LAND USE: To Pave or Save Henrico's Farmland?

NICOLE ANDERSON ELLIS On Tuesday, June 9, at 7 p.m. Henrico County's Board of Supervisors is holding a hearing for public feedback on the latest version of Henrico's draft 2026 Comprehensive Land Use Plan. They call it the county's "road map for growth."

At the same meeting, having supposedly weighed citizen input, the board "will consider adoption of the proposed 2026 comprehensive plan."

If the board does adopt it, for the first time in 400 years Henrico would not have a single acre of Prime Agricultural land. At least, not according to the land use map. Instead, the county's fields would be labeled "Rural Residential/Prime Ag." The draft also suggests that massive residential/retail construction is the best use -- in fact, the final use -- for thousands of acres of fertile riverfront land, America's first farms.

The changes encouraged by this "road map" would have certain consequences -- the loss of landscapes familiar to generations, rural roads clogged with traffic, etc. -- felt most sharply in the county's east end. Yet there are broader ramifications. And despite suggestions that this land use draft is a Varina problem, there is clear, quantified, and county-wide opposition to the proposed destruction of Henrico's last farm district.

ACCORDING to the county's own survey, 82 percent of county residents "support further restricting or managing new development in rural areas."

It's easy to see why. Farmland is increasingly rare, so it's increasingly valuable. Burying it under new houses is one way to cash in on this resource. But it's not the only way. And it's not the best.

Shifting consumer interests and investment trends have created a new wealth of open-space prospects. And Henrico's farmland comes "value added." Our farmland hugs the capital city. It is bordered by rivers. And it is home to historic gold.

Henrico's east end was Pocahontas' backyard. She bathed in creeks that still flow here. John Smith hunted these very forests. In our soil lie the bones of fallen Union and Confederate boys.

One million people visit Williamsburg each year, many driving through Varina on the way. So, is it time for the county to promote historic tourism? Is it time to court development of a living history site on the Henrico bank of the James River, just a boat ride across from Hopewell's Henricus State Park? Is it time for area schoolchildren to mingle with international tour groups at living museums dedicated to farm life, Powhatan culture, the role of Africans in Virginia history, the Civil War, and environmental science?

Then there's the equestrian industry, which generated $1.62 billion in the commonwealth last year. Varina is rich with barns and paddocks. Add trails, and Henrico could promote the landscape between the Chickahominy and the James as a rider's paradise, maximizing our market share.

Varina is already a destination for cyclists. They head east from the city every sunny day. And we received international attention when the 2007 U.S. Open Cycling Championship raced up Osborne Turnpike. Now the Capital-to-Capital trail is coming though the district, drawing bikers (and money) from Richmond and Williamsburg. Isn't it time to nurture that opportunity?

The Virginia Department of Forestry filed official comment noting the word "forestry" is absent from all 300 pages of Henrico's draft plan. But it doesn't have to be. The county's mature forests are a valuable resource. As green building hits the mainstream, Henrico is poised to offer builders sustainably raised and locally harvested timber.

THE IDEAS for profiting by keeping land green are limitless, and all provide healthy diversification to Henrico's tax base. In addition, open space generates revenue for the county -- the entire county -- without demanding the expensive services residential projects require.

So it's no surprise that Henrico citizens want our farmland preserved. What's surprising is that the Board of Supervisors is toying with a land use plan that pushes the county toward a future without farms.

But I have faith they'll reject this draft plan. They'll reject it, not just because it is political suicide to vote for anything that openly flouts 82 percent of voters. And not just because it is legal folly to flout the Virginia law mandating that each county's Land Use Plan "promote the health, safety, morals, order, convenience, prosperity, and general welfare of inhabitants." And not just because, according to the county's own statistics, Henrico's already approved subdivisions more than satisfy projected population growth through 2026 and beyond.

Tuesday night Supervisors James Donati, Richard Glover, David Kaechele, Pat O'Bannon, and Frank Thornton will face their constituents -- people like you and me, people who work hard for every tax dollar they pay, people who would rather be home with their families than at a public hearing but come anyway because they know that sometimes elected officials need to see the people they represent. And I believe that faced with that crowd, all five supervisors will vote against this draft land use plan because Henrico's real economic growth lies in the sustainable development of the history, productivity and beauty of America's first farms.

But don't take my word for it. Come on Tuesday. Watch them vote.

Nicole Anderson Ellis teaches critical thinking and writing at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is a monthly columnist for Virginia Business magazine, and the 2009 recipient of the Southern Environmental Law Center's Reed Journalism Award. A member of Envision Henrico, she and