Proposed 201 housing units on Chester Rd 
Proposed Chester Road development.
A controversial mixed-use project dubbed “Courthouse Landing” was put on hold during the Oct. 15 Planning Commission meeting and the developer’s representative was told to conduct more community meetings.
Courthouse Landing would be built on 124 acres on the northeast corner of Courthouse Road and Route 10. It would include 59 acres owned by the Chesterfield Economic Development Authority.
The developer – Jim Dunphy of Dunphy Properties of Tampa, Fla. – has requested a rezoning and conditional use permit.
Planning Commissioner Michael Jackson made a motion for a 60-day deferral, which was approved unanimously by the five-member board.
“In the Dale District, we don’t do messy cases,” Jackson said before motioning to move the case to Dec. 17.
The developer’s representative, Andrew Condlin, requested a 30-day deferral. He said he wanted the case to go before the Board of Supervisors in December before a new board is seated in January and has to be educated about the case.
Condlin said that a meeting with Deerfield Estates residents was scheduled for Friday, Oct. 18.
During public comment, Dale District resident Tammy Ridout – who is challenging incumbent supervisor Jim Holland on Nov. 5 – said that a lot more than Deerfield Estates residents would be affected by the development.
“If we had engaged the community months ago, we wouldn’t be here,” she said.
“A lot of stakeholders have a lot of questions,” Matoaca District commissioner Craig Stariha said, specifically noting Matoaca residents and others who use the nearby Chesterfield Airport.
“This is a large-scale case,” Bermuda District commissioner Gib Sloan said, noting the commission didn’t have a staff report yet.
Plans call for 270,000 square feet of retail, a 130-unit hotel, 300 apartments and 140 townhouses.
201 multifamily units
The commission unanimously recommended approval of a housing development west of Chester Road and north of Route 10, across from the Thomas Dale High School’s ninth-grade campus.
A graphic in the staff report shows four-story buildings.
Five properties make up the 6.7 acres, and the owners include Custis Cline Jr., Miles & Wells and Linwood Gettings. The properties are located east and north of Chester House, a rehabilitation clubhouse for adults who have experienced serious and persistent behavioral health disorders.
No cash proffers would be made with the project because the land is in a revitalization area.
Some 1,100 average daily trips would be generated by the development, according to the staff report.
Developer’s representative Andrew Scherzer said the project has been in the works for several years. He said that right- and left-hand turn lanes would be built for entry into the property and that an existing turn lane at Chester Road and Route 10 would be lengthened.
A 10-foot-wide multi-use path is proposed next to Chester Road, which would extend north to the Chester Recreational Association property.
“I’m very pleased to be offering this case,” Sloan said, calling it a “particularly challenging property.”
New fire station
Planning commissioners unanimously recommended approval of a conditional use permit for a fire station on 6.2 acres at 6900 Hickory Road.
Garrett Mason, who lives adjacent to the property, supports the request. However, he noted that a sharp curve less than a half-mile away results in “a lot of non-reported” accidents in which mailboxes get knocked down and people have to be pulled out of a ditches.
Stariha said that community meetings have been held at Matoaca High and Matoaca Elementary schools. He said that county transportation department’s employee Steve Adams is working with VDOT to install signage in the area.
TDHS electronic sign
The commissioners unanimously recommended conditional use permit approval for an electronic sign that would be added to an existing sign at Thomas Dale High School, 3626 W. Hundred Road.
The sign would improve campus identification and facilitate student and community communication, the staff report states.
The conditional use is required because the electronic sign would be in the Chester Village area, one of the designated areas in the county that requires such under the new sign ordinance.
Sloan said the case was one of the first electronic signs to be approved since the new ordinance was approved earlier this year.
Enon LLC
A proposal to reduce the cash proffers for a mixed-use development at 13911 N. Enon Church Road was unanimously recommended for approval.
The mixed-use development would consist of 130 conventional and clustered single-famly dwellings and up to 40,000 square feet of commercial uses.
The land is owned by Enon LLC of 2000 Ware Bottom Springs Road (Shamin Hotels).
Art school
The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval for a conditional use permit for an art school at a residence on 5 acres at 315 Enon Church Road.
Amy Barr has been operating the art school without a permit since 2001, according to a staff report. The approval includes a limit of eight students with operation from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
