Goochland supervisors elect Tom Winfrey chair, approve ethics, procedural rules and multiple land‑use actions

The Goochland County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 21 elected Tom Winfrey as chair and Jonathan Christie as vice chair, adopted a set of ethics and procedure resolutions for 2025 and approved several consent and land‑use items during its organizational and regular meeting.

Vic Carpenter presided over the board’s organizational session as the gavel was passed to the newly elected chair. The board then approved a resolution formalizing both leadership positions by roll call; all members voted in the affirmative.

County staff presented four consent‑agenda items that the board approved together. Those included acceptance of 0.39 miles of Readers Branch Subdivision Section 5 into the state secondary road system and school budget supplements totaling $297,033. Staff described the supplements as follows: $189,033 added to the school operating fund for elementary maker‑space projects (Foundation funds), $30,533 funded by a state Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services grant for secondary mental‑health counselors, and $108,000 added to the federal grants fund for school‑based mental‑health services (federal block grant). Staff said no county funds were required for these requests.

The board also adopted three governance resolutions. Deputy clerk Miss McGee told the board the Board of Supervisors’ code of ethics and the companion code for county appointees had not changed since 2024 and recommended adoption; the board approved both documents. McGee also reviewed proposed amendments to the rules of procedure — clarifying reserved meeting dates and cancelation policy, expanding permitted electronic participation consistent with General Assembly changes, adding clearer language about tie votes (including a ‘‘motion to reconsider’’ option) and requiring that citizen presentation materials (slides/audio/video) be submitted to the deputy clerk by noon on the last business day before a meeting. The rules were adopted by motion and roll call.

At the start of the public‑hearing portion, county planner Jamie Sherry presented a countywide zoning ordinance amendment to clarify signage rules for shopping centers, office parks and industrial parks. Key elements include permitting one entrance sign per entrance, allowing individual lots in a coordinated park to have freestanding signs while limiting cumulative sign area, and requiring entrance signs to be ground‑mounted with brick or stone bases where applicable. With no public speakers, the board moved to approve the amendment by roll call.

The board heard three land‑use applications and took action. It approved a conditional use permit for an accessory family housing unit on a 20‑acre portion of a larger parcel on Duval Road; Planning Commission‑recommended conditions include family‑only occupancy, smoke and carbon‑monoxide detectors, emergency access, a 10‑year expiration and a notice requirement on property transfer. The board also approved rezoning application RZ‑202400010, a proffered rezoning to allow a four‑lot subdivision along a private extension of Terry Lane with waivers from public‑road and turn‑lane requirements; staff noted proffered engineered road plans, maintenance obligations and minimum fire‑protection (including a cistern requirement).

Votes on the zoning amendment, the Robbins conditional use permit and the Holmes rezoning were all taken by roll call and recorded as affirmative by the presiding clerk. The board adjourned and noted its next regular meeting and public hearings are scheduled for Feb. 4, 2025.

What’s next: the board will hold public hearings Feb. 4 on the Tuckahoe Creek Service District expansion and a proposed revision to antique‑plate exemption language for personal property tax. The Audit & Finance Committee meets earlier that day in the afternoon.