Neighbors press board to restrict campground SUP on Hathcock Lane; supervisors set July public hearing

The Buckingham County Board of Supervisors set a public hearing for July 14 on a special-use permit application to operate a campground on Hathcock Lane after residents raised concerns about sewage, fires and potential commercial use.

At the board meeting multiple neighbors urged limits or denial. Joe Phillips, who lives at 268 Hathcock Lane, said the permit as written would allow commercial operation by future owners and asked the board to add a condition restricting use to the landowners, family and guests. “The SUP isn’t for a family to camp, it’s to operate a campground,” Phillips said. He asked that the permit expressly prohibit commercial operation and convey that restriction to future owners.

Rebecca Jones, a property owner adjacent to the proposed site, said she bought her home expecting a quiet agricultural neighborhood and listed fire risk, dumpsters, sewage and noise as reasons to deny or restrict the permit. “I respectfully ask the board to deny this permit as is written now or put in restrictions like the campground can never become commercial,” Jones said.

Phil Sandridge, one of the applicants and a landowner on Hathcock Lane, told the board the campers who use the site are largely retired and that he and co-applicant David Wymer had planned on private, noncommercial use; Sandridge said they had engineered plans for septic but awaited the board’s decision before proceeding.

Planning staff told the board the planning commission reviewed the application and recommended approval with 14 conditions by a 7–1 vote. Staff reported the property is in the A-1 zoning district, is roughly 4.2 acres (tax map and parcel referenced in the planning report) and is located in the James River district.

The board voted to schedule a public hearing for 6 p.m. on July 14 (vote: 7 yes). Supervisors said the hearing will allow neighbors to present more evidence and for staff to confirm technical items such as septic approvals and condition language.

Why it matters: the decision would alter allowed uses on a rural lane where neighbors said ad hoc short-term rentals and unpermitted campers have previously caused problems. The board will consider specific conditions, the planning commission’s recommended conditions and neighborhood testimony at the public hearing.

What’s next: the board will hold the public hearing July 14; staff will circulate recommended conditions and technical reviews in advance.