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Citizens Working Group urges 'economic priority' zone on Route 60 to spur jobs and shift tax base
Summary
A Powhatan County Citizens Working Group recommended designating roughly 1,200–1,400 acres along Route 60 as an "economic priority" district to attract light industrial employers, citing utility access and a goal of advancing an aspirational 85/15 commercial/residential tax split.
A citizens panel advising Powhatan County presented a package of land‑use recommendations Sept. 15 that would create an "economic priority" (EP) designation focused mainly along U.S. Route 60 to encourage light industrial and job‑creating development.
The Citizens Working Group said the parcels it proposes for EP selection were chosen for proximity to major transportation corridors, public and private utility access, parcel size and adjacency. The presenters said the package totals between about 1,189 and 1,400 acres, roughly 85% of which lies within the county's strategic growth area and a small fraction of countywide acreage.
"We looked at proximity to key transportation corridors and utility access," a CWG presenter said while describing the map of recommended parcels. The group emphasized that EP is intended to make property ready for employers that create higher‑paying, clean jobs, and that EP parcels were concentrated on Route 60 after discussion of other corridors.
The CWG also presented a revenue analysis used to estimate how shifting parcels to EP could affect the county tax base. That projection used assessed‑value data from 28 existing industrial (I‑1) parcels in the Route 60 corridor as a per‑acre benchmark and excluded speculative future commercial spillover from job growth. The presenters characterized the 85/15 commercial/residential tax split as an aspirational goal, not a guaranteed outcome.
County officials pressed CWG presenters on assumptions underlying the projections — specifically whether the analysis counted acreage or buildable acres, whether vacant acreage was treated as residential in the baseline, and how per‑acre values were extrapolated. CWG presenters said their assessment used total assessed value (non‑government parcels) and per‑acre estimates derived from currently developed industrial and commercial parcels.
Presenters also stressed infrastructure constraints. The report recommends staying within existing utility service areas and identifies the need for at least one regional pump station in the eastern portion of the county to service many EP parcels. The CWG recommended exploring public‑private partnerships and asking economic development authorities to help move "business‑ready" sites toward market readiness.
Supervisors asked how the EP designation would differ from existing gateway or commercial categories. Presenters said gateway business parcels remain suited to retail and service uses while EP parcels would favor industrial uses that produce higher assessed values and, ultimately, higher real‑estate tax revenue.
The CWG materials and presenters stressed that the EP designation is meant to be a planning tool, not an immediate rezoning. If the board accepts the recommendation, staff and the planning commission would have additional steps — a more granular parcel review, public engagement, and any future rezoning actions required by code.
What happens next: the CWG report will be part of the county's comprehensive‑plan update process, which the panel and county staff said is expected to be active in early 2026. The presentation package includes GIS parcel lists and appendices with per‑parcel assessment data the CWG used for its projections.
