New 'town' would spawn ugly imitators elsewhere

Date published: 10/3/2002

Aside from not wanting Spotsylvania to become Northern Virginia, and having a warm spot for preserving our nation's history, I think it is obvious that there are many reasons why the proposed Chancellorsville development is a bad idea for that part of the county and should be rejected.

Somehow I had the naïve idea that the government of Spotsylvania County was supposed to serve the current citizens of the county--not a developer who doesn't live here, or people he would lure here.

No big residential development has ever done any favors for county residents. What happened to the county policy of "no commercial development west of Five-Mile Fork," which was followed until a supervisor redefined that landmark as being west of his property? What happened to the River Protection Zone?

I guess I am also confused by all this to-do about "property rights." The "Town of Chancellorsville" developer isn't trying to "build by right." He wants a zoning change to build far more houses than presently allowed, to make him more profit, and that is not a "right." His profit would result in a long-term cost to people already living in the county.

Nor would the Town of Chancellorsville happen in isolation. It would immediately spawn similar developments west and south of the site. The Dogwood project and its kin would further jam our roads, take water we don't have, and cause our taxes to skyrocket to pay for new schools and teachers for educating thousands of new children.

That directly impacts my property rights, and those of my neighbors, in the form of how much of our money we get to keep and how much we have to surrender to the county in taxes.

If the county approves this project, will they assure us that there will be no others along State Route 3? Will they promise to not raise our property-tax rate again?

I won't hold my breath. Uncontrolled growth has doubled my taxes in 15 years, and enough is enough.

Roy M. Stanley II

Spotsylvania

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Date published: 10/3/2002