A reimagined Somerset Center Store is closer to fruition.
The beloved country store, built in 1890 at the intersection of Rts. 20 and 231, offered gas and groceries until it was destroyed in May 2020 when a tractor-trailer and dump truck collided, forcing the former into the store and the latter into a tree and neighboring house. The accident occurred during the construction of the adjacent roundabout. Due to litigation, the store was not rebuilt within the two years necessary to keep its grandfathered zoning regulations.
Last month, J.M Gingery, a member of the Somerset Center Store, LLC, applied for a special exception and zoning text amendment on behalf of landowner David McElheney as part of an effort to reconstruct the store. The store would go back into its former footprint on the 1 acre, C-1 zoned property, and consist of a classic country-store facade with a covered porch and refrigerated beverage cooler addition. The interior would feature modern convenience store enhancements.
Due to the configuration of the lot, a special exception, or waiver, is needed for the parking area setbacks contained within the Orange County Zoning Ordinance which specify a minimum of 15 feet from any front property line and 10 feet from any side or rear property line. Proposed parking for the business does not meet the setback requirements, but according to engineer Lee Baines, has been located in areas that allow the best access and traffic flow.
In addition, the application needs a text amendment to reduce the building setback requirements which stipulate 300 feet from Rts. 20 and 231 in the Somerset area. County planning and zoning manager and zoning administrator Josh Frederick said the amendment is necessary to permit redevelopment of the Somerset Center Store. He said the parcel itself is not even 300 feet deep. The amendment would reduce the setback to 3 feet from Rt. 20 and 15 feet from Rt. 231. The Orange County Planning Commission voted last week to recommend the amendment for approval to the board of supervisors.
On Tuesday, the Orange County Board of Supervisors held public hearings on both matters. Gingery said the new store will be the same 40 x 60 size of its ancestor, but will have a wrap-around porch similar to the one at Yoder’s Country Market in Madison. He said the intersection adjacent to the store site is night and day safer than it was and noted the site is fairly constrained by its size, meaning it kind of has to sit the way it already did. He said the new store would have an updated septic system and well to meet current code.
Adjacent property owner Michael Willis said he is very much for putting the store back.
“I haven’t heard any negative comments,” he said. “Everyone I talk to around Somerset would really like to have the store back.”
The supervisors agreed, voting unanimously to approve both the zoning text amendment and the special exception.
