A Master Plan for Courthouse Village - College of Humanities and ...

Environmental Factors
The following is a break-down of those environmental features present, which
pose a concern with regard to development within the Courthouse Village and act
to restrict the amount of developable land remaining in the Village. These
features include river and stream corridors, wetlands and other flood-prone
areas, physiographic relief (slope grade of the land, drainage), and soil suitability,
among others. Map 7 depicts these features.
River and Stream Corridors
Aside from the James River, which forms the southwestern boundary of the
Village, Courthouse Creek is the only other relatively major water body that runs
in a north-south direction through the eastern portion of the Village. Little Creek,
located on the western side of the Village, empties into the James and acts as a
border south of River Road West. Cheney’s Creek forms a border in the
northwestern portion of the Village.
Flood prone Lands
Flood prone lands are lands for which there is at least fifty percent expectancy for
annual flooding to occur. Although broken up into various zones, development is
to be forbidden on all floodplains. The majority of these areas are along the
James River, and most of this land is, therefore, undevelopable. There are also
flood prone lands along most of the major creeks, such as Courthouse Creek.
Physiographic Relief
In the 2023 Comprehensive Plan, steep slope is defined as being greater than
twenty-five percent and development should not occur in areas with this slope
grade or higher. Development should be questioned for areas of moderate
slope, which is defined as being in the range between fifteen and twenty-five
percent, due to the added cost of development to ensure that the integrity of the
site is maintained (Goochland, 2003).
Soil Suitability Profile
The soils in the County are predominately deep, well drained with a subsoil of
clay or clay loam. These soils are suited for agricultural and forest uses, but have
limited development application due to slow percolation. Potential development
sites must have an analysis of soil conditions to determine the physical carrying
capacity of the land. These considerations will eventually extend into areas of
community facilities, public investment and public services which might appear to
be far removed from traditional land use planning concepts. Soil characteristics
are perhaps one of the most important considerations in determining the
capability of the land to support development (Goochland, 2003).
A Master Plan for Courthouse Village Page 42 of 96
Spring, 2006
Goochland County