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Planning commission backs Route 33 gateway small‑area plan with two amendments including emergency access for Wind’s Church Road
Summary
After a multi‑hour presentation and public comment session focused on access, traffic and buffers, the commission recommended approval of the Route 33 gateway small‑area plan (about 900 acres) with two amendments: shifting the first ~1,400 feet of east‑side Route 33 land use from commercial to industrial while keeping a 200‑foot buffer, and making the Wind’s Church Road access an emergency access with a 50‑foot right of way.
The Hanover County Planning Commission recommended approval of the Route 33 gateway small‑area plan, a comprehensive‑plan amendment covering roughly 900 acres along U.S. Route 33 from the Chickahominy River (the Henrico County line) to Wind’s Church Road, after extended presentation, public comment and commissioner deliberations.
Andrew Pompey, who led the staff presentation, described the plan as the first small‑area plan completed since the county adopted its 2023 comprehensive plan. "Overall, this study area is approximately 900 acres," Pompey said, summarizing extensive outreach: an in‑person meeting and survey in January, follow‑up outreach, about 4,000 website visits and nearly 600 comments used to shape recommendations.
The draft plan recommends commercial frontage along Route 33 (retail, restaurants and service uses aligned with B‑2 zoning), interior campus‑style industrial uses intended for lower‑impact operations (clean manufacturing, data centers, battery storage), a network of internal roads, conservation areas and a trail network along the Chickahominy River and Grassy Swamp Creek, and a series of design guidelines organized by character zones. Pompey noted specific dimensional guidance: a 50‑foot landscape buffer along Route 33; a 200‑foot thoroughfare buffer along Wind’s Church Road; transitional 150‑foot buffers adjacent to existing residences; and maximum recommended heights of 35 feet in commercial and near‑residential areas and up to 62 feet in interior industrial zones.
Public commenters raised safety and traffic concerns about a proposed secondary entrance on Wind’s Church Road. "If there is no economic reason to put an entrance to the industrial area off of Wind's Church Road, then I think that needs to be taken off the table," Wanda Edwards said, speaking for neighbors who said Wind’s Church Road is too narrow and already experiences heavy truck traffic. Staff and commissioners emphasized that specific entrances, intersection improvements and any signals would be evaluated during site plan, rezoning or conditional‑use proceedings and by VDOT, and that traffic impact analyses would be required at the time of development.
Commissioner Ledbetter offered two amendments during deliberations: convert the first ~1,400 feet on the east side of Route 33 from commercial to industrial while retaining a 200‑foot buffer, and change Access Number 3 (the Wind’s Church Road entrance) to an emergency access with a 50‑foot right of way that could be upgraded later. "I would like to recommend to the board that we change that designation... I'd rather leave that buffer in and not disturb," Ledbetter said in explaining his buffer/land‑use amendment. Ledbetter moved to recommend approval of CPA2025‑000002 including the two amendments; Commissioner Abbott seconded and the motion passed by voice vote with no opposition.
Staff noted the small‑area plan provides guidance but does not itself rezone property: realizing many recommendations will require subsequent rezoning, conditional‑use or site‑plan approvals. The county has included widening Route 33 in its 10‑year plan and staff said Public Works is preparing a funding application to advance that project.
