, eight fuel pumps for trucks, a truck repair shop and a car wash.

Electric car charging stations are also considered.

Jeff Robb, a broker with Lee and Associates, said the proposal spearheaded the creation of Rockingham County’s business interchange district. The county established the new business interchange zoning last year, with hopes of providing services to those traveling on the interstate.

Only one parcel in Rockingham County is zoned business interchange — 45 acres east of Interstate 81 on the southside of Friedens Church Road in Mount Crawford. The Board of Supervisors gave the thumbs-up to that request, from Lispen LLC, in February.

According to county rules, business interchange zoning districts must be situated within a half-mile of an interstate interchange, measured from the center point where the road overpass crosses the interstate.

Three interstate exits — at mile marker 257 at Mauzy, mile marker 251 north of Harrisonburg and mile marker 240 at Mount Crawford — are the only places in Rockingham County eligible for business interchange districts, according to Kelly Getz, the county’s zoning administrator.

Rockingham County’s Planning Commission will hear the rezoning request July 5. If a recommendation is made, it will go before the Board of Supervisors on July 27.