In the midst of ongoing talks to revise Henry County’s comprehensive plan, housing has emerged as a significant point of concern among officials.
Henry County supervisors and members of the planning commission agreed that housing is a top priority during a recent joint meeting that was meant to start the process of drawing up a new comprehensive plan.
“We really wanted to take this opportunity to hear the planning issues … from your perspective,” said Kate Jones of the Berkley Group, the firm hired to help the county establish a new comprehensive plan.
Virginia counties are required to maintain a comprehensive plan, which serves as a sort of living document detailing short- and long-term goals. It also identifies specific steps that can be taken to achieve some of the goals.
“I like to think of a comprehensive plan as a community’s roadmap to their future,” Jones said. “It’s a document that sets the initiative.”
While it’s common to update plans every few years, Henry County’s current comprehensive plan dates to 1994. An updated plan would take new factors into account, like the ongoing effort to keep up with the demand for housing and other issues that might not have been prioritized in the current plan.
“We do have some issues,” said Supervisor Garrett Dillard. “I think we also have to look at, when we move forward, what can we do to combat the drug problem, the poverty problem, the housing issue that we have. Otherwise, when we come back in five or seven years, we will still have those issues but probably worse.”
Housing availability has emerged as a point of concern in Henry County. Even with a number of residential projects in the works and nearing completion, there are concerns that efforts to course-correct might not be enough. The county currently has no minimum goal for new housing.
“In my opinion, we need more affordable homes here in this area,” said Harold Thomas, director of the Martinsville branch of the Center for Housing Education, an organization that helps low-income residents find housing.
Thomas said that in his experience, new housing construction won’t make a significant impact if it isn’t affordable. He maintains that the biggest need is among the county’s most vulnerable.
“I find that the people that we serve can’t afford the market rate for rent,” Thomas said.
Dillard agreed, saying there needs to be a balance between workers relocating to the county and the affordability of homes.
“Those things have to work together,” Dillard said. “All these things have to come together if we are going to build new houses, we have to have a situation where people can afford to buy these houses. It’s all tied together.”
In Henry County, rent ranges from $400 to $1,400 per month, according to a community-wide study from 2022. In Martinsville, the range is $550 to $1,650.
County Supervisor Travis Pruitt said that a cost-benefit analysis might not support building new housing in areas like Henry County that are losing population. The most recent census shows Henry County has experienced an annual population decline of 0.7%, for a total drop of 4,196 between 2010 and 2022.
“We have few who think it’s in their financial interest to invest in flattening a piece of land, putting in pipes and gutters and building houses,” Pruitt said about smaller developers, adding that larger developers are more inclined to take their business to more densely populated areas.
The comprehensive plan process will unfold over the next year. County officials and the Berkley Group plan to continue to meet with supervisors as well as gather information from the public through community meetings and focus groups.
