High School Musical

Special meeting on Tuesday, April 14 at 7 p.m.

More supervisor shenanigans threaten to derail the widening of Broad Street Road through Centerville. This could throw even more cold water on commercial development in the county and push property tax rates through the roof. If the two cent tax hike that the board declined to enact last week gave you heartburn, prepare to buy antacids by the carload when the county struggles to service the debt on the Tuckahoe Creek Service District.

Should a change to annual reassessment be approved, which will likely result in lower property values that mirror the current real estate market, the board could be forced to raise property tax rates next year just to pay for level funding of county services.

During a public hearing on April 7, the supervisors voted 3-2 (Eads, Quarles and Pryor versus Butler and Creasey) to deny a change of proffers for the parcels of land on the northeast quadrant of the Broad Street/ Manakin Road intersection generally known as Manakin Towne Center.

Developer Scott Gaeser petitioned to relocate the main entrance to the project, whose only current structure is the Bank of Goochland, about 50 feet to the east. The eventual vision is to have a single access point for all of the parcels there, which would then be served by an internal road system. The proposed entrance would be further away from the Manakin and Broad intersection.

The proposed entrance would line up with the entrance to the project on the south side of Broad Street Road, which was rezoned about two years ago. This is expected to include retail and age-restricted housing. Having both entrances aligned would permit an opening in the median expected to be part of the four laning of Broad Street Road. This would ease traffic flow on both sides of the road.

In spite of extensive testimony in support of the change from VDOT engineers, county staff and local residents, the majority of board members decided that they knew more about traffic safety and road design.

Following the vote, Gaeser, who has developed several residential and commercial projects in the eastern end of the county, told the supervisors that he no longer intends to donate rights of way for the Broad Street Road widening project, which he valued at more that $1 million.

A VDOT employee said that without donation of those rights of way, the project essentially was dead and would not be considered until at least 2020. Given the dire funding projections from VDOT, that might have been an optimistic forecast.

A board meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14 at the county administration building at 1800 Sandy Hook Road to reconsider the matter.

For all of the lip service that the board pays to unintended consequences, this vote shows that they care far more about petty intraboard power plays than the future of Goochland. The vote against the proffer change is believed to have been more of a way to “punish” District 4 supervisor Rudy Butler who has chided Eads about his lack of support for economic development. Butler has worked for years on the widening of Broad Street Road, which is in his district. Remember cliques in high school? This is the same kind of personal dynamic, all about who is in charge.

In addition to moving traffic more smoothly through Centerville, VDOT regulations pertaining to four lane roads have lower warrant thresholds for traffic signals. This means that a needed traffic signal at the intersection of Hockett and Broad Street Roads will be closer to reality. Coincidently, when Gaeser rezoned land on the east side of Hockett Road a while back, he was forced to proffer about $250,000 toward the cost of that installation.

Given the supervisors’ penchant for changing development rules in midstream, it is not surprising that money and interest in creating commercial projects, that would put sales tax dollars into county coffers goes elsewhere.

The supervisors need to get serious about becoming a catalyst for development or Broad Street Road though Centerville will continue to be the route used by Goochlanders as they take their sales tax dollars to Short Pump.

Come to the meeting and see the show.