It's not over yet

Goochland’s electoral board held a special meeting on Thursday, June 27 to discuss ways to fix the disenfranchisement of more than 300 voters on both sides of the disputed portion of the Goochland/Louisa county line. Several people caught on the horns of this dilemma attended. Earlier this year, the Electoral Board, took action it believed mandated by state law to transfer citizens who formerly voted in Goochland to Louisa precincts, and vice versa. In all cases, the citizens continue to receive local services from the county in which they formerly voted and pay taxes.

The citizens so disenfranchised are justifiably furious. Some had considered running for office, only to learn that you must live in the voting district you want to represent. So, if, you are “electorally” in Louisa, you cannot be a candidate for an office in Goochland. Others declare that they pay taxes in Goochland and have a right to vote for those who impose, collect, and spend local taxes and that this action is taxation without representation.

Disenfranchised Goochland voters compare an 1863 detailed map with the new one.

On June 20, the Goochland Electoral Board sent a letter to Virginia Attorney General  Mark Herring requesting “..an official advisory opinion on the legality of removing registered voters from the Voter Registration Rolls of the county in which they are known to reside, to place them on the Voter Registration Rolls in an adjoining county where they are not residents.”

The letter goes on to recap instances of mis-assigned voters in the 2017 election and the effect it may have had on close races for members of the General Assembly,  one of which resulted in a tie that was decided by drawing a name out of a hat. This spurred a quest in the elections community for clarification and guidance on the matter. (See /www.goochlandva.us/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=337 on the county website for links to complete texts of all letters.)

Using historic maps in addition to a map with the mutually acceptable census boundary, Lind pointed out the disputed parcels, subject to anomalies that resulted in a vague “sneeze line” that did not follow boundaries established for census purposes.

In April, Manuel Alvarez, Jr., District 2, chair of the Goochland Board of Supervisors, which has no standing in the matter but nevertheless wants a resolution to allow citizen to vote where they pay taxes, sent a letter to the electoral board asking it to revisit its decision and to restore previous practices that allowed citizens who live in the disputed zone to vote where they pay taxes. Alvarez stated that Goochland and Louisa have agreed on a boundary and had submitted matching maps to the Census Bureau.

The red line is the census boundary. Misplaced Goochland voters are in blue, those from Louisa in yellow.

In June 2018, newly appointed Commissioner of the State Board of Elections, Chris Piper declared that the State Board of Elections has no statutory authority over voter precinct assignment and tossed the hot potato matter back to local electoral boards.

In the 2019 General Assembly Session 22^nd District State Senator Mark Peake, who represents both Goochland and Louisa, drafted and “carried” legislation to address the problem with SB 1102. This proposed a “patch” for the situation, which would have allowed local registrars, by mutual agreement, to determine residence for voting purposes. The applicable portion of SB 1102 follows:

§ 24.2-314. Review of voter assignment.

If a registered voter believes he has been incorrectly assigned to an election district or precinct, he may submit to the general registrar of the locality in which he is registered to vote, on a form prescribed by the State Board, a request for review of his assignment. Such request shall be submitted prior to the close of registration records pursuant to § 24.2-416. He shall submit with the request any information or evidence documenting his reasons for believing he has been incorrectly assigned to an election district or precinct. If the general registrar is unable to determine in which election district or precinct the voter should be assigned because of a discrepancy between (i) the boundary of the county or city in existence on April 1, 2011, and as reported by the United States Bureau of the Census in the 2010 Census reports provided pursuant to United States Public Law 94-171 and (ii) the boundary of the county or city recognized by the governing body of the county or city, the general registrar shall refer the matter to the governing body of any impacted county or city to determine, by mutual agreement, in which county or city the voter's residence is located. Upon resolution of the matter, the appropriate general registrar shall be promptly notified so that the voter's registration may be updated to change his assignment to the correct election district or precinct if necessary.

The Senate bill passed unanimously. Companion legislation in the House of Delegates, however, died in committee. When the General Assembly failed to pass the “patch” legislation, local registrars felt compelled to move voters. No one was happy about this turn of events.

Secretary of the Goochland Electoral Board, Robin Lind, said that he was very encouraged by a prompt response to the June 20 letter from Herring.

Lind said that the Electoral Board will act in defense of the best interests of affected voters but does not want to pit one county against another. He wants to set a joint meeting of the Goochland and Louisa electoral boards on July 9 to examine solutions to his problem that allow people to vote where they live. He said it might be possible for the Commonwealth to act unilaterally and pull the 97 voters moved from Louisa to Goochland back to Louisa. However, if Herring issues a dissenting opinion, voters could be whipsawed back and forth between jurisdictions. (Phone calls to Herring’s office at 786-2072 requesting that he issue a prompt favorable opinion will help raise awareness of the gravity of the matter.)

The ideal solution, said Lind, is to have a resolution so voters can stay put at least until after redistricting following the results of the 2020 census in 2021. The Electoral Board is working closely with our delegation to the General Assembly, Delegates. Lee Ware, 65^th District; John McGuire 56^th Disatrict; and Sen. Mark Peake, 22^nd District to have the Virginia General Assembly take up and pass the failed legislation during its special session next month.

Electoral Board Cahir Keith Flannagan observed that there are 75 days until the next hard deadline—the start of absentee voting—to find a solution to the issue.

Goochland County Administrator John Budesky also attended the meeting. He said that the Board of Supervisors, who can only write letters advocating a speedy resolution to the issues because it has no standing in the matter, has agreed to provide funds so that the Electoral Board can retrain its own attorney.

In the long run, both Goochland and Louisa have taken steps to ensure that the boundary between the two counties will be defined when redistricting following the 2020 census takes place.

Notice of the time and location of future meetings of the Electoral Board will be posted at ww.goochlandva.us/359/Voter-Registration-Elections.

Village People

On June 18, Scott Gaeser held yet another community meeting to discuss the latest iteration of Manakin Towne, a proposed mixed-use development on approximately 22 acres behind Essex Bank in the Centerville Village. 

Manikin Towne master plan. Rt. 250 at the bottom, yellow are dwelling units, blue commercial uses.

Since the early days of the 21^st century, Gaeser has been searching for the best way to develop this property. An early version included a handful of two-story buildings around the existing grove of trees that would have had commercial uses on the ground floor and dwelling units above. Horrified at the very notion of multifamily housing, the former board pretty much refused to consider this. Then came the great recession and not much of anything was built. In recent years, Gaeser has tinkered with various options for development.  

The standing room only crowd in the Centerville Company 3 fire-rescue station meeting room listened as Gaeser described the mixed-use enclave that will need to be rezoned from its current designation B-1 to mixed use planned development (MPUD) and obtain a conditional use permit to proceed.  The county requires at east one community meeting to introduce propose land use changes to immediate neighbors and the public.

Using the existing grove of trees would make it easier to  see the height of the proposed buildings.

This will be the first submission under the MPUD zoning. As the rezoning includes a residential component, it is eligible for cash proffers, computed by the county capital impact model. “We are happy to pay $1.4 million in proffers to support our schools, fire-rescue and other county service,” Gaeser said. “We live here, we want to create something nice.”

Gaeser explained the 2035 comprehensive land use plan’s goal of keeping 85 percent of Goochland rural. “That means that the other 15 percent, mostly in the Tuckahoe Creek Service District, will be developed.” He said that, as currently zoned B-1, the land could support up to 200,000 square feet of “big box” retail, car dealerships, or similar businesses with no open space, or cash proffers. The site of Manakin Towne is in the heart of the core of the Centerville Village, with public utilities. This is where the denser development is appropriate, he said.

He used a “big town” versus “small town” illustration to get his point across. Gaeser likened the Wegman’s shopping center with huge buildings surrounded by acres of parking lot as big town. Small town, he contended, is more like Greengate on the opposite side of Broad Street where smaller commercial spaces are intertwined with homes and office buildings. Parking is distributed around the commercial space.

Parking is distributed around Manakin Towne, not acres in front of buildings

Manakin Towne, which Gaeser said is one fifth the size of Greengate, is planned with a variety of housing types including townhouses, lofts, and “flats,” which he described as single floor living spaces in three story buildings accessed by elevators. The town houses will have garages on their first floor as well as off-street parking. The “flats” buildings will have underground parking.

The structures will be no higher than three stories—the town homes near Aldi in Short Pump are four and one-half stories. It would have been helpful to have shown the existing grove of tall trees on the elevations to gauge the scale of the proposed structures. The homes, offices, and stores will, contended Gaeser, look like old Richmond neighborhoods with brick and siding. Some will have roof terraces.  The master plan—a requirement for MPUD zoning—shows 39 townhomes, 150 flats, and eight lofts over retail space. He estimated that 500 residents would occupy the different housing options. Gaeser said that he is still in discussion with builders as to whether the flats would be rental, or owner occupied.

Citizens objected to 500 people on the 12 acres designated for residential use. They had concerns about the transient nature of renters even in upscale, high rent areas. People who stay for a short time, they contended, have no interest in the community and that can lead to problems.

Gaeser touted the walkable nature of Manakin Towne, which will include its own dog park at the rear of the property.

“Who’s going to do all this walking?” one woman asked after Gaeser explained that residents will be able to walk to shops and restaurants. He said that as the area has a higher median income than Short Pump. He is seeking out high end shops, retailers, and boutique fitness establishments who want small square footage shops close to affluent populations. He also hopes to attract unique restaurants, including, perhaps, a farm to table eatery to showcase local food. There will be no fast food or drive throughs, he pledged, but hedged a bit in response to a question about what would happen if the high-end commercial tenants do not materialize.

Changing the zoning, Gaeser and traffic engineer Eric Strohhacker contended, will lessen the traffic impact from its current B-1 designation. Gaeser proposed adding a second southbound left (east) turn lane onto Broad Street Road from entrance to Sycamore Creek Golf Course, which will be upgraded to a public thoroughfare. A new addition to this proposal is an access road behind Company 3 to Plaza Drive. This is still in the discussion stage, said Gaeser, but would provide another outlet for eastbound traffic.

Gaeser said that the density is necessary to make the project economically feasible, but he hopes to set the bar for development quality high enough that it will encourage other property owners to follow suit.

Citizens were, for the most part, not impressed. They opposed the residential density and traffic it will dump into a corridor already almost gridlocked at certain times during the day. Strohhacker conceded that the Broad Street Road corridor, especially at the Hockett Road and Rt. 288 intersectional choke points, has issues. A proposed connection of Hockett and Ashland Roads through the field on the south side of Broad Street Road ‘is the ultimate fix” said Strohhacker, but other mitigation is expensive and a long way off.

Citizens contended that Manakin Towne is little more than an extension of Short Pump congestion and want no part of it.

Gaeser expects to present the rezoning and CUP applications to the Goochland Planning Commission at its August meeting and perhaps to the Board of Supervisors for a final decision in September.

Let the sun shine in

School’s out for the summer but for some kids, that means less access to nourishment for mind and body. Last week’s dedication of Goochland Schools’ Sunshine Food Bus received lots of good publicity.

Annelice Reid, a student at Randolph Elementary School won a $50-dollar prize for submitting the winning name for the mobile food service vehicle. It will visit various locations throughout the county between June 10 and August 2 providing free lunches to students under the age of 18 and to adults for $3.00. Books will also be distributed to help keep reading skills sharp over the summer break.

The Sunshine Bus was the brainchild of Lisa Landrum, Supervisor of Nutrition for the Goochland School Division. She had been searching for a way to provide food for students during the summer months, when school-based meals were not available.  “I am delighted that we now have this opportunity to feed children during the summer,” Landrum said during a ribbon cutting ceremony at the county administration building on June 11.

Ribbon cutting  Dr .Jeremy Raley, school board members Beth Hardy and Karen Horne and Lisa Landrum

Using a bus that was being rotated out of service, students at the Career and Technical Education Center used their skills to repurpose it into a mobile feeding center. The bus has warming ovens, refrigerators, a sink, seating area, and serving counters to access a service window. Food is prepared in the school cafeteria for distribution.

CTE students gutted inside of the bus and repurposed for food service

The bus will also provide opportunities for culinary arts students and extend food service in other ways throughout the year.

Refrigerators, warming oven, sinks and service window  in place.

Dr. Jeremy Raley, superintendent of schools, said that Landrum first suggested creating a mobile cafeteria for summer use several years ago. She persisted and the food bus became reality.

In addition to the CTE program, community partners who funded creation of the Sunshine Food Bus include: The Goochland Rotary Club; Piedmont Smokehouse; the Goochland Education Foundation; Old Dominion Metal Products, Inc. Custom metal Fabrication; and Goochland Community Action Program.

The Sunshine Bus menu is: Monday: Assorted Deli Sandwiches, BBQ Sandwich or Meal Breaks® Chicken Salad Meal; Tuesday: Ranch Chicken Wrap, Hot Dog w/chili sauce, Meal Breaks® Hummus Meal or Chef Salad; Wednesday: Assorted Deli Sandwiches, Nachos or Meal Breaks® Chicken Salad Meal; Thursday: Deli Wrap, Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Meal Breaks® Hummus Meal or Chef Salad ;Friday: Assorted Deli Sandwiches, Hot sandwich Choice or Meal Breaks® Chicken Salad Meal

Schedule:

 Perkins Baptist Church - 3146 Hadensville-Fife Rd, Goochland, 10:45 - 11:00

 County Line Baptist Church - 4070 County Line Rd, Kents Store, 11:15-11:30

 Newline Baptist Church - 4876 Newline Road, Gum Spring, 11:45 - 12:00

 Shady Grove Baptist Church - 3384 Oakland Church Rd, Gum Spring, 12:15-12:30

St. Mark Baptist Church - 4596 Factory Mill Rd, Maidens, 12:40-12:55

Hebron Presbyterian Church - 1040 Shallow Well Rd, Manakin-Sabot, 1:15 - 1:30

Thinking about the unthinkable

On Monday and Tuesday, June 10 and 11, with the Virginia Beach workplace shootings fresh in everyone’s mind, Goochland Fire-Rescue hosted a FEMA training course entitled “Campus emergencies, prevention, response, and recovery” at the Central High School Cultural and Educational Center. The session was attended by staff of the school division; sheriff’s office resource officers; fire-rescue; social services; county administration; Virginia State Police and representatives from other jurisdictions.

County and school staff  join other county agencies to prepare for emergencies.

Each time we hear of a criminal-related mass casualty event, the silent prayer “please God, not here” wafts skyward. Preventing these events is tricky, but effective security, which Goochland’s school division constantly reviews, is a good first step. Fast and competent response to these incidents does not happen by accident.  Conducted by the National Center for Biomedical Research at Louisiana State University, the session was designed to provide participants with “an understanding of and ability to navigate through the difficult aspects of dealing with campus emergencies involving natural or manmade events, including acts of violence.”

Using a variety of problem based, integrated activities in small groups, participants crafted coordinated response approaches to different scenarios. Tabletop exercises illustrated how incidents play out and the importance of a coordinated response by all involved agencies. They considered in detail the effects of different kinds of disruptions, including live shooter incidents and natural disasters, including tornadoes and earthquakes.

For the duration of a disruption, be it hours, days, or longer, the timely sharing of accurate information with the public is vital and all available communication methods must be used. For these messages to be effective, the instructor said, a clear policy to determine who originates the messages and a way to ensure that they are not contradictory must be in place.

Social media is an important tool to spread threat alerts quickly. One exercise consisted of composing a message using Twitter to circulate a tornado warning. Wording is important—the action the sender wants the receiver to take should begin the message with supporting information, including the source, and when to expect an update.

Goochland Interim Fire-Rescue Chief D. E. “Eddie” Ferguson, Jr. and Paul Drumwright, county administrative services manager, explained that Goochland County uses the “Code Red” system to push emergency alerts to those who have signed up. Drumwright observed that if alerts are issued too often, they are ignored.

Goochland School Superintendent Dr. Jeremy Raley said that the school division has “signed up for every alert system known to man” and keeps current with new options for information sharing. Raley said that schools can push emergency notifications to all classrooms from remote locations in verbal and visual ways. It is also able to receive cell phone messages that recipients are safe or need help. He said that school policy is to notify parents, as well as first and second contact numbers to ensure that families are kept informed during emergencies. 

  

According to the instructor the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA give local emergency management agencies priority over other users for cellular and land line phones during emergencies.

The last part of the class explored recovery, which was defined as the near and long-term process of getting back to at least pre-incident levels. Schools, said the instructor, are in the business of education. They need to look at what is necessary to restart operations after a disruption as soon as possible.  In a natural disaster, as the massive Joplin tornado, or closer to home the 2011 earthquake that destroyed school buildings in Louisa County challenges extend beyond the immediate incident. In Joplin, unused warehouse space was converted for classroom use.

 In addition to lost facilities, there are community, infrastructure, and mental health issues to deal with. There may be staffing challenges as employees deal with personal issues as they work through the aftermath.

Generic plans don’t work, the instructor contended, they must be specific. To that end, the participants brainstormed about alternatives to the status quo, how operations could continue if current facilities, equipment, or people were not available.  The idea is not to “recreate the wheel, but make the wheel fit your wagon,” one instructor pointed out.

Randolph Elementary School Principal Dan Gardener told how his school maintained operations after its water plant failed on a Thursday morning. Emergency procurement made it possible for a new pump to be purchased and installed, and water to be delivered by tanker truck to keep the school open until the well pump was replaced.

A continuation of operation plan (COOP) includes a detailed list of essential functions, and how to keep them going. The instructor used the Y2K preparations as an example. Organizations looked at all their functions and determined which were critical and discussed work arounds to keep going if something went wrong. Think about what other facilities could be used if one or more schools are no longer available. Organize, prioritize figure out how long you can do without, the instructor urged. “Start with the hard stuff, command and control and backup systems of communication. Determine how to pay people if the usual systems don’t work; see how many people can work remotely if buildings are damaged.”

When things get back to normal, an after-action evaluation to determine what was done well and what went wrong provides valuable information to use the next time something goes wrong.

Participants in this exercise are no doubt, looking at their work space and duties with a different perspective, thinking about the unthinkable, and making plans they hope are never needed.

June Board highlights

June Board highlights

Goochland supervisors ended their June 4 meeting well into the next morning. They began in the afternoon, however, with County Administrator John Budesky reflecting on the shooting incident in the Virginia Beach government offices on Friday, May 31.

“That could have been anyone,” said Budesky. “Our hearts go out to the families of the fallen and the survivors. We pride ourselves on being accessible to hear, listen and serve the citizens. We are now reviewing our safety plans and hope to God we never have to use them.”  Goochland County, he said, provides an opportunity for civil discourse and doors are open for service and support of the citizens. Budesky also cautioned that we need to be alert to potential danger and urged using the “if you see something, say something” approach to situations that seem troubling.

Indeed, Goochland County offices are open and accessible to all. Unguarded doors and signage guides visitors around the admin building where employees and other visitors, GOMM included, are happy to direct people to local government agencies including DMV, the Treasurer’s Office and Community Development.

Later in the meeting Interim Fire-Rescue Chief D. E. “Eddie” Ferguson Jr. said that previously scheduled “Campus Emergencies Prevention, Response, and Recovery” FEMA training for a wide range of disruptions, including hazardous materials incidents and weather-related incidents, will take place next week. This training session has been scheduled for a while but could not be timelier.

Budesky announced that the county’s first dog park, “Tucker Bark”, will be dedicated on June 17 at 6 p.m., rain date the 18^th. This new facility will feature dog bone shaped benches and other amenities for dogs and their people. He thanked Goochland Pet Lovers, Lowe’s, and the Reynolds Family for their support.

During citizen comment period, Linda Moore reminded the Supervisors of the important of disaster preparation for those with “different abilities to ensure that they are able to interact with first responders during emergencies. District 2 supervisor candidate Wendy Hobbs urged the supervisors to file a lawsuit to prevent disenfranchisement of the 207 Goochland taxpayers whose righto vote in local elections was removed by an action of the Goochland Electoral Board. Board Chair Manuel Alvarez, Jr., District 2, said that the supervisors are investigating litigation in the matter.   A homeowner in the Bridgewater subdivision expressed support for the creation of a service district to fund competition of the roads in that community. (A public hearing on the road service district was scheduled for July 2 at 7 p. m.)

A newcomer to the county, with first responder experience in another state, expressed concerns about local EMS response times in excess of four minutes. During medical emergencies, she contended, “seconds matter”. Ferguson discussed the matter with her. Given Goochland geography, a four-minute response time may never be a reality. Ferguson also said that recruitment is underway to fill new fire-rescue career jobs. He thanked the supervisors for enhancing the pay scale to help Goochland compete with neighboring jurisdictions for personnel.

Other public hearings were set for July 2. These include: amendment to the definition of adequate shelter and space for companion animals; revision of the dangerous dog ordinances; the definition of a dwelling with regard to the tax exemption for the elderly and seabed and cover non-commercial structure used for household goods or motor vehicles; personal property tax exemptions  to add motor vehicles used primarily for agricultural purposes and amend related provisions. Many of these changes are needed to bring county laws into conformance to state statutes.

Budesky was authorized the execute a performance agreement between the county, the Goochland Economic Development Authority, and  Notch Hotel, LLC under which the county will provide up to $200,000 real estate and personal property tax reimbursements (no TCSD taxes involved) and the hotel will, through September 30, 2025, spend $16, 130,000 to build the hotel and maintain 13 jobs (defined as permanent full-time paying a minimum annual salary of $27,218). This “rear end” tax reimbursement incentive does not involve any out of pocket costs.

The full text of these proposed amendments and contracts is included in the June 4 board packet, available on the county website www.goochlandva.us.

Budesky was also authorized to execute an agreement for the construction of the pedestrian path to connect the east and west sections of Tucker Park for $138,000 and appropriate $19,103 for the project.

Paul Drumwright, administrative services manager, presented a wrap up on the 2019 Virginia General Assembly Session.

Efforts to “fix” the legislation that hobbled the ability of localities to use cash proffers as a land use tool in 2016 are ongoing.  Some of these “will move the needle.” He said that the governor has recalled the GA to address gun control legislation and was not optimistic that legislation to “patch” the voter disenfranchisement issue will be addressed.

Three items involving broad band expansion was the ability to create service districts for private providers. Details are being worked out. Both Dominion and Appalachian Power were authorized to implement pilot projects to leverage their infrastructure for middle mile broadband expansion.  The GA increased funds available to $19 million and this impact of this on Goochland is not yet clear.

In anticipation of the 2020 session, Drumwright is compiling a list of issues to be discussed with our GA delegation in the traditional annual luncheon to be held in late summer or early fall. Bills, he said, tend to be written well in advance of the GA session.

County Attorney Tara McGee said that a proffer workshop will be held on June 10 at which she will present Goochland’s perspective on the issue. “Whether or not this is a dead horse we are still beating, I cannot tell, but thought it was worth participating,” she said.

The supervisors adopted an updated economic development strategic plan.  The department was restructured following the departure of Matt Ryan about a year ago. Now, said Todd Kilduff, Deputy County Administrator for Utilities and Economic Development, we have a fully staffed four-person department. Sara Worley will concentrate on existing business, Casey Verburg, a new hire from North Carolina will concentrate of new business and Killduff and Budesky will work closely with them.

Using input from a workshop with the Economic Development Authority, the supervisors, Chamber of Commerce, and other interested parties, the revised plan was drafted. (The entire plan is available at http://www.goochlandforbusiness.com/DocumentCenter/View/233/2019-2024-Strategic-Plan---Adopted-6419)

The strategic plan includes goals, strategies, vision statements. The establishment of target markets and create a Goochland tourism brand. Agritourism is seen to preserve the rural nature of the county in a way that enable landowners to generate income from their property without selling it for development. The goal is to attract a wide range of business types to bring robust economic activity to all parts of the county.

Creation of a county business center is part of the plan. Budesky hoped that this will be a reality later in the year, perhaps through a partnership with the Chamber of Commerce. Kilduff said that the EDA will play a larger part in economic development activities going forward. Metrics to illustrate the progress made toward specified goals are also included. Budesky pointed out that the tourism piece of the plan will be developed further over the summer.

Susan Lascolette, District 1, said she does not want to see incentives baked into the plan. She acknowledged that sometimes they are necessary. Budesky said that sometimes incentives can be best business practices such as low tax rates and fewer regulations. He also said that the plan will be flexible to keep pace with the prevailing business climate.

The supervisors then met in closed session “To discuss the performance and duties of the county administrator and county attorney.”

To bridge or not to bridge, that is the question

To bridge or not to bridge, that is the question

Around midnight on June 4, the Goochland Board of Supervisors voted 4-1, with Susan Lascolette, District 1 in dissent, to defer a ruling on the rezoning application filed by Tuckahoe Bridge LLC until its July 2 meeting. Given the late hour, it was probably prudent to postpone a decision. However, the people who mostly filled the 255-seat board meeting room and had been there for at least five hours, were not happy. The supervisors listened carefully to all comments and clearly had not made up their minds on the case before hand.

The land in question, several parcels totaling 98.22 acres north of Broad Street Road between Manakin and Rockville Roads, has been the subject of contention between developers, property owners, and neighbors for a while. A previous proposal was eviscerated in 2015 and was withdrawn before reaching the supervisors. The current proposal was rejected 4-1 by the planning commission on February 7. After additional discussion between developers and neighbors, a revised proposal with fewer homes, 123 versus the original 147, came before the supervisors. The land is in the Tuckahoe Creek Service District (TCSD), whose water and sewer lines make it able to support homes on lots smaller than the one-acre average shown in the comprehensive land use plan.

Citizen opinions expressed during the public hearing, which ran from 9:20 to 10:50 p.m., were succinct and explored a wide range of topics and viewpoints.  The irony that the proposed development would further urbanize the area seemed lost on the property owners who recalled growing up in Centerville of the past. As presented, Tuckahoe Bridge will not be a “walkable community” enabling residents to stroll to shops and restaurants unless they have a death wish and want to “play chicken” with vehicle zooming along narrow country roads.

The 2035 comprehensive land use plan was invoked often. It can be used to support or refute most land use arguments, sometimes in the same case. Contrary to some of the rhetoric, this state-mandated document, while useful tool to for land use decisions, is not a “covenant between the people and their government”.  This Comp Plan was devised with input from about 200 people and the county’s competent and professional planning staff, few of whom live in Goochland. The other 21,000 or so county residents pay little attention to the Comp Plan and may not know, or care, that it exists. It is a GUIDE not gospel. The supervisors have the discretion to follow or ignore it but seemed reluctant to do either on June 4.

Had as many people attended the public hearing that established the TCSD, there might have been less heartburn over this proposal. As originally justified, the TCSD was created to encourage commercial and industrial economic development in the eastern end of the county. Except for Kinloch, it was not supposed to support residential development.  If that was indeed true, why were the parcels included in Tuckahoe Bridge ever put into the TCSD? Clearly, that land was best suited for residential use.

There were never any guarantees that landowners who put their land into the TCSD would benefit from the inclusion. The county owes these landowners, who voluntarily took the risk that their property would appreciate and become more developable and paid the ad valorem tax, nothing. 

Back to Tuckahoe Bridge. According to the 2035 comp plan, the area in question is designated for medium density residential use. This means an average of one acre per home. The comp plan also shows a “connector” road between Manakin and Rockville Roads, because a traffic engineer decided that one might be needed some time in the future. There is no need for a road there now, or perhaps ever.

As VDOT is slow to build roads, the county, whenever possible, encourages developers to include needed roads in their projects. So, the Tuckahoe Bridge folk included a road in their conceptual plan. The purpose of the connector—to provide another way for traffic to access Ashland Road without going along Broad Street Road—is vague at best. The intersection of Ashland and Rockville Roads is in an oft congested corridor and not signalized why add more vehicles to the mix?

A recent brouhaha by the residents of Parkside Village, a community near the intersections of Ashland and Pouncey Tract Roads, who were outraged to learn that a connector road had been part of their neighborhood since its inception, should be a cautionary tale. It is hard to believe that people shelling out upwards of $550K for homes would welcome cut through traffic in their neighborhood.

The major sticking point in the application—many speakers indicated that they wanted to get to “yes” on this development—was the density. As presented, there would be an average of 1.25 units per acre with a minimum lot size of 15,000 square feet, about a third acre. Some lots would be larger or smaller depending on the final survey. Current residents contended that is just too many homes for the area regardless of the availability of water and sewer.  A plan with 98 homes, adhering to the one unit per acre, was more acceptable. Given the need for roads, buffers, etc., the 98 home sites would be less than one acre, but still less dense than the proposal. In fact, some speakers contended that there would have been little opposition had the number of homes been 98. As currently zoned, 26 homes could be built on the land.

Main Street Homes, the developer in the case, who everyone lauded for its willingness to talk and reputation for building high quality communities, contended that it needs the 123 homes with a $550k starting price point, to cover the cost of building the connector road. The “bridge” over the Tuckahoe Creek wetland will cost approximately $5 million, with significant other up-front costs for turn lanes and extension of utility lines.

The “bridge” was described as a series of culverts through a wetland. Given recent torrential rains, perhaps leaving the drainage in this area alone might be a better idea than fiddling with Mother Nature.

Opponents contended that the density in this zoning category, residential planned unit development (RPUD), is not appropriate for the subject property and does not represent transition from the higher density expected in the core of the Centerville Village. (Speaking of village core density, yet another community meeting on the mixed-use rezoning application for Manikintowne is scheduled for June 18 at Company 3 from 6 to 8 p.m.) Tuckahoe Bridge was characterized as leapfrog development dropped in a rural area, not ratcheting down the densest development at the village core toward its edge.

The overall question, “what benefits does this bring to Goochland?” had different answers. Opponents contended that building 123 versus 98 homes would generate at $3.31 per resident (not a typo) in fiscal benefit to the county. Supporters of the project contended that more high-quality homes will bring young families who want to experience our schools and other amenities. (Clearly this person missed the comment that there are currently three education cottages at Randolph elementary, whose attendance boundaries will change after the new Goochland Elementary is built around 2024). Opponents contended that there is no public necessity for a high-density residential enclave here, but would support one with 98 lots, built without the connector road, which would make fewer lots economically feasible for the developer.

Traffic engineer Eric Strohacker, speaking on behalf of Tuckahoe Bridge, LLC, agreed that the connector road will be used as a cut through and the overall impact on area traffic would not be all that bad as he tap danced around the level of service indicators. Bottom line on all of this, there will be more cars on the road, expected improvements to the north side of the Broad/Manakin interchange generated by development behind Satterwhite’s (looks like survey stakes are already in the ground there) will help.

RPUD, one speaker contended, may be appropriate in some places, but there is “no rational purpose” for it on the outer edge of the Centerville Village and no compelling reason to set the recommend density of the comp plan aside.”

Supporters of the project contended that increased property values will enable the county to fund increased demands on public services. Some contended that they have lived in the county for years and seen lots of new subdivisions that had no impact on traffic. Others said that traffic on Manakin Road, for instance, has gotten so bad that they no longer feel safe walking their horses along the road, or even letting their children go out to collect the mail

Most of the supervisors expressed reservations about the road. Lascolette was the only one who said outright she could not support the road. Bob Minnick, District 4, observed that if 85 percent of Goochland is to be kept rural, one of the main tenets of the comp plan, the growth must go in the other 15 percent, essentially the TCSD. He opined that, as presented, the connector road is of little value to the county.

Ken Peterson, District 5 said that the supervisors’ job is easy “make a decision that pleases everyone and go home.” He also pointed out that they represent those who own the land, live near it and the other 21,000 who are not in the room.

The developer, Vernon McClure, said he would prefer a deferral to take another look at the application.

If the connector road is removed from the application, it may be possible to reduce the number of homes to 98, with about half accessed from Rockville Road, the remainder from Manakin Road.

On July 2, the Board will permit McClure to present his final offer and vote it up or down with no public hearing. County Attorney Tara McGee said that, if the density is not greater than that presented for the June 4 pubic hearing, that is acceptable.