Committee backs studying Route 60 parcels to prioritize light industrial uses to boost commercial assessment

A Powhatan County planning advisory committee voted to pursue a land‑use shift that would prioritize light industrial development along the Route 60 corridor and set up a subcommittee to draft specific changes to the future land‑use map.

The move comes after staff presented a GIS‑based review of roughly 46 parcels in a 2,000‑foot band along Route 60 and analysis applying existing developed parcel assessment averages to those parcels. Committee members framed the proposal as a way to increase the county's commercial assessment base — the numerator in the county's “85/15” objective for commercial versus residential assessed value — while directing higher‑paying, employer‑based businesses into targeted areas.

Why it matters: committee members said the county’s current commercial assessment share (c/(c+r)) is about 6.7% countywide and that converting or refocusing identified parcels could move the ratio toward the mid‑teens. Staff showed that using averages from developed commercial and light‑industrial parcels yields an average of about $453,000 per acre for those uses on sample sites; the 46‑parcel sample covers roughly 370–372 acres and carried current…