HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Henrico County is asking residents to help shape how it grows over the next 20 years — and Thursday is the last chance to be heard.
The county has spent several weeks engaging the public on its HenricoNext 2045 plan, a guideline for how Henrico plans to expand through 2045. After meetings on the east and west ends of the county last week, Thursday's session will be the final opportunity for residents to voice their concerns before the planning commission reviews the draft and sends it to the Board of Supervisors for adoption.
Planning Director Joe Emerson said the process has been deliberate.
"We've spent quite a bit of time with this plan in order to get it right," Emerson said.
Emerson said the plan is meant to give elected officials a framework when developers propose new projects.
"This gives the elected body a guide when developers come forward with different ideas of how they would like to pursue development in areas of the county," Emerson said.
He added that all property owners in Henrico have a stake in the outcome.
"They should be very interested in it because this affects all the property in the county," Emerson said.
One major proposed change in the plan is the addition of a new A2 Zoning Code. If adopted, it would change the division by right in the county's prime agricultural real estate area — located primarily in the east end — from one acre to five acres. In practical terms, that means the rule allowing one home to be developed per acre would change so that only one home could be built every five acres.
Emerson acknowledged the proposal has drawn mixed reactions.
"We are getting input from residents in the area both pro and con, there's support for it and there're people who are concerned about losing development rights to their property," Emerson said.
Bike lanes, sidewalks, road improvements, recreation, parks and open green spaces are among the other initiatives outlined in the plan. Emerson said any of those elements could still change based on the public's final input.
"At the end of the day its the communities document, it should reflect the communities desires and that's what the commission and board are looking for," Emerson said.
Residents like Sara Quigley, who has lived in the county since 2018, said green space and family-friendly development are priorities for her.
"What I love about the direction that Henrico is going is all the green space that they're prioritizing," Quigley said.
"Any kind of place where I think is good for families to spend time in, for communities to get together is really where I would like Henrico to continue going," Quigley said.
Michelle Napper, who recently moved back to Henrico after living in New York, said she returned for the sense of community — and wants that reflected in the plan.
"I made the decision to come back because this is home. This is where I grew up and my family is here, and I wanted a little bit more of that homey feel, that community feel and starting fresh," Napper said.
Napper encouraged fellow residents to show up Thursday and make their voices heard.
"No one has anything to approve unless it's actually coming from people who live in the community, so give them something to talk about. Give them something to consider," Napper said.
Quigley echoed that call.
"We're all members of the community so the public should go to voice their opinion on what the community should look like," Quigley said.
The public meeting is Thursday at 6 p.m. in the boardroom at the Henrico County Government Center. Click here for more information.
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