Not in my backyard

 

We give little thought to emergency services until we need to call 911. Minutes, if not seconds, matter to save lives and protect property.

On January 30, residents of Kinloch Villas, a 33-lot residential enclave on the west side of Hockett Road, north of Tuckahoe Creek Parkway, attended a community meeting about the new West Creek Fire-Rescue station. The site is opposite homes on the east side of Hockett Road.

Proposed West Creek fire-rescue station

Goochland County Administrator Vic Carpenter and D. E. “Eddie” Ferguson, Jr. Goochland Chief of Fire-Rescue and Emergency Services, gave an overview of why the station—the first built out of the footprint of existing stations—is needed and, of greater importance to the attendees, why so close to their homes.

On November 4, 2019, a community meeting addressed the same topic. The possible location discussed then, was a parcel just south the one in question. It is unknown which adjoining property owners, if any, were notified of the 2019 meeting. At that time, Boone Homes was the owner of most the land on the west side of Hockett Road.

Many of the homes closest to the proposed fire-rescue station site were built since 2020. It appears that some people who recently bought homes in the Villas were unaware of the planned fire-rescue station.

Villas residents are concerned about the impact of a nearby fire-rescue station, especially the noise of sirens and apparatus, on their homes and property values.

(At the 2019 meeting a women said that she had lived opposite a fire-rescue station whose nighttime sirens never woke her children. She also said that she loved having them close because when one of her kids became ill, they were on the way to the hospital in five minutes.)

Both Carpenter and Ferguson explained that growth in eastern Goochland, especially residential, has drastically increased fire-rescue call volume in recent years. Using maps outlining response areas, they illustrated the need for an additional station in the county’s east end to meet rising demand for service as this part of the county, much still raw land, develops. Subdivisions in close proximity to the Tuckahoe Creek Parkway/Hockett Road intersection, including Mosaic, approximately 500 homes; Readers Branch, about 450; Tuckahoe Creek, 50; Songbird, 65; will be served by Goochland Fire-Rescue. Expected development at the south end of Hockett Road, whose form is yet unknown, will also add to call volume.

Ferguson explained that incidents on either 288 or Interstate 64 can tie up all available resources, fire trucks, ambulances, and most importantly people, of existing nearby fire-rescue companies, shifting the entire area’s response burden to a single  company. The West Creek station will complement coverage.

Contending that Henrico covers more area with fewer stations, some Villas residents questioned the need for another station at all and on Hockett Road in particular.

Existing county fire-rescue stations were built decades ago. While most are being renovated to accommodate career providers who work 24/7, there are limits to the utility of these upgrades.

One speaker said that Henrico locates its fire stations only in commercial areas. For the record, Henrico Station 19, on Kain Road west of Pouncey Tract Road, is surrounded by large homes whose prices start in the upper six figures. Apparatus at this station includes an ambulance, engine, and ladder truck, more than planned for the West Creek station.

This Henrico fire station is surrounded by high dollar homes.

In 2012, the owners of West Creek agreed to donate a five-acre site to the county for a fire-rescue station, the timing and location to be determined. Ferguson said that several sites were considered—except for the one discussed in 2019 adjoining the site in question—he declined to identify others—but that the Hockett Road location was deemed to be the best fit for long term county needs.

The parcel is currently zoned M-1 but must be rezoned to B-1, business general for use as a fire-rescue station. The community meeting is the first step in the county’s rezoning process.

Ferguson explained that most calls for service originate outside of West Creek. Increased distance and turning involved with exiting the now defunct West Creek emergency Center, for instance, would increase response times.  He also gave a brief overview of the importance of fast emergency response for both medical emergencies and fires. New homes, he said, are built with highly flammable materials that emit toxic fumes when they burn. Minutes matter in medical emergencies.

The proposed facility will include limited office space for sheriff’s deputies but no holding cells.

Residents’ questions whether the station could be built further back from Hockett Road were not addressed. Other locations were suggested, including part of a Capital One athletic field whose use declined during Covid.

Carpenter said that the donated land shaved millions of dollars from the cost of the new station—estimated in the $9 million range—and that the county will not condemn privately owned land, like that of Capital One, for public facilities. West Creek and Capital One are different entities.

The building has not yet been designed, but Carpenter said that it will be an attractive well-maintained facility. Drive through apparatus bays will reduce, if not eliminate, annoying back up alarms helping to mitigate some noise.

Traffic safety was addressed. There is general agreement that the 55mph speed limit on Hockett Road is too high.  That is controlled by VDOT, said Carpenter. The county can ask for a reduction, but there is no guarantee it will be lowered.

Signalization of the Hockett Road/Tuckahoe Creek Parkway interchange depends on VDOT warrant policy, which may include chicken bones and a full moon and over which Goochland also has no control.

Ferguson and Carpenter said that VDOT must approve all road improvements including line of sight, turn lanes, and a possible signal indicating activity at the station similar to that on Broad Street Road in front of Company 3.

The “slides” used at the meeting may be viewed at https://www.goochlandva.us/DocumentCenter/View/9207/Proposed-West-Creek-Fire-Station-Presentation-January-2023

Public hearings on the rezoning application will be held before the planning commission, perhaps as soon as March 2, and the board of supervisors, typically a month later. The supervisors make the final decision. Dates of the hearings will be posted on the county website goochlandva.us.