Portable storage containers and roll-offs have become an increasingly popular form of temporary storage and, subsequently, the need for rules and regulations has come into play.
On May 25, 2006, the Fairfax County Planning Commission held a public hearing on the proposed Zoning Ordinance amendment regarding portable storage containers. A number of issues were raised and the Planning Commission opted to defer a decision on the Zoning Ordinance until its July 19 meeting.
At its July meeting, the McLean Citizens Association (MCA) Board voted to approve a resolution urging the Planning Commission to ask county staff to recommend that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors "revise and re-advertise the proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment in light of issues raised by the public."
"They [the county] really rushed into this," said Dale Murad, co-chair of the MCA planning and zoning committee. "We're not saying that they shouldn't regulate them, we're just saying that they need to step back and do a better job."
Planning Commissioner Walter Alcorn (at large) has been handling the portable storage container issue, and has spent the last month gathering feedback from the public.
"We had our public hearing last month, but frankly before that even happened we started hearing things, both from citizens and industries, that suggested that what we advertised as a Zoning Ordinance for these things might need some changes," said Alcorn.
The Planning Commission asked for all comments on the matter to be submitted by Wednesday, July 12. The Planning Commission intends to make a final decision on the matter by Wednesday, July 19.
"We've certainly heard a good number of recommendations that were outside of the scope of what was advertised in the Zoning Ordinance change," said Alcorn.
Some questions were raised about the 30-day cap that was suggested for the use of portable storage containers.
"There was some concern that this might not be long enough in some situations, and maybe in other situations might be too long," said Alcorn. "Another big issue that came up was the way that the ordinance was advertised, these would not be allowed in townhouse or multi-family developments."
Alcorn said that he has received feedback from civic association leaders in townhouse communities, stating that many residents would in fact like to be allowed to use portable storage containers.
"So it hasn't been one-sided in terms of citizens versus industry — there seems to be a range of thought on the citizen side," said Alcorn. "It's an interesting issue because it's a relatively new business model that a lot of citizens are using, so it raises concerns both from a neighbor's perspective and from a consumer's perspective."