Fredericksburg Planning Commission will continue its public hearing Wednesday on rezoning request for the Village of Idlewild.

By ELIZABETH WATERS
The Free Lance-Star

Date published: 9/9/2002

The proposed Village of Idlewild development has drawn both cheers and jeers from Fredericksburg residents.

Folks will have another chance to criticize, praise and question the 400-acre project at a public hearing Wednesday night.

Beginning at 7:30 p.m. in City Hall's council chambers, the Planning Commission will continue the hearing, which began at its Aug. 14 meeting.

The commission is not likely to make a recommendation at Wednesday's meeting on rezoning the land for the project.

Dogwood Development Group of Reston has requested that the zoning of the tract--which borders Interstate 95, Hazel Run and the U.S. 1 Bypass--be changed from residential to planned development residential and planned development commercial.

The PDR and PDC zoning classifications would allow the developer more freedom in housing types and commercial uses.

Dogwood President Ray Smith Jr. presented his vision for the project to a large crowd gathered for the Aug. 14 meeting.

The development, he said, would include a Victorian-style Main Street with shops, restaurants and offices; townhouses, single-family homes and villas built by Ryland Homes; and large stores, offices and possibly a hotel fronting the interstate.

Critics of the project have said they're concerned about the traffic it would create along the Bypass and State Route 3 and the strain its 800 homes would place on schools and city services.

Supporters of the proposed development like its "traditional town" feel--with pedestrian-friendly streets, alleys, detached garages and a village green.

Proponents also have lauded Dogwood's commitment to partially restore the 19th-century Idlewild mansion on the property and its promise to designate 175 acres for a public park.

The developer's proffers also include $1.6 million for city schools and $160,000 toward a regional trail system.

After the Planning Commission makes its recommendation on the rezoning, the final decision rests with the City Council.

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Date published: 9/9/2002