Hadad’s Lake redevelopment, revised industrial project, 7 Brew plans appear on Sept. 10 Henrico Planning Commission agenda

A proposal to transform the former Hadad’s Lake property in Varina into a year-round recreation and event venue will come before the Henrico Planning Commission Sept. 10, but county planners are recommending that the commission defer the project while a number of concerns are addressed.

The meeting also will feature the return of a 74-acre industrial proposal near Pocahontas Parkway that county planners initially opposed. Following revisions and an August deferral, planning staffers have indicated that they could support the plan with revisions, although several issues they raised remain unresolved.

A proposed 7 Brew drive-through coffee shop on South Laburnum Avenue and a DogServices kennel near West Broad Street also are on the agenda.

The commission will meet at 6 p.m. at the Henrico Western Government Center, 4301 East Parham Road. Six zoning and provisional-use-permit cases are scheduled.

Perhaps the most ambitious proposal involves the former Hadad’s Lake property along Osborne Turnpike in Varina.

OP Holdings LLC wants to redevelop the 35.82-acre property as Oasis Point, an expanded recreation, restaurant and event destination. Plans call for renovated swimming pools, a splash pad, pickleball, sand volleyball and basketball courts, a restaurant and banquet hall, fishing access, an event lawn and another indoor event facility.

At full development, the property would contain about 12,380 square feet of indoor space, roughly six acres devoted to outdoor recreation and events, and 207 parking spaces.

Hadad’s Lake began operating on the property in 1953 as a private recreation venue with a lake, pools and event spaces. In recent years, the owners made changes to address various zoning violations before the business closed at the end of the 2023 summer season.

County planners suggested the proposed redevelopment could renovate an aging, vacant property and return it to productive use and in a report wrote that some of the recreational elements generally fit the county's long-range vision for the site.

But staffers are recommending deferral of both the rezoning and the associated provisional-use permit, citing questions about the scope and intensity of the operation, its consistency with Henrico's comprehensive plan and potential impacts on nearby homes.

In their report, planners wrote that the proposal would create more intense usage than what is currently prescribed and that the applicant had not provided sufficient details about parking, access circulation/queuing and concerns about drainage and sewer issues.

They also wrote that they are not currently able to address the development's potential impact on adjacent residential properties or on the public's health, safety and general welfare, because the applicant has not provided sufficient details.

Planners outlined a number of conditions to which they believe the property should be subject, should the commission decide to move forward with the case this month, including:

• limiting hours of operation to the period between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.;

• limiting private events to 250 attendees (with no more than 48 private events annually that exceed 50 attendees apiece) and public events to 500;

• requiring all teens between the ages of 13 and 17 to have an adult with them on the property (except during religious community events) and limiting adults to supervising four children at a time;

• requiring the existing perimeter wooded areas to be maintained as undisturbed natural buffers "as long as the property is used for outdoor recreation and events";

• requiring an owner, operator or designed representative to be on site to enforce all adopted requirements during each event.

Environmental constraints are significant. The property contains extensive floodplain and wetlands, and portions are designated Environmental Protection Area under Henrico's comprehensive plan. Those areas generally are intended for little or no development because of the likely presence of Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas and 100-year floodplains.

Industrial proposal returns with changed staff position

Another major Varina case involves Ace Investments LLC, whose 73.665-acre industrial proposal is returning after being deferred from the Planning Commission's Aug. 13 meeting — and revisions to the project appear to have changed county planners' view of it.

Ace is seeking conditional M-2 general industrial zoning for outdoor storage, offices and other industrial uses.

The site (which sits on Pocahontas Parkway, about 410 feet east side of its intersection with Monahan Road, and extends up to Charles City Road) would house an expanded hydroseeding supplies and equipment operation and then add new industrial uses, including a 16,000-square-foot office and shop, a large gravel storage yard and space that could be leased to other industrial users that have not yet been identified. Some of the existing trees would stay as well, due to environmental limitations.

Planning staffers initially were not supportive of the proposal, but their latest report shows that they are supporting it with proposed revisions.

The applicant originally sought to rezone only the larger southern parcel but subsequently added the northern property to obtain access to Charles City Road. Plans now show a 16,000-square-foot office and shop, a large gravel storage yard and additional office and industrial areas. Total building space would be capped at 80,000 square feet.

The project still presents several planning issues, according to staffers.

Henrico's comprehensive plan designates the property as Planned Industry, a classification intended to encourage coordinated development of large industrial areas, including shared vehicular access, stormwater management and public utility extensions. Staffers questioned whether the proposal sufficiently accomplishes those goals and have sought additional assurances involving the overall layout, building design, buffers and integration of the two parcels.

Water and sewer service also has been a significant issue. County Public Utilities and Fire officials have recommended public water and sewer connections rather than reliance upon wells and septic systems. Revisions involving utility phasing and a stormwater facility addressed some earlier Fire Division concerns, although staffers still have questions about how future utility connections would be implemented.

About 15 residents attended a May 20 community meeting about the project, where water and sewer, stormwater, buffers, traffic and the proposed business operation were among the issues discussed.

The evolution of the case means commissioners will be considering a proposal Sept. 10 that has changed significantly since its scheduled August hearing: staff's position has moved from opposition toward support, provided additional revisions are made.

7 Brew proposed on South Laburnum

Elsewhere in Varina, 7 Brew is seeking approval for a drive-through coffee shop at the southwest corner of South Laburnum Avenue and Finlay Street.

Cornerstone Midlothian LLC proposes demolishing an approximately 1,600-square-foot former East Coast Granite showroom and replacing it with a 510-square-foot coffee shop featuring dual drive-through lanes, a walk-up window and about 330 square feet of outdoor seating. No indoor dining is proposed.

The property currently is zoned for office use, which also is what Henrico's comprehensive plan recommends for the site. Although a drive-through coffee shop is inconsistent with that designation, planning staffers wrote that it could represent a reasonable departure because a Zaxby's drive-through restaurant already operates immediately north of the property and the applicant has offered assurances involving landscaping, sidewalks and other site improvements.

Staffers are supportive of the rezoning with a revision, encouraging the applicant to relocate a proposed dumpster that they said could create conflicts with the drive-through lanes and an office building to the west.

A companion provisional-use permit would allow 7 Brew to open at 5:30 a.m., 30 minutes earlier than normally permitted in the B-2 district. The applicant proposes operating from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, and planners support that request.

Planners estimated the 510-square-foot coffee shop would generate about 179 weekday vehicle trips, including 90 entering and 89 exiting. Staffers noted that drive-through traffic potentially could affect adjacent uses, including a childcare center, but Henrico traffic engineers have not raised concerns about the proposed queue. Five-foot sidewalks also would be provided along the property's frontage areas along South Laburnum Avenue and Finlay Street.

DogServices kennel proposed near Brookhollow

The commission's only Three Chopt District case involves a proposed DogServices kennel on 1.03 acres at Springfield Church Lane and Tom Leonard Drive, behind Brookhollow Shopping Center.

DogServices operates three locations in Richmond, and the proposed Henrico facility would replace a Pouncey Tract Road location that recently closed to accommodate other development. Plans call for dog boarding and daycare but not veterinary or grooming services. The former Pouncey Tract location typically accommodated about 46 dogs per day, according to a planning staff report.

The property also contains an unusual historic feature: a cemetery associated with Springfield Baptist Church, which was built on the property in 1887. The church building was relocated to Goochland County in 2007, but the cemetery remains.

The applicant has proffered to fence the graveyard, maintain its existing landscaping and provide a 10-foot buffer around it. The kennel would be limited to 15,000 square feet of building space, with no more than 7,000 square feet devoted to outdoor exercise runs.

The cemetery and county requirements for outdoor kennel areas constrain the site's development. Outdoor exercise runs or pens must be at least 75 feet from property lines and require buffers, meaning the applicant likely would have to place exercise areas inside the building or reduce the proposed building's size, planners wrote.

Despite those concerns, though, staffers recommended approval, finding the proposal consistent with the property's Commercial Arterial designation and surrounding commercial development.

The planning commission ultimately will make recommendations on the rezoning applications to the Henrico Board of Supervisors, which has final authority over the requests.