In its October 21 meeting, the Hanover County Planning Commission deferred by a unanimous vote action on the Giles Farm rezoning case for 30 days.

The case, brought by Hanover Development, LLC, seeks to rezone a 268.69-acre tract in the Chickahominy District from A-1, agricultural, and RS(c), Single Family Residental with conditions, to an all RS(c) zoning.

The parcel lies on the south side of Atlee Station Road, across from Cool Spring Elementary School, Chickahominy Middle School and Atlee High School.

The applicant has requested a total of 442 housing units–122 townhomes and 320 single-family homes.

The density will be 2.075 dwelling units per acre, adjusted for the 111.27 acres which are undevelopable because they lie in the Resource Protection Area (RPA) of the Chickahominy watershed.

At the public hearing, citizens noted issues of polluted stormwater runoff/retention, traffic volume and flow, lack of neighborhood connectivity, open spaces as an afterthought, safe access to schools, and the single-road access to the back portion of the proposed development.

Two ponds, both blown out by the rains of Gaston, will act as retention for stormwater. One speaker noted that the ponds will be polluted with animal waste and fertilizers.

The traffic volume and flow in and out of the development will add to the current VDOT traffic count of 8200 vehicles daily on Atlee Station Road between Westone and Sliding Hill Roads.

On the matter of compliance with the Secondary Street Acceptenace Requirement (SSAR), the applicant noted that VDOT has grandfathered the older standards for the development. Any Board action after approval of this case would require the development to meet the SSAR, a policy which enhances neighborhood connectivity and reduces traffic on main thoroughfares.

Citizens as well as Commissioners thought that a one-road access to the rear of the property presented a safety problem. Most of the homes would be located on this back section of the tract adjacent to the RPA.

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