by Neil Richard
The Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors began their joint work session at 6:01pm on August 14th. The first point on the Agenda was to discuss the Comprehensive Plan update. Angela Foroughi of Bagby, Foroughi, and Goodpasture, the vendor contracted to do the update, began her presentation with some aerial images of the development that's occurred over the past few decades at the Route 3 and Route 301 intersection. Foroughi was assisted by Brett Cox in sharing the generalities involved in the update process and the reasoning behind it. Foroughi said that even though the Comprehensive Plan is required by state law to be updated every five years, it's also good for the community. She said that input will be gathered from staff, residents, and various agencies and will be compiled with existing and new data to create a rough draft. That rough draft will then be presented for feedback which will then be used to create a final draft. Foroughi said the public will be involved at several stages and the whole process should take about a year to complete. Cox said after the new Comprehensive Plan is adopted, the Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances would need to be reviewed and updated to reflect any changes.
And changes were clearly the desire of the Supervisors as they somewhat stunned the audience and Planning Commission by stating they were interested in removing the Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area from the Comprehensive Plan completely. Their reasoning was that with encroachment becoming a growing concern for the base in Dahlgren, any increased development could result in the base's closure. Though never mentioned by name, it was clear that some of the Board was familiar with the history of the Navy's lab in White Oak and the reasons for its closure. Ruby Brabo, Supervisor, also mentioned that during a previous round of BRAC (Base Realignment And Closure), Dahlgren was never mentioned because "it was so rural" and that the current commander recently said that increased development could raise Dahlgren on the BRAC list in the future.
Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, asked if the strategic plan of the Economic Development department could be included in the Comprehensive Plan update. Foroughi said yes, and that Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) for the school system and Service Authority would also need to be considered.
Heather Hall, Zoning Administrator, asked the Supervisors what they did envision for Dahlgren if they wanted to remove the Primary Settlement Area. The Supervisors said they wanted to look at a three mile buffer around the base where development was limited. Jeff Bueche, Supervisor, said that while he felt the base should be a partner, he also didn't want to be held hostage by them. Richard Granger, Supervisor, said they had a partnership and would continue to work together to meet the needs of everyone. John Jenkins, Supervisor, also mentioned that the new Route 301 bridge was coming which would mean more traffic. Brabo summed things up by saying that they've heard overwhelmingly from residents that they don't want King George, and Dahlgren specifically, to turn into another Waldorf or Stafford.
The next item on the Agenda was the Plat Approval Process. For those unfamiliar with how the process currently works, it was difficult to understand how a change would benefit anyone. The general impression was that once a preliminary plat is approved, the approval of the final plat is essentially the same process all over again. As there are rarely any changes between the preliminary plat and final plat, this creates an undue burden on the County staff, the developer, and the Board of Supervisors. By making the approval of the final plat only go through the Planning Commission, it sounded like it would require less work from all involved. All agreed that any changes would warrant additional approvals.
The Board of Supervisors adjourned at 6:45pm and the Planning Commission rearranged the room to prepare for their regularly scheduled 7pm meeting.
While the audience began with maybe 20 residents, it quickly grew to about 40 or 50 with only a handful of seats available. The Planning Commission approved their previous meeting's minutes then dove into the heart of the evening with the request by Darrell Hertenstein to rezone 122 acres in Dahlgren. In the staff presentation, Heather Hall noted various details about the request from the developer's proffers to the history of the property to comments from VDOT.
One key point of the presentation was that, by right, the owner could build 60 dwelling units on the 122 acres. He was asking to build those 60 units, but instead of 60 single family homes, he wanted 50 town homes and 10 single family homes with the rest of the property undeveloped. Another key point was that this type of clustering was outside of the Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area that was in the current Comprehensive Plan. Another point was that it deviated from the Potomac River North Settlement Area recommendation of one dwelling unit per one to five acres without utilities or eight units per acre with utilities. Hall concluded her report by saying that staff recommended denying the re-zoning request.
Public comment opened and what followed was a stream of at least fifteen residents speaking against the proposed development. Over ten residents spoke in person while several sent in comments to be read for the record. The Navy's liaison officer also spoke against re-zoning. After ever resident spoke in person, the audience applauded.
Ryan Foroughi of Bagby, Foroughi, and Goodpasture, then gave a rebuttal response to a few of the concerns voiced by the residents. He argued that Hertenstein can build 60 units by right and that's all he was asking to do with this re-zoning request. He said that it would not increase population density and therefore followed the Comprehensive Plan. When he said it would not increase traffic, the audience erupted with countless outcries against this. Foroughi also said that storm water management would improve the drainage in the area, thus reducing flooding. He said the developer would be happy to entertain an increased right-of-way for VDOT if that was requested. He also said pedestrian facilities would be provided and a woman from the audience shouted loudly, asking how far down Owens would it go. Kristofer Parker, Vice Chair, presided over the meeting and asked for respect from the audience.
Ryan Foroughi continued his rebuttal by saying the Service Authority had approved of the project. He mentioned the concern over a sign that said no HOAs was referencing the 10 single-family dwelling units. He said the town homes would have an HOW and covenants. He closed by saying that he would look into addressing the Navy's recommendation on decibel reduction needs in housing around military installations.
Several of the members of the Planning Commission gave comments, with all stating they wouldn't support the re-zoning request. A motion was made and seconded and passed unanimously to forward the request to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation to deny the request by Hertenstein to rezone the parcels in question.
After the crowd clapped, many of them left.
The meeting moved quickly after that taking only a few moments to review the plat for the next section of Hopyard Farms.
There was no Old Business, no New Business, and the Director's Report only mentioned the tentative date of September 4th for the next Public Hearing on the Mixed Use Development ordinances.
There were two residents who spoke during Public Comment, voicing their concern over the proposed gun range at the former Cameron Hills golf course. Both residents said they did not want to see their idyllic and quiet part of the county disturbed by constant gunfire from the gun ranges.
The meeting adjourned at 8:41pm.
Meeting Attendees:
John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Chairman, Board of Supervisors)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Kristofer Parker (Planning Commission)
Kevin Myers (Planning Commission)
Jason Williams (Planning Commission)
Doily Fulcher (Planning Commission)
Tara Patterson (Planning Commission)
Ross Devries (Planning Commission)
Gary Kendrick (Planning Commission)
Brad Hudson (Director of Community Development)
Heather Hall (Zoning Administrator)
Absent:
Josh Colwell (Chairman, Planning Commission)
Steve Wido (Planning Commission)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on August 21, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
The Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors began their joint work session at 6:01pm on August 14th. The first point on the Agenda was to discuss the Comprehensive Plan update. Angela Foroughi of Bagby, Foroughi, and Goodpasture, the vendor contracted to do the update, began her presentation with some aerial images of the development that's occurred over the past few decades at the Route 3 and Route 301 intersection. Foroughi was assisted by Brett Cox in sharing the generalities involved in the update process and the reasoning behind it. Foroughi said that even though the Comprehensive Plan is required by state law to be updated every five years, it's also good for the community. She said that input will be gathered from staff, residents, and various agencies and will be compiled with existing and new data to create a rough draft. That rough draft will then be presented for feedback which will then be used to create a final draft. Foroughi said the public will be involved at several stages and the whole process should take about a year to complete. Cox said after the new Comprehensive Plan is adopted, the Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances would need to be reviewed and updated to reflect any changes.
And changes were clearly the desire of the Supervisors as they somewhat stunned the audience and Planning Commission by stating they were interested in removing the Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area from the Comprehensive Plan completely. Their reasoning was that with encroachment becoming a growing concern for the base in Dahlgren, any increased development could result in the base's closure. Though never mentioned by name, it was clear that some of the Board was familiar with the history of the Navy's lab in White Oak and the reasons for its closure. Ruby Brabo, Supervisor, also mentioned that during a previous round of BRAC (Base Realignment And Closure), Dahlgren was never mentioned because "it was so rural" and that the current commander recently said that increased development could raise Dahlgren on the BRAC list in the future.
Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, asked if the strategic plan of the Economic Development department could be included in the Comprehensive Plan update. Foroughi said yes, and that Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) for the school system and Service Authority would also need to be considered.
Heather Hall, Zoning Administrator, asked the Supervisors what they did envision for Dahlgren if they wanted to remove the Primary Settlement Area. The Supervisors said they wanted to look at a three mile buffer around the base where development was limited. Jeff Bueche, Supervisor, said that while he felt the base should be a partner, he also didn't want to be held hostage by them. Richard Granger, Supervisor, said they had a partnership and would continue to work together to meet the needs of everyone. John Jenkins, Supervisor, also mentioned that the new Route 301 bridge was coming which would mean more traffic. Brabo summed things up by saying that they've heard overwhelmingly from residents that they don't want King George, and Dahlgren specifically, to turn into another Waldorf or Stafford.
The next item on the Agenda was the Plat Approval Process. For those unfamiliar with how the process currently works, it was difficult to understand how a change would benefit anyone. The general impression was that once a preliminary plat is approved, the approval of the final plat is essentially the same process all over again. As there are rarely any changes between the preliminary plat and final plat, this creates an undue burden on the County staff, the developer, and the Board of Supervisors. By making the approval of the final plat only go through the Planning Commission, it sounded like it would require less work from all involved. All agreed that any changes would warrant additional approvals.
The Board of Supervisors adjourned at 6:45pm and the Planning Commission rearranged the room to prepare for their regularly scheduled 7pm meeting.
While the audience began with maybe 20 residents, it quickly grew to about 40 or 50 with only a handful of seats available. The Planning Commission approved their previous meeting's minutes then dove into the heart of the evening with the request by Darrell Hertenstein to rezone 122 acres in Dahlgren. In the staff presentation, Heather Hall noted various details about the request from the developer's proffers to the history of the property to comments from VDOT.
One key point of the presentation was that, by right, the owner could build 60 dwelling units on the 122 acres. He was asking to build those 60 units, but instead of 60 single family homes, he wanted 50 town homes and 10 single family homes with the rest of the property undeveloped. Another key point was that this type of clustering was outside of the Dahlgren Primary Settlement Area that was in the current Comprehensive Plan. Another point was that it deviated from the Potomac River North Settlement Area recommendation of one dwelling unit per one to five acres without utilities or eight units per acre with utilities. Hall concluded her report by saying that staff recommended denying the re-zoning request.
Public comment opened and what followed was a stream of at least fifteen residents speaking against the proposed development. Over ten residents spoke in person while several sent in comments to be read for the record. The Navy's liaison officer also spoke against re-zoning. After ever resident spoke in person, the audience applauded.
Ryan Foroughi of Bagby, Foroughi, and Goodpasture, then gave a rebuttal response to a few of the concerns voiced by the residents. He argued that Hertenstein can build 60 units by right and that's all he was asking to do with this re-zoning request. He said that it would not increase population density and therefore followed the Comprehensive Plan. When he said it would not increase traffic, the audience erupted with countless outcries against this. Foroughi also said that storm water management would improve the drainage in the area, thus reducing flooding. He said the developer would be happy to entertain an increased right-of-way for VDOT if that was requested. He also said pedestrian facilities would be provided and a woman from the audience shouted loudly, asking how far down Owens would it go. Kristofer Parker, Vice Chair, presided over the meeting and asked for respect from the audience.
Ryan Foroughi continued his rebuttal by saying the Service Authority had approved of the project. He mentioned the concern over a sign that said no HOAs was referencing the 10 single-family dwelling units. He said the town homes would have an HOW and covenants. He closed by saying that he would look into addressing the Navy's recommendation on decibel reduction needs in housing around military installations.
Several of the members of the Planning Commission gave comments, with all stating they wouldn't support the re-zoning request. A motion was made and seconded and passed unanimously to forward the request to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation to deny the request by Hertenstein to rezone the parcels in question.
After the crowd clapped, many of them left.
The meeting moved quickly after that taking only a few moments to review the plat for the next section of Hopyard Farms.
There was no Old Business, no New Business, and the Director's Report only mentioned the tentative date of September 4th for the next Public Hearing on the Mixed Use Development ordinances.
There were two residents who spoke during Public Comment, voicing their concern over the proposed gun range at the former Cameron Hills golf course. Both residents said they did not want to see their idyllic and quiet part of the county disturbed by constant gunfire from the gun ranges.
The meeting adjourned at 8:41pm.
Meeting Attendees:
John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Chairman, Board of Supervisors)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Kristofer Parker (Planning Commission)
Kevin Myers (Planning Commission)
Jason Williams (Planning Commission)
Doily Fulcher (Planning Commission)
Tara Patterson (Planning Commission)
Ross Devries (Planning Commission)
Gary Kendrick (Planning Commission)
Brad Hudson (Director of Community Development)
Heather Hall (Zoning Administrator)
Absent:
Josh Colwell (Chairman, Planning Commission)
Steve Wido (Planning Commission)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on August 21, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
One big factor other than encroachment for BRACC Consideration is the charge rate a base charges for using their personnel/facilities. A charge rate is the cost per employee that is calculated for an employee at that base doing work basically the overhead costs are spread to all employees who are chargeable (meaning their cost for doing business). So, this is a big factor in what base it is the most cost-effective for a contractor or another program when they are doing their time budgeting for any project... every hour is accounted for and charged to a program. High overhead costs lead to work moving to other bases or contractors. It's an accounting issue. Dahlgren is not the highest charge rate in the area but security is also an issue.
ReplyDeleteThe community should know that there are hidden financial benefits the government doles out to localities that support roads schools and other local infrastructure. I am not always saying Dahlgren is right, but there has to be a good working relationship between the base and the locality if not, they will close the base.
As far as they base and the DOD is concerned for BRACC, mainly it's a security. issue. After 9/11 new security guidelines were put into effect for all government facilities including barrier zones designed to funnel people coming on and off bases to better control security and also to have a "safe zone" to protect against explosives being hidden in cars near the perimeter or prevent active shooter situations and to keep loss of life to a minimum. There have been several active shooter situations at NRL near Blue Plains and more recently several suspicous packages mailed to bases including Dahlgren.