As Short Pump grows, Goochland wrestles with future

Goochland County residents share their visions for development in their county.

Real estate development has marched west along Broad Street for more than 100 years. Now, it has reached the Goochland County border, raising the question: Where will it go next? Will it expand into Goochland, where residents adore their rural surroundings?

Goochland administrators have written a 28-page plan for the area that abuts Short Pump, known as Centerville, that prepares for growth. The plan calls for new connector streets and greenways and sets standards on how land will be used.

But at a public meeting last month, dozens of residents spoke against it, saying the plan allows for all sorts of things that should stay out of the village, such as town homes cramped together, flat office buildings and chain hotels.

In essence, these residents want to keep all the defining characteristics of Short Pump on the other side of the county line.

“There are a lot of angry citizens,” said Rob Williamson, who lives near the 3,000-acre village of Centerville. “The more people find out about it, the more anger there is.”

The county’s Board of Supervisors heard them loud and clear, deferring its vote as long as legally possible, until December. Members say they want suggestions on how to improve the plan. Now, Goochland has engaged in a discussion to steer the county into the future.

This drone image taken Thursday shows the division between tree-lined Goochland County to the left and Henrico County to the right. Goochland’s population grew 6% between 2020 and 2022, making one of the biggest gains in the state.

As Richmond, western Henrico County and northern Chesterfield County have filled up and their real estate prices have soared, developers and new residents have spread into once-rural areas. Destinations such as Goochland; Varina in eastern Henrico; New Kent County; and south and west Chesterfield are all hot for development.

Goochland’s population grew 6% between 2020 and 2022, making one of the biggest gains in the state. The county is wealthy, with a median household income of $100,000. Much of that wealth is driven by its eastern half, which houses Goochland’s two Fortune 500 companies, Performance Food Group and CarMax.

Now, Goochland has the leverage to decide what proposals it will accept and what its future will look like.

“We’re in a position where we can drive the conversation,” said Krystal Onaitis, deputy county administrator.

But Goochland is still small. Its population of 26,000 represents about 8% the size of neighboring Henrico.

The difference between Goochland and Henrico is stark. Henrico’s grocery stores, apartments and sprawling parking lots give way to rolling hills, fields of corn and free-flowing deer. And there isn’t a freestanding Starbucks to be found.

Glance at a satellite view of the two adjacent communities, and it’s unmistakable where the dividing line is drawn.

Some elements of rural Goochland will never go away, county leaders pledged. The county’s plan is designed to prevent suburban sprawl, Onaitis said. Development will “never swallow Goochland,” said Charlie Vaughters, a member of the Board of Supervisors who represents Centerville.

The county aims to keep 85% of its land rural. Only pockets, such as Centerville, West Creek and the courthouse will see development. So what will Centerville become? Light suburban? Exurban? Still rural? Leaders are hesitant to define it.

“The reason we can’t put a term to it is because it’s going to be unique to Goochland,” Vaughters said.

A “Welcome to Goochland County” sign stands in the middle of Broad Street Road. The county is wealthy, with a median household income of $100,000. Much of that wealth is driven by its eastern half, which houses Goochland’s two Fortune 500 companies, Performance Food Group and CarMax.

Drive down West Broad Street, cross into Goochland County, and the name changes to Broad Street Road. There’s a Residence Inn by Marriott, a Chick-fil-A and a Drive Shack. The area isn’t as densely populated as Short Pump, but it looks primed for more.

Here, residents are not terribly worried about mixing business and residential on the same parcel and filling up plots of land, said Paul Costello, a Centerville resident.

Most residents understand some growth is necessary, multiple people said. Developers are looking at Goochland, and there’s a benefit to welcoming them.

The more business in the county, the less residents have to shoulder the burden of taxes. Residents in the middle and western portions of the county, where wells and septic tanks service homes, pay a real estate tax of 53 cents per $100 of assessed value. Those on the eastern edge, who have water lines and sewers, pay 85 cents per $100, the equivalent to what Henrico residents pay. Richmond residents pay $1.20.

But if you keep driving west, past Interstate 288 and down the hill toward Tuckahoe Creek, everything changes. This is where swaths of green dominate the landscape. A water tower bearing the name “Centerville” rises over the fields near Ashland Road. For-sale signs dot the roads, representing question marks for the future.

This is the space residents want to protect. Several residents said in interviews that they want neighborhoods with single-family homes spread out, with two houses per acre or less. They want the mixed-use area to be less expansive. They want offices that are one- and two-stories tall with trees and space from the road.

And Centerville does not need the county’s first freestanding Starbucks, said Jonathan Lyle, who lives near Centerville and is running for the Board of Supervisors. On his advertising placard are the words “Keep Goochland rural.”

“I’m not hearing anyone in the community saying we want to see town homes,” Lyle added.

But the county’s plan for this area is a mix of retail, offices, lodging and residential. The plan describes a walkable town center. It draws new connector roads and suggests green space between buildings.

Any growth would be planned and with a purpose, Onaitis said, not a hodgepodge. Whatever comes to Centerville should reflect the county’s rural atmosphere, its open space and its outdoors. Vaughters said he does not expect the county to approve proposals for town houses squeezed together, similar to what’s on the other side of county line.

A mile from the village core, the plan allows for neighborhoods of single-family homes as dense as four units per acre — close but not jam-packed — which also worries residents.

In Centerville, land isn’t cheap. The Park at Saddle Creek, near the middle of Centerville, has houses averaging about $700,000, one resident said. The more expensive the land, the more likely a developer needs to put more tightly packed units in an acre to make a profit.

This drone image taken Thursday shows Goochland County in the foreground and Henrico County in the background. Goochland administrators have written a plan for the area that abuts Short Pump, known as Centerville, that prepares for growth. But dozens of residents spoke against it during a public meeting last month. Supervisors have deferred their vote as long as legally possible, until December.

Other residents worry the county will not be able to provide all the services a larger population requires. It’s become harder to hire police officers, and firefighting companies across the county already have to assist the busier companies on the county’s east side, one resident said.

Still others say the county needs to be progressive and allow opportunities for new residents to move in, just as many of them once did.

Ultimately, the question comes down to scale, Costello said. How tight should homes be? How many stories should buildings stand? This is where Goochland residents will have to find common ground.

For now, the county is accepting residents’ opinions. In October, administrators will produce a report of the suggestions they have received. In December, the board will vote the plan up or down.

Vaughters, the board member, pledged transparency and thoughtfulness between now and December. Onaitis said any growth would occur organically and over time. Proposals will be scrutinized. Bulldozers are not coming tomorrow.

As for that definition of eastern Goochland? It’s yet to be defined, Onaitis said.

Vaughters phrased it this way: “In so many ways, we’re a blank canvas still.”

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