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Planning Commission backs Route 1 Gateway small‑area plan with edits; asks for clearer language on data centers and removal of Lewistown extension
Summary
The commission recommended approval of the Route 1 Gateway small‑area plan and asked staff to revise data‑center language and remove a proposed Lewistown‑to‑Cedar‑Lane extension; staff also agreed to add raw survey counts alongside percentages.
Staff presented the final draft of the Route 1 Gateway small‑area plan, a guide intended to shape development along the U.S. Route 1 corridor from the Henrico County line to Ashland. The plan recommends targeted industry clusters, improved multimodal connectivity, open‑space priorities and community design guidelines intended to balance economic development with neighborhood protection.
Staff reported public engagement metrics, including roughly 291 online survey respondents and extensive public comment; speakers asked for clarity about an "84%" survey figure on opposition to data centers and wanted stronger protections for the Brown Grove historic area. Several commissioners asked staff to clarify whether the 84% referred to the entire study area or to a subarea and to include both percentages and raw response counts in the final document.
Commissioners approved a motion recommending plan adoption to the Board of Supervisors with two edits: remove the proposed Lewistown Road extension from the implementation recommendations and revise the data‑center language on page 62 to better reflect public input (staff agreed to add the underlying survey counts). The motion carried and the plan will be forwarded to the Board for consideration.
