Commission forwards Goodwin special-use permit for event center to Board of Supervisors

The Buckingham County Planning Commission voted unanimously April 27 to forward applicant George Goodwin's special-use permit application (case 26SUP368) to the Board of Supervisors for final consideration.

Staff introduced the application as a request to operate an event center on tax parcels totaling approximately 6.3 acres and about 102 acres (addresses listed as 263 Bellemeade Lane). The minutes of a prior hearing, staff said, recorded an attendance figure of 300 but did not clarify the number or frequency of events.

Applicant representatives described planned uses and limits: primarily dinners of about 20 to 30 people from July through October, occasional weddings (they estimated they could not handle more than about two weddings per month and suggested a practical upper bound of roughly 24 weddings per year), site photographs and references to press coverage, and limitations on river access (two to three boats at a dock during events). They said sanitation would be provided by portable toilets and that power would be via battery generators rather than permanent electrical or plumbing installations.

Commissioners questioned the maximum attendance figures, sanitation and the earlier-noted reference to 300 attendees in the prior public hearing. After discussion, a commissioner moved to send the application to the Board of Supervisors; the motion received a second and passed unanimously. Staff said the item will appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda next month.

The commission did not adopt conditions on the applicant at this meeting; staff and commissioners indicated boardsmanship and technical questions (signage and neighbor notifications) would be addressed in the Board-level review.