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It’s time to start from scratch again. During their Monday, Feb. 10 meeting, the Buckingham County board of supervisors agreed to hold off on rezoning plans and revive an economic development committee that their predecessors had shut down, with the goal of coming up with ideas of how to best use the industrial park near Dillwyn. 

When supervisors voted to approve selling 7.413 acres of industrial park land to the Central Virginia Christian School late last year, that was the first of a two-part agreement. The second part was to ask the planning commission to take a look at if the remaining two thirds of the property should be rezoned to Village Center or light industrial, changing what would be allowed to be built on site. 

Currently, that northern two-thirds of the property is zoned neighborhood commercial, which means only small scale things like retail shops, services and mixed-use developments can go up. A light industrial zoning, for example, would allow things like warehouses or garages to go up, bringing in trucks, loud noises and deliveries on a regular basis. A Village Center zoning would allow higher density options. 

The planning commission, by a unanimous vote, rejected that idea, instead asking supervisors to restore the economic development committee and to give the group until December to come up with ideas on how best to use the property. 

“I see no point in putting the wagon before the tractor and doing any rezoning,” Supervisor Cameron Gilliam told the rest of the board. 

Instead, he made a motion to revive the economic development committee, giving each supervisor until their next meeting to come up with names to submit. Then that committee would have a year to study what the best use of the property would be. 

A history of the industrial park

In the summer of 2022, Buckingham County sold the industrial park land in Dillwyn to the Atlantic Investment Corporation. It was supposed to be the site of 119 homes, including 67 townhouses, 24 detached row-style homes and 28 single family homes. The argument had been that the prices, which were expected to range from $250,000 for a townhouse to $500,000 for a single family home, would attract “first-time homeowners from all demographics, who desire a less congested alternative to city living”, according to the materials given to the county’s planning commission. However, Atlantic withdrew a request for a special use permit that September. The group later abandoned plans for a Buckingham County operation, selling the land back to the county.

What upset residents was the price Buckingham officials agreed to pay, in order to buy it back. First, the county agreed to forgive a debt. In 2022, Atlantic promised to pay Buckingham County $751,680 in total for 125.28 acres, which had been an industrial park. At the time, Atlantic paid $346,749.67. The remainder of the $751,680 was promised, but had not been paid yet. As part of this deal, supervisors agreed to forgive the $405,840 remaining on that debt. 

In addition to forgiving that $405,840, the county agreed to pay Atlantic $516,749.67 for the property. Part of that, 346,749.67, is what Atlantic paid back in the summer of 2022. An additional $170,000 was given to help cover a portion of Atlantic’s expenses incurred since last year to develop the land. 

So that means the county originally received only $346,749.67 for the land in the first sale, then paid $516,749.67 to get it back.

Also, neighboring residents who spoke at public hearings in 2022 were afraid and the fear was twofold. First, they were afraid these proposed townhouses and neighborhoods would bring in people from other cities, changing Buckingham’s rural dynamic. Second, they were afraid a subdivision like the one proposed would bring in more expensive stores, increasing the cost of goods and services. All of that is why the topic of the industrial park is a touchy one for many. 

What’s next for the economic committee? 

By a unanimous vote, supervisors on Monday agreed with the planning commission’s request. What happens now is the economic development committee will need to be rebuilt. Supervisors will come to their March meeting with names of residents in mind and recreate the group, giving it specific parameters of study and a deadline to finish the assignment.