NEWS: Developer Blows Dust off Long Dormant Project
Revised plan envisions 198 single-family homes in Williamsburg
Developers have filed a request with the City of Williamsburg to move forward with a project that’s been on hold for nearly 20 years. According to City planning documents, back in 2005 the City Council approved a preliminary plan to develop 75 acres off Quarterpath Road, near Riverside Doctors’ Hospital. The approval would have allowed a total of 470 housing units, including a mix of single family homes, townhomes and condominiums. The project never moved forward at the time and the land has sat undeveloped since. Now, a revised plan submitted by developer D.R. Horton limits the project’s scope to 198 single family homes in a community they’ve dubbed “Redoubt Ridge @ Quarterpath.”
The change needs to be reviewed by the City again before proceeding, according to the project summary written by the City’s Director of Planning, Tevya Griffin. She recommends that the Planning Commission decide if the changes should be deemed major or minor. If determined to be major, the development’s preliminary plan would need to be amended and reviewed by the City Council. Designating the changes as minor would allow the project to move forward with site planning and review.
According to the City, the property is “situated east of Quarterpath Road and north of Tutter’s Neck Pond. This area has long been promoted as an area for development. Yet, a review of public information still led to difficulty determining how much development has already been approved by the City in the area, or how many additional developoment requests may come in the future. Efforts to tranform that part of town have been led by Riverside Health System, who purchased approximately 380 acres from Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in 2018.
The Foundation’s President at the time, Colin Campbell, said the land was orginially acquired in “1953 and 1960 at a time when Foundation officials believed it wise to purchase nearby land to protect the city's history and unique aesthetic qualities.” Apparently, that’s no longer the Foundation’s belief, as among the known projects its leadership has recently sought or considered include turning the Spotswood golf course into housing, developing the large P6 parking lot near Merchant’s Square, building a massive mixed-use development on their land near the site of its visitor center and the new sports complex (which is also being built on their land) as well as working with City officials to turn pasture land they own near downtown into a children’s splash park.
While Griffin asserted in the letter that she had the right to rule and make the decision herself, because of ambiguity in how the project could be evaluated, she wrote that “it is wise to seek additional opinions, therefore the Planning Commission is being asked to consider the matter.” The criteria for determining whether the changes should be deemed major or minor were detailed in Griffin’s letter:
Does not change the general character of the approved preliminary plan.
Does not adversely affect the development or use of adjacent properties and surrounding neighborhoods.
Does not increase the approved number of lots.
Does not result in any substantial change to major external access points.
In her summary, Griffin recommends that the Planning Commission designate the proposed changes as minor. “[S]ince both plans are residential and the new plan results in a less dense subdivision with the same road system and a reduced traffic impact, the changes are positive and consistent in character. Therefore, the proposed development plan should be considered minor and allowed to proceed through the site plan review process,” she advised.
The developer’s plans describe the project as a “by-right subdivision,” so it’s unclear what the City Council might ultimately need to approve depending on the decision by the Planning Commission. By-right development exerts that if a project conforms to current zoning standards, approval is not discretionary. Currently, the parcel is zoned RS-2 Single-Family Dwelling District (Conditional). Details about density and what conditions that might be imposed were not provided in the City’s summary.
D.R. Horton bills itself as “America’s Largest Homebuilder” and claims on its website that they’ve built more homes than any other builder since 2002. They have several projects in the region that are currently selling homes, including communities called Country Club Villas and Liberty Ridge.
The Williamsburg Planning Commission will consider the issue at its meeting on Wednesday, March 19 at 3:30pm in the Stryker Center, 412 N. Boundary St.
George Arbogust is Founder and Editor of the Williamsburg Independent. Consider buying him a cup of coffee.