The Gloucester Planning Commission will hold a public hearing at 7:30 tonight in the colonial courthouse to consider repeal of the Highway Corridor Overlay District.

As it exists now, the overlay district runs the entire length of Route 17 in Gloucester and out Route 14 to the Mathews County line. The district extends 600 feet from the right-of-way of the designated highways, a report said.

The HCOD currently includes architectural treatment standards, such as no portion of a building constructed of unadorned concrete block or corrugated and/or sheet metal shall be visible from any adjoining agricultural, residential or office district or any public right-of-way.

Special setbacks are designed in the HCOD, which a staff report said are used to “preserve and enhance highway safety and efficiency.” Front-, side- and rear-yard setbacks are listed with varying amounts of required perimeter landscaping.

Supervisor John Meyer said during a recent commission meeting that HCOD r...