PW Board sets development changes in motion
By Tara Donaldson
Changes may be coming to the western Prince William landscape. Last week, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors agreed to allow developers and landowners to start work on altering some key properties in the western part of the county.On March 17, the supervisors considered 19 amendments to the Comprehensive Plan, which lays out long-range land use plans for the county. The board members voted to initiate several of the changes, thus allowing developers and landowners to move forward with their requests. The supervisors will still have the option to turn down those requests at a later date.
The first projects initiated are proposals for the Bristow area. The Bristow/Broad Run and the Youth For Tomorrow projects are both located at the intersection of Nokesville and Linton Hall roads. If approved, the Bristow/Broad Run proposal would allow for a mixed-use area on the south side of Nokesville Road with housing, office and retail space. The property is currently designated for office and light industrial use.
Brentsville Supervisor Wally Covington supported initiation of the plan but warned the developer that he foresees the final proposal to be “more of a combination of office and retail than I do any sort of density in housing.”
On the north side of Nokesville Road near the Youth For Tomorrow campus, the plan is to allow for a general commercial use, which could include a “reasonably-sized” shopping center, according to staff documents.
The Glen-Gery property is currently a mining operation in between the Prince William Parkway and Godwin Drive just outside Manassas. Long-range planning chief Ray Utz told supervisors an industrial park will likely be built on the property if the plan is ultimately approved. Covington supported initiation of the proposal, which is he said is noncontroversial and will improve economic development in the area. The other board members unanimously agreed.
Hunter at Haymarket is a more controversial proposal. The site is located along the James Madison Highway, partially within the Town of Haymarket, and the Town Council is opposed to the project. If approved, Hunter at Haymarket would change 16 acres from a semi-rural residential designation to a community employment center designation. The residential designation allows one home on every 2.5 acres while the CEC designation calls for 6-12 homes per acre on up to 25 percent of the property. The rest of the property would be office space and other commercial uses.
Utz said the county staff opposes initiation of the development, mainly because a citizens' committee planned out the site's use several years ago as part of the Gainesville Sector Plan.
“There's already been a planning process,” he said. “This area has been clearly established to be semi-rural residential.”
Chairman Corey Stewart (R), however, pointed out that the county needs more business in the area.
“Here we have a chance to get some more office space and commercial,” he said. “It's a good economic development opportunity for the county.”
Only Gainesville Supervisor John Stirrup (R) voted against initiation.
The James Madison Business Park would also change property from semi-rural residential to community employment center. The parcel is located at the intersection of James Madison Highway and Lee Highway, also inside the Gainesville Sector Plan area.
The change would result in more retail and office space but according to the staff report, it is not yet known how much of the development would be the more desirable office space and how much would be the less desirable retail. However, Utz said the developer has asked for an adult retirement community on the property.
Occoquan Supervisor Mike May (R) and Woodbridge Supervisor Frank Principi (D) opposed the initiation; the other six supervisors approved it.
The third community employment center project is the Lake Manassas CEC plan. The property is located on U.S. 29 near Old Carolina Road, directly across from the Wegman's grocery store. Utz said the county staff suggested turning down the project because there is already a number of similar properties in the area.
“This would lead to a perception of kind of a strip commercial corridor along 29, which may detract from the overall look of the corridor,” he said.
Supervisors, however, agreed to initiate the project. May, Principi and Dumfries Supervisor Maureen Caddigan (R) opposed it.
The board also agreed to initiate changes to a 18-acre parcel located at the intersection of the Prince William Parkway and Dumfries Road. The land is currently designated for agricultural use but it is located inside the county's development area so Covington said changing it over for mixed use is “a common sense thing.” Only Stirrup disagreed.
A plan to change 17 acres outside Haymarket from residential to mixed use also won preliminary approval. The property is located at the intersection of Heathcote Boulevard and Old Carolina Road. A staff report indicates that a mixed-use commercial development there could generate at least 5,000 vehicle trips per day, “which will likely present capacity issues.”
The supervisors unanimously backed the plan, which Stirrup said could be a good opportunity to bring in more medical offices to the area.
“I think this is an opportunity for employment at an intersection that's undergoing significant upgrades,” he said.
The final western Prince William plan to be initiated is the Portsmouth Station project, which is located between Sudley Road and Lomond Drive, near Williamson Boulevard. Utz said the mixed-use concept for the property is a “center of community” plan and the supervisors unanimously agreed to initiate it.
A number of proposals were also rejected, including a request to replan a parcel across from Stonewall Jackson High School to allow for 347 more homes. They also rejected the Classic Lakes plan, which sought to allow residential development on a 217-acre parcel in the Rural Crescent.
The projects that were initiated will now go through an extensive planning process. Later in the year, the county's Planning Commission will hold separate public hearings on each of the proposals and will make recommendations to the Board of County Supervisors. The board will then hold another public hearing on each request before deciding whether to grant final approval.