Henrico Board of Supervisors to consider making vape shops ineligible for county’s investment program funds

At a July 22 meeting, the Henrico Board of Supervisors will consider an amendment to the Henrico Investment Program that would remove vape shops from the list of developments that the county can provide with funding.

The county’s investment program offers developers a range of incentives and grants in an effort to support development in designated areas of Henrico. The program currently allows developers with plans to build hotels, restaurants, offices, clinics, warehouses, and retail stores – including vape shops – to apply and receive county funds.

The proposed amendment comes after the Board of Supervisors set more restrictions on where vape shops can be located in the county last year, in an effort to limit the number of shops near schools and parks.

The amendment would also establish four new Henrico Investment Program areas along Laburnum Avenue, Lakeside Avenue, Nine Mile Road, and Brook Road, as well as expand the five existing areas along Mechanicsville Turnpike, Patterson Avenue, Staples Mill Road, West Broad Street, and Williamsburg Road.

At its 6 p.m. regular meeting, the board also is scheduled to hold a public hearing and vote on a rezoning case that would allow for a development of about 90 townhouses to be constructed near Sandston, south of the intersection between Dry Bridge Road and Old Williamsburg Road. The area initially was zoned for a development of 41 single-family homes.

The board also will hear from the public and then vote on the county’s proposed 2025-2030 Community Development Plan, a five-year plan for how the county will use federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In addition, board members are scheduled to vote to purchase land in the Tuckahoe District for about $3 million to build a new public park at 9301 Patterson Avenue. 

Other proposals the board will consider include:

• funding for emergency shelters and regional homeless services through CARITAS;

• authorizing the county to apply for funds from the Virginia Department of Transportation, which would go towards the construction of the New Market Heights Trail in the Varina District in 2028;

• about $2.2 million in funding for improvements at the Shady Grove Water Pump Station;

• about $1.8 million in funding for improvements at Meadow Road;

• about $50,000 in funding to help extend the Old Washington Highway Sewer.

As a 4:15 p.m. special meeting, the board will hear an update on funds from the national opioid settlement. In 2023, Henrico County received a total of about $870,000 from the first wave of settlement grants.

Members of the public can provide public comment at the board’s 6 p.m. meeting.

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.