Plans to open a restaurant at 161 Cross St. in Urbanna have hit a hurdle.
Shawn Pickett of Pickett Homes LLC is seeking a Special Use Permit (SUP) to allow for retail sales of food and drink together with arcade and board games, and ultimately a small oyster bar with beer and wine sales, to be called The Urban Oyster.
Parking is the problem. The town code requires new restaurants to have one parking space available for each three seats within the restaurant, according to the staff report of Town Administrator Ted Costin. His report proposed a waiver of the parking requirement.
Comments
Neighbors questioned how the business would effect parking. Wanda Hollberg objected to the parking waiver. Hollberg is a former Urbanna planning commission member, whose husband has a business a few doors from the proposed restaurant.
Bill Breeden has the house next door to the proposed restaurant, which has been his “weekend escape” for 24 years. He indicated cars would park on the street in a curve and was also concerned about noise.
Brenda Wylie pointed out that the restaurant will have 15 seats and two servers, which could total 17 cars. She is concerned that parking could overflow into residential areas.
Commercial area
Town Councilor Larry Chowning, a life-long resident of Urbanna, recalled there were once six businesses on Cross Street where Pickett’s property is located. The town will have to buy a parking lot, Chowning said. “The parking problem has been there forever and it’s not going to go away,” he said.
Katie Wilson, a Cross Street resident, spoke in favor of granting a SUP for the restaurant.
The SUP application until its meeting on May 9 at 7 p.m.
Citizens with concerns may contact Costin at 804-758-2613.
