Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Board OKs Silver Lake development
The question of whether to donate the lakefront property to the Bull Run Mountains Conservancy was discussed, but that decision will be made at a later date.The approval of the Dominion Valley rezoning case will allow Toll Brothers to build 420 more homes in the Haymarket community. In addition, the developer will get to change a previous plan, swapping already-approved general-use homes for 595 additional age-restricted homes.
In exchange, the developer offered the county a hefty schools and recreation package. Toll Brothers has proffered an elementary school site and a middle school site, plus Silver Lake, a soccer complex at Long Park, completion of the ball fields at Sudley Park, a soccer field on one of the school sites and a football practice field for Battlefield High School.
While the majority of those who have spoken out previously have favored the deal, there were a few hitches in the proposal last month when the supervisors first considered the issue.
The biggest complaint from opponents centered around the lake.
Until it closed last year, Silver Lake was part of Mountain View Campground. Toll Brothers now owns the property and last month, said it plans to build nine houses on one half of the lake while donating the lake itself and the property on the other side to the Park Authority.
But area residents said they wanted Toll Brothers to give up its plan to build homes on the lake and instead donate that entire parcel to the county.
Faced with the failure of the entire proposal, supervisors decided last month to put off a vote in order to continue negotiations with Toll Brothers. Those negotiations paid off on Tuesday when the developer returned to the table with a sweeter deal.
Under the agreement that was approved Tuesday night, Toll Brothers will give up its plan to build homes on the lake and will instead give the county the entire lakefront property - more than 300 acres.
The developer has also agreed to make additional improvements to U.S. 15 and has agreed to speed up its timeline on already-planned improvements so that road work will be finished before the new homes are built.
Those changes to the proposal turned many opponents into supporters.
\"It's an incredibly good program,\" said Tim Horn, of Nokesville, joining in the general praise of Toll Brothers.
In all, 29 people spoke out on Tuesday and of them, 27 supported the developer. One voiced concern about Route 15 road work and one, Haymarket Councilman Bob Weir, said he opposed the entire plan.
Railing against what he called the \"unabashed shilling\" and \"outright grandstanding\" of supporters, Weir criticized county officials for failing to adequately plan for growth. That failure, he said, has left them without the schools and recreational facilities needed for a growing population. In order to obtain from developers the proffers needed for schools and parks, supervisors then have to approve even more homes, which only adds to the problem.
\"It seems to be a general theme with the county,\" Weir said.
But the rest of the speakers sang the praises of Toll Brothers and Gainesville Supervisor John Stirrup, who has been working on the project with the community and the developer for more than a year.
Mike Lubely, the Toll Brothers representative, said work will begin almost immediately on improvements to U.S. 15.
No decision yet on plan to donate lake to Bull Run Mountains Conservancy
By Tara Slate Donaldson
tdonaldson@timespapers.com
Tuesday night's unanimous approval of the Silver Lake development at Dominion Valley did not resolve one of the burning issues for many residents.
While community support for the development was overwhelming, opinions were divided on whether the county should donate 233 acres of lakefront property to the Bull Run Mountains Conservancy and the board did not act Tuesday on that proposal.
Last week, the county announced that officials have been working on a deal with Toll Brothers and the Conservancy. The plan called for Toll Brothers to donate the lake and all of the property surrounding it to the county. The county would use about 40 acres of that land for a middle school and another 45 for the Rainbow Center, a therapeutic equestrian group. The rest - about 233 acres - would be donated to the Bull Run Mountains Conservancy, which would agree to open the property up to the public within a year.
That idea, which surfaced only days before Tuesday's public hearing, raised far more controversy than the development itself.
Some of the concern in recent days has centered around the 800 acres already managed by the Conservancy. The use on that property is restricted so that while the site is open to the public, only hiking, jogging and natural research are allowed.
Some residents have expressed fear that the Conservancy would place similar restrictions on the lake, which citizens say they want open for camping, fishing, swimming and horseback riding.
Michael Kieffer, executive director of the Bull Run Mountains Conservancy, tried to allay those fears on Tuesday night. The restrictions on the mountain are not put in place by the Conservancy but by the state, he said, explaining that the mountain is a state preserve that is only managed by the Conservancy. No such state law would exist at Silver Lake.
\"We like the idea of horse trails and connecting to the Long Park system,\" he said.
The reason the Conservancy wants the property is that there is another piece of privately owned land - about 268 acres - behind it. That property owner has agreed to donate the site to the Conservancy if the Conservancy also gets the 233 acre Silver Lake parcel. But the Conservancy must own the Silver Lake property outright - it can't simply lease the land from the county.
If the Conservancy does get Silver Lake and the adjoining property, it would own more than 500 acres of contiguous green space, in addition to the 800 acres it already manages just a half-mile away.
But some residents don't like the idea of giving public land to a private organization, especially one chosen by supervisors in secret negotiations.
\"It lacks transparency and makes a mockery of public process,\" said Gainesville Planning Commissioner Martha Hendley, speaking as a private citizen at the public hearing on Tuesday.
She and others said that if the county wants to give away property to a nonprofit organization, all nonprofit groups should have a chance to compete for the land.
Members of the Nokesville Horse Society are also concerned. They're worried that the Conservancy won't allow them to ride on the trails in the new park.
\"We feel we should open the parks to every user group,\" said member Jeff Shoup.
But most who opposed the Conservancy deal said they want the site to be given to the county Park Authority so that it would remain public property.
The problem is that the Park Authority doesn't really want it.
Jay Ellington, executive director of the Park Authority, said Tuesday that they already own more than 300 acres in the county that they can't develop for lack of funds.
Developers often donate land, he said, but there isn't enough money to turn the vacant lots into usable parks. It takes millions of dollars to build parking lots and access roads, install lighting, construct ballfields and hire the employees needed to keep the park running. Under state law, money donated by the developers can be used for the initial costs of construction, but not for ongoing maintenance or personnel.
And since the Park Authority hadn't planned on getting a new park in Haymarket, it hasn't budgeted the money to open or run it. That means it would be years before the new park could open.
\"To get it open sooner ... we will have to rely on a partnership to do that,\" Ellington said.
He was backed by six members of the Park Authority Board of Directors, who showed up to support the Conservancy deal.
If the plan is approved, they said, the park will be open to the public in one year without any taxpayer funds. A county-owned park could take more than a decade and would require millions of dollars to open and operate.
Many citizens also supported the arrangement. Pam Epler, who has been at the forefront of the Save Silver Lake movement, called the plan \"one of the best ideas I've heard.
\"You're letting the people who know the area best take care of it,\" she said. \"It's a win-win situation.\"
Tuesday's approval of the Dominion Valley development doesn't end the debate. In approving Toll Brothers' rezoning request, the county takes possession of the Silver Lake property with the understanding that it will either give the land to the Park Authority or will instead donate it to a nonprofit organization.
The proffer statement specifically names the Conservancy and the Nokesville Horse Society as two potential organizations, but it doesn't require the property to be donated at all or preclude the possibility that it could be donated to another group instead.
That decision will be made at a later date. It is unclear whether the supervisors will agree to the Conservancy deal or not. Chairman Sean Connaughton (R) helped negotiate the Conservancy deal and supports it. However, Gainesville Supervisor John Stirrup (R) said he isn't convinced it's a good idea and will be closely monitoring the coming negotiations between the county and the Conservancy.
You must be logged in to post a comment.