PORTSMOUTH — Two new shipping container storage yards are on their way to the Churchland and Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway areas.
City Council members voted unanimously at the July 9 meeting to approve two separate use permits to operate shipping container and chassis storage yards — one at 0 Coast Guard Boulevard in the Churchland area and one at 0 Syer Road near the Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway.
The yard at 0 Coast Guard Boulevard was requested by Matt Mader and Ken Rodman, who wish to operate on a 30-acre parcel in an industrial zoning district. The property is owned by Virginia Holding Company. It will accommodate 310 truck parking spaces and container laydown spaces.
Chris Gullickson, director of development and transportation policy at the Virginia Port Authority, said at the council meeting the storage yard would operate in conjunction with the port and aid transportation of the domestic supply chain.
One speaker discussed potential noise and the presence of hazardous materials. Rodman, on behalf of VHB civil engineering firm in Virginia Beach, said most containers would be empty on their way back from the Port of Virginia and that noise shouldn’t be a major concern since there are no immediate neighbors. A representative from the adjacent U.S. Coast Guard base previously indicated he wasn’t opposed to the project but expressed concern for potential safety and security issues, including continuous and uninhibited entrance and exit points via Coast Guard Boulevard and protection from nearby ammunition storage.
The project was approved with conditions, including agreements applicants made to mitigate the Coast Guard’s concerns. Applicants will install surveillance cameras, additional fencing, emergency access to the Coast Guard base and a left-turn lane on Coast Guard Boulevard. Applicants also agreed to suspend parking during Coast Guard training exercises.
The other approved yard would operate on a 7-acre portion of a 96.5-acre parcel at 0 Syer Road near the Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway in an industrial-zoned area. The request was made by Paul Tschiderer of AES Consulting on behalf of CSX Transportation, Inc., which owns the irregularly shaped parcel bounded to the north by an existing CSX railway, bounded south by 1420 and 1400 Columbus Avenue, located east of the northern dead-end of South Street and west of the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway.
The site would accommodate the storage of roughly 200 chassis with containers. On behalf of the applicant, Randy Marcus of CSX said the containers would not store hazardous or flammable materials. Following concerns raised from neighboring Murro Chemical Co. about traffic and proximity to a hydrogen tank, the applicants agreed to a few changes, including an increase in the fence height, additional signage for entrance, restricted access points and additional buffer to protect the Martin Luther King bridge piers that overpass the site. Instead of installing surveillance cameras, operators will rely on CSX railroad police services.
Council member Mark Whitaker expressed concern for traffic congestion at the on-ramp near I.C. Norcom High School in the mornings, but a report from city staff noted the project isn’t expected to negatively affect existing traffic.
Both projects received unanimous support from Planning Commission and approval from city planning staff. It’s not known at this time how much tax revenue the city would expect to draw from the properties.
Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133, natalie.anderson@virginiamedia.com
