Once dubbed “The Green Monster” for the nearly 5,000 homes it would bring, Chesterfield County’s Magnolia Green development may end up a blessing rather than a curse. But first, the county and landowners will need to find a way to bring the Powhite Parkway to the project’s front door on Hull Street Road. Magnolia Green won a controversial rezoning in 1991 as the last act of a lame-duck Board of Supervisors. The plan called for 4,886 homes on the almost 4,000-acre site near Otterdale Road.

Chesterfield County residents want to see growth directed north, toward Richmond, with a focus on compact, walkable communities that offer businesses. They also want the southern and western portions of the county left largely untouched. Those were among the findings of a recent series of resident input meetings, the results of which will shape the county’s new comprehensive plan—the first attempt to address countywide growth and infrastructure since the 1980s.

The ACLU of Virginia has warned Chesterfield County leaders that a proposed rental-inspection program could infringe on the constitutional rights of owners and tenants. In a letter to the Board of Supervisors and the county attorney, ACLU of Virginia Legal Director Rebecca K. Glenberg said the proposed ordinance violates the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches.

Years in the works, Chesterfield County’s plans for redeveloping the now-vacant Cloverleaf Mall are moving forward—but slowly. After 35 years of business, the mall closed in February 2008.

If Chesterfield Towne Center-area business owners want the middle of Midlothian Turnpike to be beautiful, they’ll need to pay more in taxes. The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors this month will consider a proposal to increase the property-tax rate for businesses along the mile-and-a-half stretch of Midlothian by 2 cents per $100 of assessed value.

Notify owners: Inspectors would notify owners that their property had been selected for inspection.
  Owners’ fee: The owners would pay a $100 fee for the interior and exterior inspections.
  What are they looking for? Inspectors, for example, would look for structural defects, yard debris, lack of smoke detectors, and furnace and plumbing violations.

A proposed rental-inspection program that might allow interior and exterior inspections of rental homes—and charge the owner $100 for the service—is raising eyebrows in Chesterfield County. The program, which looks for building and zoning code violations, is designed to help keep occupants safe and neighborhoods blight-free while maintaining area property values.

Wal-Mart has filed for the rezoning of a 53-acre parcel of land in eastern Powhatan County, making official their intention to build there. The retailer, which submitted the application to the county Thursday afternoon, hopes to open a 170,000-square-foot store north of U.S. 60 just west of state Route 675. If Wal-Mart gets the county’s blessing, doors could open by 2011.

Charles Dallas Green Sr., vice chairman of the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors, died Friday morning in a Richmond hospital. He was 63. He had been hospitalized with pneumonia. Mr. Green, who represented District 2 in southeastern Powhatan, worked for the Virginia Department of Military Affairs as superintendent of roads and grounds at Fort Pickett in Blackstone, where he managed more than 43,000 acres and 270 miles of roads and trails.

Sometimes regionalism starts at Starbucks. Every other Monday, Chesterfield County’s Midlothian District Supervisor Daniel A. Gecker and Richmond City Council President and 4th District representative Kathy C. Graziano meet for coffee and conversation in South Richmond. They talk about issues of mutual interest in their neighboring localities and districts, regional initiatives and their children.

When Rebecca Worley’s new neighbors turned out to be 22 construction workers in a single-family house in Chamberlayne Farms, she was not pleased. Even after Henrico County intervened, the number of next-door neighbors remained at 14. As a result of 152 similar complaints in the past three years, the Henrico Board of Supervisors is beginning to develop occupancy limits.

A series of public workshops on Chesterfield County’s under-construction comprehensive plan will kick off this week. The sessions will run through Oct. 6 in each of the county’s five magisterial districts. The input collected will be incorporated into the plan, which will be shaped by a 34-member residents steering committee, county staff and a team of planners.

Reinforcing its interest in a Powhatan County location, Wal-Mart has filed a traffic-impact analysis with the county and the Virginia Department of Transportation. The study looks at construction of a 170,000-square-foot retail center using 25 acres of a 53-acre parcel north of U.S. 60 just west of state Route 675. The plan indicates that, if built, the development would be complete by 2011.

The public will have its say tomorrow night on a Goochland County proposal to raise utility rates and connection fees to pay for the struggling Tuckahoe Creek Service District, which provides water and sewer service to the eastern end of the county. The county’s Board of Supervisors has suggested raising utility rates by 13 percent in the district and 5 percent for the general county system. Connection fees in the district could be raised $1,000 for water and $2,000 for sewer.

A 29-foot rooftop bowling pin sign could make or break plans for a giant entertainment complex in Chesterfield County. If built, the 52,000-square-foot Uptown Alley would boast 40 bowling lanes on two floors, two restaurants with outside dining, arcades and private party rooms on a 12-acre site at Commonwealth Centre near Hull Street Road.