Goochland supervisors to hear school relocation permit request April 14

Pickup lines, morning traffic and the feel of the Three Chopt Road corridor will be at the center of a Goochland County hearing as supervisors consider whether to let a school move onto agricultural land off Broad Street Road.

Michael and Katelyn Alsop are asking for a conditional-use permit for a school on 7.09 acres at 775 Three Chopt Road and 800 Broad Street Road, parcels identified by the county as Tax Map Nos. 46-1-0-16-B and 46-1-0-16-C. The public hearing is set for April 14, 2026, under application CU-2026-00002.

County records say the property is zoned Agricultural, Limited, or A-2, which means the school use cannot move forward without county approval. The county also says its Comprehensive Plan designates the site as a Rural Enhancement Area, a label that puts extra weight on how any new use fits with nearby homes, roads and open land.

The Goochland County Planning Commission recommended approval on Feb. 19, 2026, after a community meeting was scheduled for Dec. 10, 2025, at 6 p.m. at 1037 Broad Street Road. That address matters because Acton Academy West End lists its campus there in Manakin-Sabot, and county records identify the applicants as Michael and Katelyn Alsop, or Acton School. The school describes itself as learner-driven, and the Alsops have said they launched it in Richmond after not finding an Acton nearby.

For neighbors, the biggest questions are likely to be practical ones: how many cars will turn in and out each day, whether drop-off and pickup will back up Broad Street Road, and how a school use would change the pace and character of an area now tied to agricultural zoning. Schools can bring families and educational options, but they can also create congestion, safety concerns and pressure on road access when they are placed in rural corridors.

The hearing lands as Goochland County Public Schools is also asking voters to support bonds for road and parking-lot upgrades to improve traffic flow and safety at school facilities along Bulldog Way. Together, the two issues show how deeply school location and transportation have become intertwined in Goochland, where a single parcel can shape the daily commute and neighborhood pattern for years.