Last-minute changes to the 2026 Comprehensive Plan on Tuesday night delighted conservationists in eastern Henrico County and left some large landowners feeling that their rights had been trampled.
"I think it ought to be the landowner's decision," said Jack Nelson. He and his sister own about 200 acres near Laburnum Avenue and state Route 5.
"A lot of people have moved into Varina," he said, "and as soon as they do they want to close the doors behind them, saying, 'Nobody else should come in' and, 'This is what I think you should do with your land.'"
If people want land to remain open space instead of being developed, they should be willing to buy it from the owner at development prices, he said.
Gatewood Stoneman and her family land were at the center of the biggest controversy about the comprehensive plan. Their Varina Farm was designated for Suburban Mixed Use under the plan, until Varina supervisor James B. Donati Jr. bowed to community pressure and successfully asked for the tract to remain designated as Prime Agriculture. The Stonemans declined to comment after the meeting.
Donati also asked for Rural Residential land to remain separate from Prime Agriculture instead of being combined into a single category as planners had suggested.
"We are thrilled at the response to the citizen voice," said Sheila Sheppard, coordinator of the Partnership for Smarter Growth.
"This marks a shift in the way that business is done in the Richmond region. We've seen it in the way the Downtown Master Plan was done, and in Chesterfield with the citizen-based approach to the comprehensive plan.
"We weren't sure we were going to see it in Henrico."
The next step is to work on ordinances that will help implement the plan, Sheppard said.
One change would allow conservation easements on small parcels of land, said Nicole Anderson Ellis, a leader of Envision Henrico. Without an easement, land next to a subdivision may rise in value to the point that owners can't afford the taxes, she said.
"If you own less than 100 acres, there are not many opportunities" to put the land in an easement, she said. "We have 14 acres. We would love to put it in a conservation easement, but we are 86 acres shy."
She said supervisors "absolutely made the right call" in keeping Varina Farm agricultural despite the landowner's wishes.
"The only right a landowner has is to use the property as it's zoned. If they request a change and it's destructive to the community, the board has the right and obligation to turn it down."
Contact Katherine Calos at (804) 649-6433 or kcalos@timesdispatch.com.
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