Chesterfield County has added another community information meeting about a proposed megasite to go with three previously scheduled meetings coming up this week and next.
Planning Commission Chairman Gib Sloan said the extra meeting – to be held at 6:30 p.m. May 7 at Carver Middle School – was added because the Economic Development Authority did not email those on its contact list two weeks in advance of the April 10 meeting. The EDA sent out some 1,100 emails to property owners and interested persons on April 2, Sloan said. The applicant – in this case the EDA – is required to give notice two weeks in advance of any community meeting about a project, he said.
The April 10 meeting runs from 6:30 to 10 p.m. at Carver Middle School as does a meeting on April 16. An April 11 meeting will go from 10 a.m. to noon at the Second Baptist Church fellowship hall. Three community meetings were held last fall.
The Planning Commission will conduct a workshop with county planning staff about the megasite proposal from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 17. The public is welcome to attend that meeting but will not be able to comment.
A public hearing on the project has not been scheduled, and the Planning Department has not made a recommendation yet, Sloan said.
“We will take our due diligence” on the project, he said. “We’re in no rush. As with all development cases, the Planning Commission takes its responsibility very seriously.”
The EDA announced an updated rezoning application for the project on March 12. It can be viewed at matoacarezoning.com.
Then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced last August that the Chesterfield County EDA plans to buy 1,675 acres and develop it for industrial use. The land is currently zoned residential.
