By Debbie Adams
Vinton Town Council has approved an amendment to the Vinton Zoning Ordinance that will
require medical and dental clinics and hospitals to obtain a Special Use Permit in certain
business and industrial districts.
Council met in a joint work session with the Vinton Planning Commission prior to the regular
council meeting on September 3 to review and discuss the proposed changes.
Assistant Planning and Zoning Director Nathan McClung briefed Town Council and the
Planning Commission on the particulars of the amendment which has been under discussion for
much of the summer since Summit Medical Center of Roanoke, LLC (rumored to provide
abortion services) applied for a zoning permit on 3rd Street. The former Dynamic Medical
building is already zoned for a medical office and Virginia state law permits abortions in the first
and second trimesters. That left council with little recourse to stop its opening and operation.
Since early summer, Mayor Brad Grose has stated at each council meeting that the Town of
Vinton did not recruit the business and was unaware of its intentions initially. Council members,
Town Attorney Jeremy Carroll, and the Planning Commission have since been exploring legal
remedies to the situation, given that abortion is legal in Virginia.
The changes to the zoning ordinance would “require medical and dental clinic uses to obtain a
Special Use Permit in the R-B Residential-Business District, GB General Business District, CB
Central Business District, M-1 Limited Industrial District, M-2 General Industrial District, PD
Planned Unit Development District, and MUD Mixed-Use Development District, and require
hospitals to obtain a Special Use Permit in the GB General Business, M-1 Limited Industrial
District, and M-2 General Industrial District.”
McClung explained that Special Use Permits are legislative in nature; that uses allowed by them
are considered to have a potentially greater impact than those allowed as a “matter of right”;
Special Use Permits must be evaluated under reasonable standards, based on zoning principles;
and impacts from Special Use Permits are addressed through conditions which council can
impose.
The proposed zoning amendments are justified by the Virginia Code which recognizes the needs
of agriculture, industry, and business in future growth, provides residential areas with healthy surroundings for family life, and provides for growth that is consonant with the efficient and economical use of public funds.
The Virginia Code also states that the purpose of zoning ordinances is to reduce or prevent
congestion in the public streets, facilitate creation of a convenient, attractive, and harmonious
community and the provision of adequate services, encourage economic development activities
that provide desirable employment and enlarge the tax base, and encourage the most appropriate
uses of land throughout the town.
The Town of Vinton Code states that Special Use provisions are intended to consider impacts of
a proposed use on neighboring properties in deciding whether to grant or deny a permit or to
impose certain conditions upon an approved use.
Town staff has recommended the change to the zoning ordinance to no longer permit medical
and dental facilities and hospitals as a “matter by right” within the town, but instead to require
such uses to undergo the Special Use Permit process.
This process will allow the Planning Commission and Town Council to determine the most
appropriate use of land by evaluating, among other factors, “the existing use and character of the
property proposed for use as a medical or dental facility or hospital, the suitability of the subject
property for various other uses, the need for the proposed use in light of the trends of growth or
change, the current and future requirements of the community as to land for various purposes,
the impacts on public services, the conservation of properties and their values and the
encouragement of the most appropriate uses of land throughout the town, and the impact of the
proposed use on neighbors.”
In the joint work session, Town Council and Planning Commission members discussed how the
Vinton zoning code compares to neighboring localities, whether changes to the zoning ordinance
were more extreme than the situation warrants, and whether the decision should be delayed until
another time to consider other options or that some type of action needed to be taken as soon as
possible.
The regularly scheduled Town Council meeting convened at 6 p.m. with a standing-room-only
crowd of citizens in attendance for the open public hearing on the zoning ordinance amendment.
Mayor Grose opened the hearing by saying that the amendment “would allow Town Council to
fully consider all potential impacts of all future medical and dental facilities being proposed
within our town limits before they are issued a zoning permit and are allowed to be opened. This
potential zoning update would not, however, impact any existing medical or dental facility
currently operating or previously approved through the existing ‘by-right’ authorization within
GB, M1, or M2 zoning districts.”
Nathan McClung repeated his briefing on the proposed changes to the zoning ordinance for the
public.
Thirteen citizens addressed council to voice their opposition to abortion in general and to an
abortion clinic in Vinton in particular, fearing the negative impact it will potentially have on such a peaceful, family-centered, close-knit community. Many of their concerns were faith-based; several were members of organizations that work with women in choosing alternatives to abortion.
Speakers were Ann Russell, Carmel Flippen, Barry Witt, Phil Buchy, Kathy Meckley, Teresa
Pregnall, Patrick Mulligan, Ashely Bri, Katherine Fagan, Daniel Stanley, Merri Turner, JoAnn
Seifert, and Ken Flippen.
Then, Town Council and Planning Commission members were given time to share their
thoughts.
Jonathan McCoy from the Planning Commission said he felt that the amendment “was too broad
a brush for a narrow concern” and might make it more difficult for other businesses to open in
Vinton.” Members Bob Benninger and Dave Jones said that it was time to move ahead and make
the change from “by right” to requiring a Special Use Permit.
Vice Mayor Mike Stovall commented that approving the amendment will give the town the
opportunity to “know the unknown,” ask questions, and determine the intentions of a business
before a permit is issued.
Council members Keith Liles and Laurie Mullins said that passage of the amendment would be a
starting point and that some type of action needed to be taken. Council member Sabrina McCarty
expressed her concerns about how the issue might influence businesses who were contemplating
coming to Vinton.
Planning Commission members voted 3-1 to approve recommending the ordinance change to
council with Chairman Keith Liles, Vice Chair Dave Jones, and Bob Benninger voting in favor
and Jonathan McCoy opposed. Member Sarah Reid was absent.
Town Council members Mayor Grose, Vice Mayor Mike Stovall, Laurie Mullins, Sabrina
McCarty, and Keith Liles then voted unanimously to adopt the amendment to the zoning
ordinance and noted that the change takes effect immediately.
The mayor thanked the citizens who had spoken at the public hearing for their “passion and
standing up for what you believe.”
“We have done what we can do at this point,” he said. “There are no legal grounds, no way
forward to stop it,” since abortion is permitted in the state.
Grose spoke of his own personal feelings on the matter, his dismay that an abortion clinic is
coming to Vinton, and his belief in the power of prayer, but also of the oaths that council
members took to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
