Community meeting examines accessory family housing on Dogtown Road

Goochland County held a community meeting January 13 at the Central High Cultural and Educational Complex to review application PRE-2025-00030, in which Rebekah and Christopher Miller requested a conditional use permit for an accessory family housing unit, detached, on 2.777 acres at 2748 Dogtown Road. The discussion drew residents and county staff to consider how an additional dwelling on the parcel would fit with neighborhood patterns and county rules.

The property is zoned Agricultural, Limited (A-2), and the CUP is required by County Zoning Ordinance Sec. 15-112 in accordance with Sec. 15-285.A. The county’s Comprehensive Plan designates the area as Rural Enhancement Area, a designation intended to preserve rural character while allowing limited, context-sensitive development. Those planning and land-use frameworks shaped the meeting’s focus: compatibility with surrounding farms and homes, utility and septic impacts, traffic and driveway access, and visual screening.

Speakers at the meeting raised practical concerns common in Goochland’s unincorporated neighborhoods: whether an additional dwelling would strain well and septic systems on a parcel of this size, how driveway use could affect Dogtown Road, and whether the detached unit would alter the rural feel neighbors value. County staff outlined the standards tied to a CUP review, including conditions the board can impose to address size, setbacks, landscaping and utility arrangements. Attendees also discussed the role of accessory family housing in supporting multigenerational households and caretaking arrangements, a growing reason rural families seek secondary units.

For residents near 2748 Dogtown Road, the immediate impact depends on the permit decision and any conditions the county places on construction. On 2.777 acres, a detached family unit is unlikely to create urban-style density, but even modest construction can change sightlines, drainage patterns and day-to-day use of a shared road. The Rural Enhancement Area designation means the county balances individual property rights with broader goals of preserving open space and rural character, so mitigation measures are a likely part of the outcome if the CUP is approved.

Viewed in a broader context, Goochland’s discussion mirrors trends in many rural localities balancing housing flexibility with infrastructure limits and landscape conservation. Accessory family units can provide onsite elder care and keep families in place, but local zoning processes ensure those benefits do not come at the expense of community character.

The takeaway? If you live near Dogtown Road or care about rural development in Goochland, follow the permitting timeline, watch for upcoming hearings and speak up at public comment opportunities. Our two cents? Attend the next meeting or contact county planning staff so your practical concerns about septic, sight lines and driveway safety are part of the record.