Hard choices

 

There’s been a whole lot of hollerin’ of late about adherence to the county’s comprehensive land use plan, tax bills, and changing the rural nature of Goochland. The cacophony grew louder during the Board of Supervisors’ public hearings on August 1 when rezoning for two economic development projects were considered. Interstate interchanges are a valuable resource to bring business to the county. They should be developed. 

 August 1 public hearings’ results.

A rezoning application filed for approximately 16 acres on Rockford Road was deferred until September 5.

An amendment to a conditional use permit (CUP) submitted by Benedictine Society of Virginia and The Benedictine Schools of Richmond, Inc. to revise its master plan and increase buffer acreage on its River Road campus was approved. This will enable to school to expand and create fields for St. Gertrude students at the school rather than require female students to travel to off site facilities 23 miles distant. All land affected by the CUP, some of which is the head master’s residence and taxed as such, is owned by the applicant.

A CUP application for an electronic message board sign at Tommy’s Express car wash on Broad Street Road next to Wawa was approved.

The board approved a CUP application filed by Amy Norris for “Lindens Home, a New Divine Healthcare” adult day care center, which will occupy the entire lower level of the shopping center at 2913 (where Bella Sicilia is located).

Norris, who has degrees in healthcare management and administration, explained that the enterprise will be licensed by the state and employ six people. It will provide a daily respite opportunity for caregivers of older adults.  Her mission is to nurture and “engage in the tree of life one senior citizen at a time”. This will not be a total care program. Lindens Home will provide meals, supervision of social activities, and other services depending on the need of an individual.  

This will be the first adult day care in the county and a small business owned and operated by a Goochland resident.

A rezoning application filed by I-64 Industrial, LLC to change 39.8 aces from A-2 agricultural to M-2, Industrial General, with proffered conditions for an industrial park on Pony Farm Road approximately 650 feet from its intersection with Oilville Road was approved.

Economic development in Goochland has been hampered by the lack of smaller lot industrial spaces for new businesses or existing ones that need to expand. According to the Economic Development Department, the county recently lost out on five new business opportunities due to this deficiency. 

This application was complicated by the fact that half of the subject parcel is in Hanover County and going through a rezoning process there. The Hanover planning commission deferred its decision, perhaps waiting for a decision from Goochland.  The applicant put forth two versions of the proposed industrial park, one entirely in Goochland, the other including the Hanover portion. Of 14 proposed lots, nine are in Goochland, five in Hanover.

Proffers include construction and maintenance of a 30k gallon water storage tank for fire suppression, which could be used elsewhere in emergencies. Lots are approximately three acres. An access easement to an adjacent A-2 property has been negotiated should the owner of that parcel decide to change its use, avoiding another access point from Pony Farm Road. There will be buffers along Pony Farm Road, and a business owners’ association to ensure that the park is well- maintained. A right turn lane from Pony Farm Road is part of the plan. “Noxious” by right M-2 uses were proffered out including asphalt mixing facility; retail, which could include fast food restaurants; junk storage; petroleum depot; and truck terminal. Buildings will not be higher than 35 feet.

The site is adjacent to the Oilville Business Park, which was rezoned in 1988. The owner of a business located there spoke in favor of the rezoning. He wants to expand but

given the lack of small lot industrial sites in the county, would have to leave Goochland to grow his company.

Land on the opposite side of Pony Farm Road has been zoned M-1 since zoning began more than 50 years ago and can be built out without any proffers to mitigate impact on the surrounding area, including turn lanes, by right uses, and buffers. Parcels closer to I64 along Oilville Road are currently zoned for business use.

The comprehensive plan encourages commercial and industrial development near the county’s interstate interchanges.

Most of the traffic to the park is expected to come from I-64 whose westbound off ramp to Oilville Road is a mess during evening rush, often backing up onto the interstate. The county expects to have funding for the roundabout planned for that interchange in place soon. (Go to https://www.goochlandva.us/1255/10781/Oilville-RdI-64-Westbound-Ramp-Roundabou for details.)

A citizen who lives nearby raised concerns about the failure to require a left-hand turn lane from Oilville Road to Pony Farm Road and pointed out that the Oilville exit is the main access to I64 for all the new homes being built in Courthouse Village. Others questioned the results of the VDOT traffic analysis, which indicated that the proposed project would have minimal traffic impact in the area. The applicant said that the traffic analysis used twice as many trucks as are anticipated to access the site in computations.

 

Rezoning by Crescent Acquisitions for a 28.94-acre portion of a 44.2-acre parcel on the west side of Ashland Road from A-2 to M-2 for a speculative warehouse office facility was approved.

The Ashland Road corridor has been designated in the comp plan as flexible, which includes industrial uses. Three quarries and a landfill have been there for decades. The Lanier Industrial Park, just south of the proposed project, is home to several industrial businesses. The Project Rocky middle mile ecommerce project, is to the south.

The Crescent project will build two warehouse type structures totaling 335,320 square feet with loading docks and parking for trucks and employee vehicles. Due to the speculative nature of the project, end users have not bene identified. Left turns by trucks longer than 40 feet will be prohibited. This type of development is consistent with the county economic development strategic plan.

Several residents of Parkside Village, a 55+ residential enclave near the intersection of Pouncey Tract and Ashland Road vehemently opposed the project contending that increased traffic will impede timely EMS response to their neighborhood.

(Parkside Village is a cautionary tale for land use going forward. The developer persuaded the supervisors to ignore the comp plan, which had designated that area for commercial and industrial use for decades, to approve the subdivision.

When first rezoned, Parkside Village included some light industrial uses and a connector road between Ashland and Pouncey Tract Roads. People bought homes there, apparently after doing little due diligence about what was nearby—an active rock quarry—and screamed when they found out about the quarry and the connector road. Since then, the industrial uses have been removed and the through road redesigned, but it still attracts truck traffic inappropriate for a residential neighborhood.)

Traffic on Ashland Road, already severely congested at certain times of the day by large and heavy trucks working with industrial entities in the corridor, will grow as more businesses develop there.

D. E. “Eddie” Ferguson, Jr., Goochland Chief of Fire-Rescue and Emergency Services went on the record with the supervisors about his concern that the amount of traffic in the Ashland Road corridor is “very problematic”.

Ferguson said that his agency “serves residents all the way to the county line”. He explained that mutual aid—asking for help from another county—is not automatic. “Goochland Fire-Rescue is fully committed to serving he residents of Parkside Village. Emergencies don’t know county lines.  Fires burn the same and people will get sick and have cardiac arrest. We will always contact and call for the closest help and not let county lines stand in the way.”

Protocols are in place with Goochland and its neighbors governing mutual aid, the Chief said. Goochland provides mutual aid to neighboring jurisdictions in many instances. “We don’t let county lines stand in the way of how we handle emergencies.”

Board Char Neil Spoonhower, District 2, gave a wider perspective on the traffic issue and project. Ashland Road has needed improvements for years. Until the approval of Project Rocky last summer, there was little chance of Goochland being able to secure funding for a second bridge over I-64 with a diverging diamond configuration to mitigate traffic issues.

Now, improving transportation in the Ashland Road corridor has gained regional importance and full funding. “This is an important intersection not just for Goochland but for Virginia as a whole for its proximity to the ports and ability to move goods and make us a state that is viable and able to compete with the Carolinas of the world,” said Spoonhower.

The Crescent project will add about $60 million to the county tax base, increase economic development, and speed the demise of the Tuckahoe Service District ad valorem tax.

District 4 Supervisor Charlie Vaughters said there are trade offs in land use. Fostering good relationships with the business community bolsters the county’s bottom line that enables Goochland to keep tax rates low and provide core services. He also decried the difficulty in getting VDOT to prohibit truck traffic in Parkside Village.