The Stafford County Board of Supervisors approved a conditional use permit Tuesday night for a new Checkers fast-food restaurant with drive-through service on Warrenton Road, clearing the way for redevelopment of a long-vacant commercial pad site in the George Washington District.
The board voted 6-0 (with one supervisor absent) to grant the permit for the roughly 0.44-acre property at Tax Map Parcel 45-19B, between a Clarion Inn and a Wawa gas station on Warrenton Road (U.S. Route 17), near South Gateway Drive. The site sits within the B-2 Urban Commercial zoning district and the Highway Corridor Overlay District, in an established commercial area surrounded by hotels, restaurants, and retail.
According to county staff, the proposal includes a one-story, approximately 1,000-square-foot restaurant building with associated drive-through lanes, an outdoor seating area, 11 parking spaces (including one ADA-compliant space), perimeter landscaping, and a sidewalk with crosswalk along Warrenton Road. The project is expected to generate about 516 weekday vehicle trips—below the threshold that would require a full Traffic Impact Analysis—and will undergo VDOT review for access at the site-plan stage.
Staff and the Planning Commission found the use consistent with the Comprehensive Plan’s designation of the area as Highway Commercial within the Berea Targeted Development Area. The plan encourages highway-oriented commercial infill, redevelopment of underutilized parcels, and reinvestment in locations already served by public infrastructure. No impacts were identified to wetlands, floodplains, Resource Protection Areas, or other environmental features.
The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval (6-0, one absent) on February 11, 2026. County staff also recommended approval with conditions addressing pedestrian connectivity, screening of drive-through lanes and dumpsters, architectural consistency with Highway Corridor neighborhood design standards, coordinated signage, noise controls for outdoor speakers, and installation of a bicycle rack.
“I’m a little tired of Route 17 being treated and looking like Stafford County’s truck stop,” said Molly Denham (Hartwood District). “I am not happy about another fast-food place, but I reluctantly support this because… I am looking forward to the prevention of overnight and long-term parking of the eighteen-wheelers that currently use this vacant lot.”
No other residents spoke in opposition or strong support during the hearing on February 17.
The decision reflects the board’s ongoing preference for activating vacant commercial sites along major corridors, even as some residents express broader fatigue with additional quick-service restaurants in the area. The site has sat undeveloped for years, and county documents describe the proposal as low-intensity redevelopment compatible with surrounding uses.
The applicant can now proceed to final site-plan approvals and construction. No specific construction timeline was discussed during the meeting.
This approval is one of several commercial items considered at the February 17 meeting, which also included discussion of a proposed Harris Teeter-anchored retail center on the former Anne Moncure Elementary site and continued debate over data center proposals.
