Nottoway Supervisors to meet with Planning Commission on Comprehensive Plan tonight
A closer look at one of the 24 localities in Virginia's Fifth Congressional District
Nottoway County had a population count of 15,642 in the 2020 U.S. Census, a figure that is expected to decline through 2050 if projections from the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia comes true. How will the county prepare for this future?
Tonight, the Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission will hold a joint public hearing on a draft of a new Comprehensive Plan that recognizes that things will change in Nottoway. (view the draft)
“Nottoway County faces its own unique set of challenges, given its proximity to Richmond and Petersburg metropolitan areas and the recent opening of a training center for U.S. diplomatic personnel at Fort Pickett near the Town of Blackstone,” reads the introduction to the plan.
Fort Pickett will soon become Fort Barfoot. The plan notes that this new use is creating demand for more housing and lodging. The base has also recently been used to house refugees from Afghanistan.
The Commonwealth Regional Council helped Nottoway County staff with the updated plan. That included a community meeting on July 20, 2021 attended by a dozen people. Over a hundred and fifty people completed a survey. A working committee met sixteen times.
The name Nottoway comes from the Nadowa tribe from the Iroquois Nation that was anglicized by colonial settlers who began to populate the area by the early 18th century. The county was originally part of Amelia but became its own jurisdiction in 1788. The economy has largely been agricultural but several institutional entities such as the military base have been a driver since the mid 20th century.
Population has remained relatively steady since 1960 as is the case in Amelia County and Lunenburg County. Dinwiddie and Prince Edward, however, have seen a population boom in the past 20 years. The draft acknowledges the likelihood of continued decline with deaths outweighing births couple with low migration to the county.
The top employers in Nottoway are the Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation, the Nottoway Correctional Center, and the Piedmont Geriatric Hospital. Two major U.S. highways travel through the county, though there is no interstate.
“During the mapping exercise portion of the Community Meeting held in July 2021, participants denoted the area between Burkeville and Crewe as a desired area for future growth,” reads page 90 of the plan. “During the Citizen Survey process, one consensus that emerged was the desire to keep Nottoway County rural and agricultural / open spaces preserved.”
The plan notes that the presence of Fort Pickett / Fort Barfoot limits development and that a Joint Land Use Study for the Army National Guard Maneuver Training Center warned against incompatible uses on private land.
Another issue in Nottoway is the presence of three towns, each of which have their own Comprehensive Plans and zoning.
“Nottoway County should look into increased coordination and cooperation with its three towns in the areas of growth management and development issues,” reads page 91 of the plan.
Like many parts of southside Virginia, Nottoway County has several large tracts of land that are desirable for utility scale solar facilities. The plan notes work is underway to establish rules of expectation.
“The County should develop reasonable conditions for the development of renewable energy facilities that would protect the rural character of surrounding properties but not limit development,” the plan continues.
The plan also recommends the consideration of a ground water protection district and a land development ordinance. There is also a call to review the zoning ordinance to determine if there are any “unnecessary restrictions” to development of new housing.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. You can watch the meeting live on YouTube.