Goochland county to review retail permit for Shallow Well Road site

Goochland County reviewed a conditional use permit request for retail use at 1151 Shallow Well Road on Tuesday evening, putting a 10.441-acre parcel in District 4 under formal scrutiny before any commercial use could move forward.

The application, PRE-2026-00011, was filed by Tyler J. McCormick for Tax Map No. 56-1-0-77-B. Because the property is zoned Agricultural, Limited, or A-2, the proposed retail use could not proceed as a by-right activity. County Zoning Ordinance Section 15-112 required the permit, and the Goochland Comprehensive Plan designates the area as a Rural Enhancement Area, placing the parcel in a part of the county where new commercial activity is supposed to be measured against existing rural land-use expectations.

That is the core issue for neighbors around Shallow Well Road: what kind of retail use would be introduced, how customers and deliveries would reach the site, and whether the change would fit a corridor that has historically been more rural than commercial. Under county procedure, conditional uses go through a deeper review than uses permitted by right and require application and approval by the Goochland County Board of Supervisors.

The county also requires a community meeting and written notice at least two weeks before that meeting to adjacent property owners, the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. Goochland says Planning Commission members and more than two supervisors may attend, but if that happens the gathering becomes a special meeting and no votes or action can be taken.

Planning & Zoning staff have said they can answer questions on transportation and future development, which makes access and traffic among the most likely pressure points for residents watching the site. Even without a final decision Tuesday, the meeting gave nearby property owners a chance to put concerns or support on the record before the permit advances to the Board of Supervisors.

The Shallow Well Road parcel was already tied to another land-use dispute this spring. In case AP-2026-00001, Aurora Hill Foundation, LLC appealed a January 21, 2026 zoning determination letter from the Zoning Administrator. That appeal challenged the county’s finding that onsite sale of agricultural products is subject to farm-stand standards under County Code Sections 15-112, 15-281.B and 15-500. Together, the appeal and the retail permit place the same property at the center of a larger question Goochland keeps confronting: how far commercial activity can extend on A-2 land before it changes the character of the county’s rural edges.