Residents want Henrico’s history, landscape preserved
More than two dozen people said tonight that they want to see Henrico County do more to preserve historic and natural areas, make the county more bicycleand pedestrian-friendly and improve residents' quality of life.
They spoke during a public hearing held by the Henrico Planning Commission on a 272-page document that has been drafted to guide development in the county through 2026. About 80 people attended the hearing.
Richard McNeil, who serves on the county's historic preservation advisory committee, urged stronger protections for historic sites in the plan. County resident A.R. Goodwin cited records showing that 162 of 183 county-recognized historic sites and structures were destroyed between 1976 and 1998.
"We have a wealth of historic preservation areas and cultural resources in Henrico County. However, they are not protected by anything other than a lick and a promise," McNeil said.
Michael Czekajlo, who lives in the western end of the county, was among half a dozen people who bemoaned the county's reputation for being one of the least bikeable and walkable localities in the Richmond area.
"As it is, I can't walk anywhere with my kids. I can't cross Broad Street from Target to go to Whole Foods, which is idiotic," Czekajlo said. "I think there is a general disconnect between the plan and the quality of life people want."
After the two-hour hearing, Henrico Planning Director Joe Emerson said the Planning Commission will schedule a work session to consider tonight's comments and discuss the plan. The panel will send the plan to the county Board of Supervisors, which also will hold a public hearing before adopting the plan.
For details about the draft comprehensive plan, visit http://www.co.henrico.va.us/planning/2026plan.htm. Written comments may be sent to the Henrico County Planning Department, P.O. Box 90775, Henrico, VA 23273-0775.
-- Melodie Martin
Reader Reactions
“James”
Sorry, Henrico is hardly an URBAN COUNTY. Myopia can be cured. Almost half of the county is rural, the rest is a mixture of suburban and too much retail. How many coffee shops do we need in a two mile radius? You posted on the other article where you ranted at others about this meeting on that you’re a real estate attorney. I would have guessed either that, or that you work for the county, or both. Maybe the real estate market has got you down? Plenty of future minded communities all across America have succeeded in keeping a mix of density and preserved natural areas. If that hurts your construction investments then move to a city. Whether or not the plan is good in your opinion or mine, there is no all good or all bad. Imagine if the entire county looked like the traffic jam in your favorite urban place: shortpump. Now fill it up with mainly teenagers and senior citizens, because that will be the demographic in 20 years. People move to places because they are beautiful, have a moderate cost of living and many people care about factors like sustainability. Are you going to invest in the system to pump water in from elsewhere? Because there is already not enough hear every year. Rural areas you call ‘dilapidated’ keep taxes lower. Farms don’t need the support services required by urbanizing it all. Not everything needs to be improved out of existence by rabid realty lawyers, and not everything is about profit, dear. If you don’t appreciate the environment then choose your favorite smog-filled destination.
br54… Do you like the tax rate you pay? Think it’s a pretty fair rate? Freeze development like you want and get ready to pay much higher taxes. You want an example, look at Chesterfield County. You’re lucky you have county employees here who understand what growth is about and work to bring reasonable growth to AN URBAN COUNTY!!! Apparently you haven’t looked around lately, but Henrico is not southwest Virginia.
Oh, and you think traffic here is like it is in NoVa? Are you on crack? Traffic here is NOTHING—NOTHING—NOTHING like Northern Virginia. Henrico is the country compared to Fairfax County. If we ever get like Fairfax, then you can whine. Until then be grateful you live in a county as well-run as this one with a county government that plans well for the future.
The announcement for this meeting was published in the paper the day it took place. Will there be another? We need to “know stuff” like the ad says but the news is not in the paper enough to claim that. The goal seems to be that Henrico is completely urban. Traffic is already like NOVA the schools are overcrowded and now they want to build more? This is INSANE! We didnt move here to live in a parking lot. Nobody thinks pavement is better than nature and who will pay for all this? Enough already. This is the place for a “freeze”, big businesses are smart enough to do that and HENRICO COUNTY IS STILL BUSY CREATING A MONSTER ONLY THEY CAN CONTROL. Please stop printing reactive crime stories and write about local issues in a more timely fashion. How else will anyone find out what is happening before its too late to get involved? Residents deserve to know about this.
Post a Comment(Requires free registration)
- Please avoid offensive, vulgar, or hateful language.
- Respect others.
- Use the "Flag Comment" link when necessary.
- See the Terms and Conditions for details.
Advertisement