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County approves 210 new Haymarket houses
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted 7-1 on Tuesday to allow developers to build 210 more houses south of the Town of Haymarket.
Despite objections from the Haymarket Town Council and the Prince William Planning Commission about a lack of available infrastructure to support the developments, the board sided with the county Planning Committee staff in approving rezoning applications from developer JCE Inc. and the University of Virginia so they can construct 150 single-family houses in the University of Virginia Foundation property and 60 houses at the Haymarket Landing subdivision.
“...You have to go up to the Toll Brothers site for a comparable proffer,” said supervisor Wally Covington (R-Brentsville), stating one of the main reasons he and a majority of the board supported the deal.
As part of the proffer package, the developers will be constructing an elementary school and a $3.3 million four-lane highway south of the Town of Haymarket that connects to U.S. 15.
A 9.2 acre lot of open space will also be made available in Haymarket Landing and the University of Virginia stands to make upward of $10 million from the UVA Foundation deal.
Part of the cash deal calls for money to go to fire stations, police departments and libraries.
“Clearly, there's a huge benefit to this development,” commented supervisor Frank Principi (D-Woodbridge).
Chairman Corey Stewart (R-At Large) said he based his support for the developments largely on the developer opting out of buildings new condominiums in Somerset Crossing to the southeast and instead building an identical number of single-family houses at Haymarket Landing instead.
One of the applican'ts speakers apologized for calling the concept a “transfer,” a concept which has not been approved for developers to utilize by the Board of County Supervisors.
Later, during citizens' time, former Haymarket council member Bob Weir disputed the denial.
“If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck... it's a density transfer,” he said.
Stewart said he had asked county attorney Ross Horton about the transfer question though he was still unsure whether the move fits those guidelines.
“I don't know,” Stewart said, bluntly.
Principi noted the 40 single-family houses would be worth between $700-800,000 and would not be competing with $350,000 already on the market.
The Web site Homefinders.com listed the average price of a single-family, detached house in Haymarket as $637,370 as of the third quarter, 2007.
Condominiums are designed for dense-area housing and marketed to lower-income buyers, who do not pay as much to purchase them.
“...You produce very little property tax with them,” said Stewart, later adding that since those structures require as many county services as large homes, “it amounts to a tax increase every time you approve a condominium unit.”
Only supervisor John Stirrup (R-Gainesville) dissented when the votes were cast.
“We still have a significant infrastructure deficit in the western part of the county,” said Stirrup.
The Planning Commission and Haymarket Town Council both took issue with the nearby Gainesville fire station being over capacity already and that the approved Antioch Road fire station has not been built yet.
Problems commonly associated with the development center around increased traffic, environmental damage and more overcrowding at Battlefield High School.
Given poor sales and subsequent poor tax receipts coming in from the housing sector, Stirrup said it is “a good question of basic economics” as to why the county would want to allow more houses to be constructed when the market is already saturated.
Stirrup also took issue with the density-transfer debate.
“I still can't grasp how it's not a transfer,” he said, pinning his confusion on the county Planning staff. “I really remain unconvinced that it's not a transfer of development right.”
Those who attended a town hall meeting in Haymarket Jan. 10 that featured Stirrup and Stewart may have been surprised to find out Stewart voted in favor of the developments.
At the time, the chairman called the county “overbuilt” and said “the worst thing the county can do at this point” is approve more residential units.
“We need more commercial development, period,” Stewart said at the time.
He campaigned heavily on a control-growth platform during his runs for chairman in 2006 and 2007 and was endorsed by the group Voters to Stop Sprawl (PWC).
Stewart stressed the need for adequate open space with developments although these two developments are set to be built in non-populated acreage along Haymarket Drive that will require construction over open, wooded space.
“I mean, we can't stop all development,” Stewart said after the board voted. “But when a parcel does come that preserves an extraordinary amount of open space and is not only building a road but is adding a school site, you know, it's difficult to say no to that.”
Though Stewart said he was not fond of adding more houses to the market, he mentioned that he was assured the Haymarket Landing and UVA Foundation properties will not come around for “a long period of time.”
No one mentioned how long that time will be during the public hearing but Principi said it could be five years.
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