Cake Krums owner Merri Woodward appeared again before the Madison County Planning Commission to discuss an application for a special use permit (SUP) for a convenience store to open Trail Bites, a pop-up extension of her Main Street store that will offer prepackaged, grab-and-go items on weekends. The store will be housed in an existing 300-square-foot building on a roughly 0.03-acre agricultural lot at 37 Poor House Road. The property is owned by Possum’s Store owner Renee Balfour. Woodward said Balfour approached her with the idea of ​​operating a store in the space.

Woodward plans to sell pre-packaged lunches to hikers and out-of-towners. The lunches will be prepared at Cake Krums. She also plans to offer bottled sodas, water, tea and iced coffee, along with the pre-packaged desserts she is known for in Madison. Cake Krums started as a bakery but expanded to include breakfast, lunch and specialty coffee. Trail Bites will also offer merchandise such as t-shirts, hats, tumblers, mugs and hiking essentials such as bug spray and sunscreen.

The building on Poor House Road has no indoor plumbing, but building officials say it doesn’t need it. Woodward plans to dispose of all waste at her Main Street location. Balfour has offered employees her store’s restroom as a restroom option.

Questions were raised by planning commissioners about the building’s accessibility. It does not meet current ADA requirements, but building and zoning officials said that is not necessary due to the building’s age.

“It dates back to before it came into force,” said Commissioner Jim Smith.

Woodward said she has quite a few customers who visit Cake Krums and require special accommodations, and she wants to be able to serve them at Trail Bites. However, widening the entrance and adding a ramp isn’t feasible. She plans to implement a curbside pickup option for those who can’t get into the building.

“I want to help all my clients,” she said.

The SUP permit is being sought with several conditions. The permit is for the applicant; all existing fencing must be maintained to provide protection from the adjacent properties and lighting must be directed downward. Parking is prohibited in the VDOT right-of-way area and on the gravel driveway leading to an adjacent property. Balfour said Trail Bites will use the Possum’s Store parking lot, with a parking space near the pop-up designated as handicap parking.

Woodward said she was looking forward to the new project.

The permit application will be the subject of a joint public hearing on Wednesday, September 4, at 7 p.m. at 414 N. Main Street, Madison.

Also on the public hearing agenda is an update to the building code regarding work-from-home policies. The issue became a topic of discussion in June when a local business applied for a SUP to work from home. Commissioners had difficulty determining whether the business needed a permit or if it fell under the work-from-home policies in the building code because it meant employees would come to the home, pick up company vehicles and work off-site before returning those vehicles to the property. Ultimately, commissioners and county supervisors decided the ordinance needed to be revised.

The building code states that home-based work is permitted in both Zones A-1 (agriculture) and C-1 (conservation) as long as it is limited to those living on the premises, is conducted solely within the home, and does not generate customer traffic. Home-based work with fewer than three employees regularly employed on the premises requires a SUP. Mechanical equipment must also have no more than five horsepower.

The Commission revised the regulation to allow home work in A-1 and C-1, as well as R-1 (Residential Limited), R-2 (Residential General), and R-3 (Residential Multiple Family). The revised regulation defines a home work as one that includes or is limited to persons residing on-site, with no business signage, and no customer traffic. Home work with fewer than three employees regularly employed on-site is permitted by a SUP in A-1 and C-1. Regularly employed on-site means employees work on-site for more than two hours per day. The business owner must reside on-site. Mechanical equipment is still limited to five horsepower, except for equipment normally used for domestic or household purposes.