Goochland Planning Commission backs accessory home permit on Broad Street Road

A detached accessory family housing unit proposed for 1884 Broad Street Road moved one step closer to approval after the Goochland County Planning Commission recommended the permit for Rebekah and Christopher Miller’s 2.777-acre parcel in District 3. The land, identified as Tax Map No. 32-1-0-54-0, is zoned Agricultural, Limited, or A-2, which is why the project needs a conditional use permit rather than a simple administrative sign-off.

The county says the request falls under the Rural Enhancement Area designation in the Comprehensive Plan and is covered by County Zoning Ordinance Sec. 15-112, in accordance with Sec. 15-285.A. That matters because accessory-family-housing requests in this part of Goochland are not treated as by-right uses; they require a more detailed review before any final action.

The public hearing was scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Board Meeting Room 250 at 1800 Sandy Hook Road. County officials invited public comment by email at PCCOMMENT@GOOCHLANDVA.US or by phone at 804-556-5860, and county notice rules call for written notice to adjacent property owners, with extra notice possible for other concerned people or groups. For neighbors along Broad Street Road, the key issue now is whether the proposal stays within the county’s rural housing pattern and how the county handles similar requests going forward.

Conditional use permits in Goochland still face one more hurdle after the Planning Commission’s recommendation: approval by the Board of Supervisors. That next vote will matter because the commission serves only in an advisory capacity as a five-citizen board appointed by supervisors for four-year terms. County procedures say conditional uses require a more in-depth study than by-right development, and the broader question for nearby property owners is how that standard is applied as more rural accessory housing cases come forward.

The April 16 meeting also brought a change in leadership for the commission itself. Guy Kimberly was elected chair, and Martin Dean was chosen as vice chair. The commission handled another accessory-family-housing CUP in District 5 at its March 19 meeting, a sign that these Rural Enhancement Area requests are already working through Goochland’s review process this year.