At their Tuesday, October 1 meeting, Goochland supervisors
held two lengthy public hearings on land use matters for sites in eastern
Goochland. The evening session ran well into Wednesday morning.
Manakin Towne
The first hearing addressed applications filed for the
Manakin Towne mixed used project (see GOMM Village People and the October 1
Board Packet for details) to rezone approximately
23 acres on the north side of Broad Street Road in Centerville roughly behind
Essex Bank and grant a special exception to MPUD requirements for an 11 unit
per acre density (MPUD requires six) and reduction setback from Broad Street
Road from 500 to 320 feet.
Goochland County’s “village concept” approach to development
recommends higher density land uses in areas served by adequate roads—okay,
there may be no such thing—and public water and sewer. The core of the
Centerville Village, along Broad Street Road between Ashland and Manakin Roads,
is ground zero.
Local developer Scott Gaeser, who grew up in the area and
lives here with his family, has owned the property for most of the 21st
century. Over the years, he has crafted various plans for the site mixing
retail, residential, and commercial uses before the county had zoning to
support it. After holding several community meetings and working with the
county planning staff, the latest iteration of Manakin Towne entered the
official rezoning process. If approved, this will be the county’s first MPUD
and the supervisors want to get it right. They agonized over details for about
four hours and deferred a vote until their December 3 meeting.
Kevin Brandt, Gaeser’s partner, said that the plan will
include townhouses in the $400k range;
small shop retail spaces; offices; and luxury apartments, whose monthly rents
start at $1,500 for a one bedroom—the county does not allow apartments with
more than 2 bedrooms—and open space for the farmers market and a dog park.
Main objections were increased traffic; the density, which
Gaeser contended is necessary to make the project economically feasible.; the
negative impact of many more new residents on fire-rescue; and destruction of
Goochland’s rural character. Gaeser contended that, because the Company 3 is nearby,
response times will be fast, but the average time for an EMS call from is 90
minutes from tone out to return to station after transporting a patient to an
area hospital. It is unclear how high-density housing in Centerville will make western
Goochland less rural.
Several people supported the project contending that the
area needs more people and businesses. Surrounding
landowners who have paid property and ad valorem taxes for years and believe
that Manakintowne will spur high quality development in the Broad Street Road
corridor. They agreed that this is the place for the village concept to become
reality, in essence saying it’s time to “walk the walk”.
Build-out of the 39 town homes was estimated at about three
years, depending on market demand, after ground breaking, which was estimated
at about 18 months after approval. The supervisors wanted assurances that construction
of commercial elements not be postponed until after all the dwelling units are
built. The mixed-use equation is that tax revenue generated by commercial space
offsets the increased service cost of homes. (Proffer dollars may only be used
to offset capital costs like fire trucks and ambulances.)
Brandt waxed eloquent about “small high quality” shops and
boutiques that people will want to shop in but offered no specifics. (As
discussions with potential tenants are probably confidential, this is not
unusual.) However, in the event of an economic downturn, will shops catering to
an upscale consumer be able to sell enough of their high-end offerings to cover
their rent and generate enough profit to make the business viable? This is not
the county’s concern. The developers proffered that two commercial structures
will be part of phase 1. Gaeser explained that phasing ensures that the site
work—stormwater management pond, road improvements, entrances—is completed at
the start of the project.
Bob Minnick, District 4 was skeptical of the “false choice” between
big box and MPUD as the only development options for the site and asked what
the other choice is. (Gaeser explained in his presentation that, as currently
zoned, an unnamed “big box” store could be built by right.) Was a version with
owner-occupied condos mixed with rental units ever considered, Minnick wondered?
Gaeser said an all townhome project
would not generate enough income to fund the additional road improvements included
in the MPUD. He further contended that there are no apartments in eastern
Goochland, and that an MPUD is the “highest and best use” for the land.
(A word about the big box bluster. It seems unlikely that
any of big box retailers in Short Pump would move to Centerville. In a perfect
world, AND THIS IS NOT LIKELY TO HAPPEN, Costco would locate there. It would
add no morning rush hour traffic and generate enough sales tax revenue to generously
fund schools, leaving real estate tax revenue to pay for everything else. The most
likely big box use for the property in question is a car dealership.)
Brandt declared that there is no demand for owner-occupied multifamily
residential units like condominiums.
School impact is much lower than single family detached homes,
Gaeser claimed. Minnick had trouble reconciling the expectation of few resident
children with the family friendly aspect of project. Brandt said people like to
come to nice places to “buy a pastry or get their hair done”. He also said that
the retail spaces would be for local businesses. No questions were asked about
the cost of commercial spaces. Will local businesses be able to afford the rent
there?
Susan Lascolette District 1 said she had a major problem
with the density, which at 11 units per acre is almost twice that specified for
MPUD.
Ken Peterson District 1 said “there is a lot to like” about
Manakin Towne, but also some “wait a minutes” like density and setbacks. He
said the MPUD concept stipulated a variety of housing alternatives, but all he
sees is in the MPUD multifamily or attached dwellings. He too expressed the
concern about a little bit of commercial and a lot of residential.
John Lumpkins District 3 conceded that there is a market
demand for this kind of housing but also expressed concerns about the phasing
of commercial structures. He quoted a citizen who characterized the project as “crowded,
complicated, and blows density away.”
Board Chair Manuel Alvarez, District 2, pronounced Manakin Towne
a great project adding “a needed housing option for the county.” He said that Centerville
now is really a “pass through” rather than a village and Manakintowne could
change that. The West Creek 2000 apartments, he said, had the fastest occupancy
rate of any project in the nation, but wondered if that filled local demand. He
too wanted more specificity about the priority of construction of the business
properties to ensure that Manakin Towne is not just dwelling units at build
out. He too would prefer more owner-occupied options.
Lascolette said that “there are still a lot of things that
need to be done.”
Minnick said that he believes the plan is good but could get
better and supported a motion to address items of staff concern (page 333 in
board packet) by a deferral. This happened
around midnight.
Manakin Towne is a very complicated project. The supervisors
are wise to take their time to get is as right as possible before taking a funal vote.
Getting it right is the difference between this being a boon to
Centerville rather than a bane.
Event Makers
About 12:30 a.m. the board took up a CUP application filed
by Event Makers to operate a concert venue, like Innsbrook After Hours, which
it currently stages in Henrico County on property in West Creek. The site in
question is 5.74 acres roughly opposite Virginia Farm Bureau Headquarters. Four weekend events were proposed for 2020
with 15 events in 2021. The duration of the CUP was two years. The planning
commission unanimously voted to deny recommendation for approval of the CUP at its
September meeting. All events would take place on Saturday and Sunday, gates
would open at 3 p.m. with a 10 p.m. sound curfew.
Larry Creeger, a principal of Event Makers said that he has
staged a wide range of events over the years and believes the West Creek site
is one of the most ideal sites for an outdoor concert series. The application
states that, if Goochland implements a 6 percent ticketing tax, (can Goochland
do this?) it could realize $150,000 in annual revenue from the concert series.
The intrepid citizens, most from Henrico who live just east
of Tuckahoe Creek, who waited for their turn to comment on the application, objected
to the noise it would generate. They contended that the sound from concerts
would destroy the peaceable enjoyment of their homes, threaten wildlife, and cause
and exacerbate health problems. One speaker pointed out that music has been
used as a torture device.
The Virginia Farm Bureau objected to the application. At the
Planning Commission meeting VAFB president Wayne Pryor of Goochland objected to
possible trespassing on the company’s property.
Aside from noise and traffic congestion, concerns about
traffic, site improvements, site security and emergency medical services were
raised by the county. Questions were raised about the number of parking spaces
and if ride share entities would be a viable alternative to driving to the
site.
Creeger planned to retain a private security firm to be
supplemented by off-duty law enforcement officers from Goochland, Henrico and
the Virginia State Police as available operating under the command of the
Goochland Sheriff. No fewer than six LEOs would be needed.
Pat O’Bannon, a member of the Henrico Board of Supervisors, read
a letter from the Henrico County Manager stating that Henrico County Police
officers would not be permitted to work for Event Makers outside of Henrico
County. She made similar comments at the planning commission meeting.
Goochland fire-rescue disagreed with the calculation of
the number and type of EMS units, to be privately retained by Event Makers. A
fire marshal would be required to be n site for all events to oversee safety
precautions as well as food service venues. Goochland has only one part-time
fire marshal.
Creeger contended that reaction to sound is subjective and
traffic noise on Rt. 288 is more troublesome to area residents than concert
sound would be. Around 2 a.m. he said that Goochland is not ready for this and
withdrew his application.
Seems more rigorous due diligence before filing the
application would have saved everyone a lot of time and trouble. Creeger seemed
unaware that Goochland County has far fewer LEOs—38 Goochland Deputies versus
more than 600 Henrico police officers—to supplement private security. The
withdrawal allows Creeger to refile for a CUP at any time. Had the Board voted
it down, he would have had to wait a year to refile.
Land use decisions are important. Getting the details right
is crucial.
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