Occoquan Asks Local Residents to Speak Out Against Oaks III

The following note was distributed at the Town Council meeting on Tuesday, January 3. It is reprinted in its entirety:

On Tuesday, January 10, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors is scheduled to vote on a rezoning request that would allow a commercial development known as Oaks III on Tanyard Hill Road near Tanyard Hill’s intersection with Old Bridge Road. As those of you who receive the Mayor’s e-newsletters already know, the town has opposed this rezoning request since becoming aware of it last spring. In fact, in April, the town council passed a formal resolution opposing the rezoning (the “Town Council Oaks III Resolution” may be viewed at www.occoquan.org).

Three major reasons the town opposes the rezoning request include:

(1) Despite the representations by the developer to the contrary, we believe that the development will exacerbate the storm water management issues associated with the Balleywhack Creek watershed. It is the creek that dramatically flooded the town last fall with storm water from the developer’s prior projects in the area

(2) The only exit from the development will be on Tanyard Hill Road. While the county is allowing access to the parcel from Old Bridge Road, the only exit it will allow is via Tanyard Hill. We believe this will increase the already excessive cut-through traffic in town.

(3) The development will destroy part of the natural view shed that the town and other developers have attempted to preserve on Tanyard Hill Road.

There are also a number of other items worth mentioning.

• In contrast to every other nearby developer, the developer making this rezoning request neither notified nor attempted to consult with the town before submitting his plans to the county and appearing before the County Planning Commission.
• The current owner of this property received it as a donation, and for some time could have sold the property profitably under its current, less intensive, zoning status. Instead, that property owner has been holding the property in the hope of getting a Board of County Supervisors favorable to a rezoning that would yield even higher profits. The developer originally wanted only a portion of the property to secure some additional parking spaces for his adjoining office complex; the property owner, however, has refused to sell only that portion.
• At greater cost, the developer could exit the property via his adjoining commercial development, rather than Tanyard Hill Road.
• The developer is representing that he will put a substantial part of the property in a conservation easement, but to our knowledge has been unable to find an organization willing to administer the conservation easement, which would leave it to an already overburdened county staff to monitor for violations.
• With the encouragement of the developer the town has made two offers on the property. These offers would have provided the developer with the parking spaces he desires for his adjoining office complex as well as with a state tax credit, a federal tax deduction, and a cash payment, which together we understand would match or nearly match the purchase price of the property, while preserving the entire parcel as parkland. The week before Christmas the developer rejected the town’s second offer.

Occoquan Supervisor Mike May has been a steadfast ally of the town on this issue. It was, in fact, his office that alerted us to the rezoning request and that worked tirelessly with us in attempting to put together a package that would preserve the parcel under a conservation easement and/or parkland. Current Board of County Supervisor Corey Stewart, when serving as Occoquan Supervisor, vigorously opposed the rezoning and development of this parcel. His vote now, however, is in doubt.

The vote on this rezoning request was earlier scheduled for October. After the severe flooding the town experienced shortly before the vote, however, we believe the developer was amenable to deferring the vote until January in the hopes that the flooding would fade from memory, electoral pressure on the County Supervisors would have eased with the conclusion of November elections, and that it would be difficult to muster community opposition so soon after the holidays. Please try to attend the Board of County Supervisors meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 10, at the McCoart Administration Building, to speak out against the rezoning request. We understand that this is likely to be a very close vote and could hinge upon the number of individuals who appear in opposition. Please also consider sending a respectful letter of opposition addressed to Chairman Corey Stewart at Chairman’s Office, 1 County Court Complex, Prince William, Virginia, 22192. You may also express your opposition to the rezoning request by sending an email to Chairman Stewart and to all the members of the Board of County Supervisors. Their email addresses are as follows:

Chairman Corey Stewart – cstewart@pwcgov.org

John Jenkins - jjenkins@pwcgov.org

Wally Covington - wcovington@pwcgov.org

Mike May - mcmay@pwcgov.org

Martin E. Nohe - mnohe@pwcgov.org

Maureen Caddigan - mcaddigan@pwcgov.org

Peter Candland - pcandland@pwcgov.org

Frank Principi - fprincipi@pwcgov.org

This has the potential to be a very important vote for the town’s future. Thank you in advance for your participation.