Planning & Zoning

Going solar? Colorado firm has designs on south Chesterfield megasite

By Caleb M Soptelean on June 4, 2019 Board of Supervisors, Chesterfield Government, Planning & Zoning

The ‘megasite.’The site contains several bodies of water. If a rezoning application is approved by county officials, some 900 acres in the Bermuda District could become a solar farm with an estimated 300,000 solar panels in about three years. Torch Clean Energy of Boulder, Colo., recently submitted the application to the Chesterfield County Planning Department and has options to purchase 1,677 acres, including 1,540 from the Shoosmith family (Thomas Co.) and 137 from the estate of Joseph Hotz, according to Brennen Keene, a local land use attorney. The solar farm – which is being called the Chester Solar Technology Park…

Zoned out: County gets injunction against local charity

By Caleb M Soptelean on June 4, 2019 Board of Supervisors, Chesterfield Government, Courts, Planning & Zoning

Employees of Home Depot helped rehabilitate a water-damaged building at 500 Baptist Drive last year. (Caleb M. Soptelean) Last summer, the Guardians HOPE Center received help rehabilitating a building at the site of a former Bible college. Now the center’s leaders have been ordered by a judge to cease all uses of the property until they come into compliance with zoning or modify a conditional use permit. In an April 30 ruling, Chesterfield Circuit Court Judge Edward A. Robbins Jr. ordered Chris and Stacy Lane, David Lee and Whitmell Investment Group to cease all uses of the property at 500…

Heading the right way? Not all happy about eminent domain case

By Caleb M Soptelean on May 28, 2019 Board of Supervisors, Chesterfield Government, Planning & Zoning

Mike Uzel and Phil Lohr rallied before a May 22 meeting. (Caleb M. Soptelean photo) Chesterfield County supervisors last week unanimously approved an eminent domain action for a property at 15101 Happy Hill Road. The action will give the county 600 feet of right-of-way access across the triangle-shaped property, which is located west of Jefferson Davis Highway. The access is along a route that was one of several previously considered by the county for an east-west freeway. “A developer picked it up for something like $40,000 knowing full well there will have to be dedicated road, and then tried to…

County officials address ‘food deserts’

By Caleb M Soptelean on April 23, 2019 Chesterfield Government, Planning & Zoning

Federal and state lawmakers recently called for legislation to help people in low-income neighborhoods get better access to fresh vegetables and other healthy foods. Four so-called “food deserts” exist within Chesterfield County, according to a 2017 map from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. Although county officials say that food deserts exist in the county, they believe the issue has been exaggerated. Deputy county administrator Bill Dupler said that, although Chesterfield has some rural and urban areas, much of the county is suburban, so the rural and urban designations that the USDA used to create the map don’t…

Subdivision going up near Jeff Davis Hwy/Route 288

By Caleb M Soptelean on April 23, 2019 Chesterfield Government, Development, Planning & Zoning

A Boyd Homes employee looks at site plans. Logging trucks were busy last week clearing for a new subdivision. An 84-home subdivision is in the works on the southeast corner of Jefferson Davis Highway and Route 288. A Boyd Homes spokesman said the plan is for the subdivision – which is north of Rio Vista Street with an access point behind the Bensley Bermuda Rescue Squad building – to be complete by Jan. 1, 2020. The community will be accessed from Elokomin and Arcadia avenues. Last week, workers were busy removing trees from the property. A site plan for the…

Information leak: County begins long process to add fourth water source

By Caleb M Soptelean on March 19, 2019 Board of Supervisors, Chesterfield Government, Planning & Zoning

This location at 1600 Ashton Park Drive in southeast Chesterfield could be where a new water treatment plant is located. The Chesterfield Board of Supervisors last week unanimously authorized the county to begin the designing and permitting process to add a water treatment facility on the Appomattox River. County staff believes that a fourth water source – in addition to Swift Creek Reservoir, Lake Chesdin and the James River – would provide additional flexibility to meet long-term water demands as the county continues to grow. At an estimated cost of $121 million, another water treatment plant would initially provide 10…

Dog park to open in mid-April

By Caleb M Soptelean on March 12, 2019 Outdoors, Planning & Zoning

http://data.richmond.com/salaries/ County employee, Joe Stovall, on right, talks with local contractor Simon Green last week at Goyne Park. The first phase of a dog park at Goyne Park is almost finished. The first phase will feature a small dog run, said Joe Stovall, construction services manager at county parks and recreation. The first phase will also have an 8-foot-wide, 220-foot long walking path and an 80-foot-long release foyer area, he said. The second and third phases will include an agility course and large dog run. Work on the dog park began in February and has involved clearing diseased and dying…

County Waste trucks’ use of Lewis Road clarified

By Caleb M Soptelean on February 26, 2019 Chesterfield Government, Planning & Zoning, Transportation

The entrance to County Waste’s rental property on Lewis Road is pictured above. Chesterfield County recently clarified the conditions under which County Waste trucks can use Lewis Road after the county received a complaint or two about it. A stipulation in a 1976 conditional use permit for Shoosmith Bros. Inc.’s landfill said that “no truck traffic associated with this operation shall be permitted on Lewis Road, and all access from the site shall be from Route 10.” A subsequent 1997 conditional use permit stated that “Shoosmith Brothers Inc. shall prohibit any vehicles under their ownership or control from transporting solid…

Development near Central Library pending

By Caleb M Soptelean on February 19, 2019 Development, Planning & Zoning

Development is pending on this vacant lot across from the Central Library. For those who have been wondering, it’s “hurry up and wait” for the Myers Retail site. The site at 9601 Lori Road across from the Central Library has had some activity, but mainly just some tree clearing, according to Ben Myers of the Myers Family Partnership. Only 3.38 acres of the 30-acre site are to be disturbed, he said, noting that a 4,585-square-foot, two-story building is planned. In the mix is a retail business, office space and a restaurant, although Myers noted that no contracts have been signed.…

Battle over Confederate flagpole: County board affirms zoning violation

By Caleb M Soptelean on February 12, 2019 Chesterfield Government, Planning & Zoning

Deputy county attorney Rob Robinson speaks about the case before the Chesterfield Board of Zoning Appeals last week. The owners of a small piece of land that houses a Confederate battle flag next to Interstate 95 lost a battle last week. Church Road resident Catherine H. Hendricks purchased the land at 2501 Old Bermuda Hundred Road from James and Barbara Eaton last year. Hendricks and the Virginia Flaggers were issued a notice of zoning violation Oct. 31. The Chesterfield Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously affirmed the violation notice at the end of a Feb. 6 hearing. Deputy county attorney Rob…

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