The Caroline County Planning Commission directed staff on Wednesday to prepare draft text‑amendment language that would allow mini‑storage (self‑storage) uses in Village Center (VC) zoning districts subject to a special use exception before the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Planning staff explained village center districts are intended for small‑scale, neighborhood commercial uses where public water and sewer are limited. Crystal Dads, Planning & Zoning director, told commissioners that mini‑storage is currently allowed by special use exception in C‑1 neighborhood commercial districts but not in VC districts; staff proposed aligning the VC rules with C‑1 by allowing mini‑storage via the BZA process.

Dads and other staff said mini‑storage facilities typically require parcels large enough to handle building footprints, internal service roads and stormwater controls. Commissioners discussed potential supplementary requirements for VC locations — including maximum building size or total floor area, height limits, perimeter setbacks, landscape screening, and lighting limits — so a structure would remain in scale with nearby houses. "You could have more restrictive setbacks, you know, for that type of use in terms of a supplementary regs," Dads said.

Commissioners emphasized a case‑by‑case approach: using the BZA special‑use hearing to set conditions tailored to the site where necessary. Commissioner Roger McKnight suggested requiring screening where a facility abuts residences; others proposed simple height or combined square‑footage caps to keep buildings in village scale. One property owner who spoke at the meeting, Mason Platsky of Dover Bridge, said he supported the change: "I don't think it would be offensive... as long as there's neighbors or good with it, you know, let it happen."

The commission did not adopt firm countywide size limits that evening but asked staff to prepare draft language that would: permit mini‑storage in VC districts by special use exception; allow the BZA to impose site‑specific conditions; include options for supplementary standards (setbacks, landscape screening, lighting, height limits, and per‑parcel total square footage); and return for further review. A motion directing staff to prepare draft conditions carried by voice vote.

If adopted by the county commission following public review, the change would make mini‑storage an allowable use in VC districts only where that district exists (nine of the county's 12 villages), and not in village neighborhood (VN) districts that lack VC zoning.