The Agenda: Local government briefs for 6.23.25

Mayor Danny Avula at the ceremonial groundbreaking held for the Shockoe Institute in April. (BizSense file)

Mayor Avula invites other localities’ leaders to establish regional water group 

Last week Richmond Mayor Danny Avula announced that he has invited local officials from the surrounding counties to create a water advisory group.

The group, which the city said was slated to hold its first meeting in July, would “join together in conversations and planning about the future of the region’s drinking water system.”

A final report would be expected to be completed in spring 2026, following meetings of work groups and subject-matter experts this summer and fall. The city’s announcement stated that Avula had invited Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico officials to join the group.

“We are closely connected with our regional partners, and it is vitally important that we intentionally plan for a resilient, thriving regional water system. I’m confident that by putting the greater Richmond region at the center of our solution, we can move forward with a shared approach that meets the needs of Richmonders and neighboring localities,” Avula said in a prepared statement.

Avula also invited the members of Richmond City Council and Henrico Board of Supervisors to hold a joint public meeting.

Avula’s calls last week for regional dialogue follows a joint meeting of Henrico and Hanover officials to discuss how to address the region’s water challenges earlier this month. Discussions about the Richmond area’s water infrastructure come in response to the dayslong service outage that left much of the region without water in January.

Data center project in Chesterfield recommended for denial 

Developer Tract is seeking zoning approval to set the stage for a data center campus on 744 acres in Chesterfield.

Chesterfield Planning Commission last week gave a thumbs down to a proposal to build a data center campus in the southeastern part of the county.

Denver-based data center developer Tract is seeking zoning approval to set the stage for a project on 700 acres at 16100 Branders Bridge Road and other parcels.

Commissioner Gib Sloan, who represents the Bermuda District, where the project is proposed, said he couldn’t support the request due to concerns about traffic safety. He also felt county officials didn’t have a clear enough picture of how the site would be developed.

Tract’s business model is to acquire land and then handle the construction of infrastructure needed for a data center park, and then sell portions of a site to other companies to build the facilities. The company has previously said the project could potentially take the form of up to 11 data center facilities with a total of about 2 million square feet.

Sloan and his colleagues unanimously voted to recommend denial of the project. The Board of Supervisors is slated to provide a final decision on the project proposal at a future meeting.

About a dozen people spoke during the public hearing that preceded the commission’s vote, and about half spoke in favor of the project, among them John Martin of RVA757 Connects, a nonprofit economic development group.

Tract’s project proposal in Chesterfield is under review as county officials consider new zoning restrictions on future data center projects in an ongoing update to the zoning ordinance.

Cluster-style subdivision up for a vote in Chesterfield 

The Chesterfield Board of Supervisors is slated this week to vote on a cluster-style subdivision proposed near the Chesterfield airport.

Finer Homes is seeking zoning approval for a project of up to 166 homes at 5539 Beulah Road. There would be vehicular access to the development from Beulah Road and Kingsland Road.

The project would feature single-family, cluster-style homes on a 59-acre site. The lots would be a minimum of 5,500 square feet and the development would also feature amenities, per a staff report.

The applicant is seeking to rezone the property to Residential (R-12) from its current Agricultural (A) designation, and is also requesting exceptions for lot size, setbacks and other aspects of the project.

The Planning Commission and staff recommend approval of the project.

The full board meeting agenda can be viewed here.

Improvements planned for intersection of East Main and Williamsburg Avenue in city

A $4 million road improvement project is planned in Richmond’s East End. (Courtesy City of Richmond)

The city’s public works department plans to kick off a $4 million road improvement project in the East End next month.

The work involves modification of the intersection of East Main Street and Williamsburg Avenue between South Thirty-first, East Main and Pear streets. The project is intended to improve traffic flow and safety, according to a city news release that announced the project last week.

The project includes a new tariff signal and the installation of new street lighting and sidewalks, as well as widening of Williamsburg Avenue and landscaping.

The intersection of East Main and Williamsburg Avenue will remain open during the project. The westbound lanes of Williamsburg Avenue will be closed between South Thirty-first and the East Main intersection. There are also planned temporary closures at the South Thirty-first and Williamsburg Road.

The project starts in July and is anticipated to continue until summer 2026. Signage related to the project was expected to be placed at the project site starting last Friday.

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