Friends and Supporters,

A developer is proposing a 1,000-unit development on 253 acres on Nelson Farm, a farm just across 895 (the Pocahontas Parkway) when riding the Capital Trail. The Henrico Board of Supervisors will hold a hearing and vote on the proposal on January 24th at 7 pm. 

While we support adding housing to our region, it needs to be in the right place and at the right scale. This particular site is a productive farm in one of our region’s most historic corridors with connections to Native American, Colonial, enslavement, Civil War, and Emancipation history. Meanwhile, Henrico has many aging inner suburban areas that need investment in walkable, mixed-use development with better access to transit.

Source: Google Maps

Source: East West Communities' Arcadia Site Plan

We are joining with Henrico County conservation leaders, the Route 5 Coalition, and other local advocates in urging the county to deny the project. Our reasons are as follows:

• The county is currently reviewing and updating its Comprehensive Plan and this project is jumping ahead of that process.

• The number of units is 60% higher than permitted by the current Comprehensive Plan, which itself went beyond what many local residents wanted to see for this rural and historic corridor. It is also nearly four times what is permitted by the current Agricultural Zoning. 

• The county has never completed the Small Area Plan for Varina that was called for in the last Comprehensive Plan and is not addressing the preservation goals and strategies in the Route 5 Corridor Plan.

• The significant increase in zoning and conversion of a large farm about 7 miles from downtown will create a precedent for levels of growth that would lead the county to convert scenic Route 5 into a four-lane, divided highway, forcing potential closures and reconstruction of the Capital Trail, as well as degrading the cycling experience and tourism value of the trail.

Send an Email Today!

We encourage Henrico residents to write to the Board of Supervisors to share your concerns including recommending denial due to the need for more careful study and planning for the future of eastern Henrico. You can also attend the meeting on January 24th at 7 pm.

Don’t live in Henrico? Share why the Capital Trail and the scenic and historic character of the Route 5 corridor are important to you. Opponents to the proposal can also sign a petition online here. 

Supervisor Tyrone Nelson

varina@henrico.us 

(804) 501-4208

Supervisor Daniel J. Schmitt

brookland@henrico.us 

(804) 501-4208

Supervisor Patricia S. O’Bannon, Chairman

tuckahoe@henrico.us 

(804) 501-4208

Supervisor Frank J. Thornton, Vice-Chairman

fairfield@henrico.us 

(804) 501-4208    

Supervisor Thomas M. Branin,

threechopt@henrico.us 

(804) 501-4208

For additional information, click the links below:

2026 Comprehensive Plan

Route 5 Corridor Study

WRIC story

Times-Dispatch story 

Planning Commission Report

Developer's Website

HCAN

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Sincerely,

Partnership for Smarter Growth