Much ado about nothing

Buzzwords filled the air on May 16 as representatives of the Timmons Group presented the latest “final” version of the small area plan for the Centerville Village was presented to a packed “open house” at the Residence Inn at the Notch. (A similar session for the Courthouse Village plan will be held on May 18 in the county administration building beginning at 6 p.m.)

Centerville, ripe for growth

Small area plan studies, intended to update the sections of the county’s comprehensive land use plan to manage growth pressures in the major villages, Centerville and Courthouse, began in early 2022. Consultants retained to craft amendments to the comp plan gathered input via many community meetings and smaller sessions with “stakeholders” and groups of engaged citizens.   

Recommendations presented by this consultant later in the year, were vague, generic, and included sections on branding, fonts, and color pallets intended to create a sense of place, or something.

The purpose of the May 17 meeting, according to Deputy County Administrator Krystal Onaitis, was to inform citizens about the details of the plans and, allegedly, seek reaction. She said that the county “stepped back” from the process late last year after it became clear that the recommendations made by the earlier consultant did not “reflect community values,” and retained Timmons Group to complete the project.

Timmons was tasked with reviewing all citizen input and work on the projects to date and preparing a coherent plan to be used in making land use decisions.

The proposed plan, said Onaitis reflects thoughtful and intentional growth. Should the plans be adopted—they are scheduled for board of supervisor votes in June—county zoning ordinances will be amended to reflect and support changes in the comp plan.

Chuck Rapp Senior Project Manager with Timmons Group said his group spent several weeks diving into community input to capture it in the draft plan. The current proposal includes a vision statement and is easier to navigate. Better graphics to make the plan easier to follow than previous iterations.

The small area plan is a 10-to-20-year “vision document” that does not change current zoning. It focuses on establishing character as Centerville develops over time to ensure that infrastructure follows growth with efficient use of land.

There is emphasis on transportation because growth needs roads. The plan shows new roads, some of which make sense, others do not. For instance, connecting Three Chopt Road to Broad Street Road through Mills Road, a neighborhood street, is daft. It makes more sense to connect Three Chopt Road to 250 east of Bellview Gardens where it is currently signalized at the entrance to southbound 288. There was mention of “multimodal transportation” including bike lanes and sidewalks.

Images used in the presentation were contradictory. In the plan’s introduction village character was portrayed by photos of two-story buildings, with apartments over commercial space. Illustrations of a “walkable town center” show dystopian institutional four-story buildings set back from very wide roadways that resemble an industrial park more than a walkable village. Rapp explained that those images were “placeholders”, but they are far too reminiscent of the dreadful development just west of the Goochland line in Short Pump for comfort.

Creating paths through greenways, using the flood plains for recreational use, is suggested to provide recreational space. One citizen contended that building walking trails through wetlands is an engineering nightmare.

The draft land use map, which Rapp said was simpler than the earlier version, has significant changes. The mixed-use core is now shown mostly on the north side of Broad Street Road, extending beyond Manakin Road to the edge of the Sycamore Creek Golf Course, right next to large lot residential areas. The golf course seems to be destined for some sort of development.

This seemed at odds with Rapp’s contention that residential density should be highest at the center of the core, roughly Manakintowne, which has already been approved, and decrease toward the edge of the village.

A transitional zone, in contrast, was proposed for the south side of Broad Street Road, which has been zoned business for decades, and was always part of the village core. Owners property there said they never had an opportunity to talk with Timmons before the proposed plan was completed and were not amused by the change.

Land at the north edge of the village, near I64 was designated for larger scale economic development.

Changes in the wording of the presentation from that on the website, like the removal of “lodging” from core mixed uses, were mentioned by citizens. Lodging should be limited to the area north of Broad Street Road between the county line and Rt. 288. This is roughly opposite the Residence Inn. A hotel site between the Audi store and Rt. 288 has already been zoned. No one wants a hotel on Manakin Road, or even in the village core.

 As the session progressed, it became quite clear that the Timmons proposal involved no conversations with citizens, or more importantly, land owners, whose support of the comp plan is vital to its success.

Several attendees said that it feels like this plan is “being rammed through” with the planning commission hearing set for next week. Staff said that there will be no changes to the proposal, except maybe for some sort of supplemental memo that the planning commissioners will receive before their meeting. There was no indication that “memo” will be shared with the public.

Others contended that the proposed land use map does not reflect citizen input and that the details were somewhat “mysterious”.

The lack of proposed residential density for the various districts, which could provide ballpark the numbers of new residents build out could bring to the village.  Densities need to stay in the range of no more than six per acre without very compelling arguments for an increase.

Onaitis said that the comp plan is a high-level document and spewed land use buzz words. “This is a foundational document, but not set in stone, a working document,” and so forth.

All of that is true. However, developers pay land use attorneys big bucks to ferret out inconsistencies in the comp plan to their projects approved. Care must be taken to ensure that land-use intentions are clearly spelled out.

Those of us who have taken part in comp plan revisions for the last 20 years or more are flummoxed by what seems to be a rush to wrap up the small area plans. The motivation for speeding the “final” plans through the final approval, even though nothing will change until the zoning ordinances are amended, is a mystery. This “open house” shared a completed document on its way to being rubber stamped.

Go to the county website goochlandva.us and click on “watch county meetings” to view the session. Go to small area plan to view the web version of the small area plans, which may not be what the planning commission will review next week.

 

 

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