Developer Seeks Turn Lane Waiver for Rose Retreat; Commission Recommends Denial

S. Barbee Cox III has asked Goochland County to amend proffers for the long-dormant Rose Retreat subdivision to waive a county ordinance that would require construction of a left-turn lane out of the subdivision onto Poorhouse Road. Planning commissioners heard the request at a public hearing and recommended denial by a 5-0 vote, and supervisors will decide the request at their 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday.

Called Rose Retreat, the project was approved by county supervisors in 2007 but was never developed. The property is located on around 225 acres along Poorhouse Road east of Sandy Hook Road; the current submission proposes a 45-lot subdivision in the Poorhouse and Sandy Hook Road corridor. County documents include a schematic of the Rose Retreat subdivision showing lot layout and access generalities.

The waiver is formally a proffer amendment to set aside a now-applicable requirement for a left-turn lane at the subdivision access. Cox supplied a turn lane analysis with the amendment request that states, in its assessment, "VDOT standards do not warrant turn lanes on Poorhouse Road." County staff notes that because the original approval dates to 2007 and the project remained inactive, any reactivation must meet current code standards before development can proceed.

A public hearing on the proffer amendment was held at the planning commission’s Jan. 15 meeting, where one individual spoke in opposition to the application due to perceived safety concerns on Poorhouse. Planning commissioners recommended denial of the request in a 5-0 vote, citing the record established at that hearing and the materials submitted with the application.

Supervisors will decide the request at its 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday. The board's action will determine whether the proffer amendment is adopted; if the supervisors deny the amendment, the county ordinance requiring a left-turn lane would remain tied to any future development of the Rose Retreat parcels. County documents and the applicant's turn lane analysis are part of the administrative record available to the board as it weighs traffic engineering claims against local safety and land-use standards.

Those tracking the Rose Retreat matter should note the pending supervisors vote will be the decisive step in whether the 225-acre, 45-lot plan moves forward without the left-turn lane proffer included in current subdivision requirements.