Seventy-two people told the Orange County Planning Commission May 21 what they thought about a proposal to build a Wal-Mart Supercenter in the Wilderness battlefield area.
Two-thirds of the speakers were against the plan, with almost all of them saying they were not opposed to Wal-Mart but to the location, a quarter-mile north of the intersection of State Routes 3 and 20.
The same plea was repeated over and over again: Build the Wal-Mart up the road, farther from the Civil War battlefield.
The comments indicated widespread belief that there is property farther west on State Route 3 that Wal-Mart could easily build on.
That issue could arise again as the Planning Commission prepares to discuss the special-use permit request tomorrow night.
Wal-Mart representatives say they have found no other commercially zoned land along the Route 3 corridor in Orange that meets the giant retailer's criteria for a building site.
According to Keith Morris, Wal-Mart's director of public affairs, the criteria include: a site that is already commercially zoned and easily accessible to customers; 20-30 acres suitable for the way its Supercenters and parking lots are generally situated, and in one parcel rather than adjoining properties that would need to acquired separately.
"We went through a long and exhaustive process finding the store location," Morris said. "We've looked at all that was out there. Some parcels were very small, some had residential or agricultural zoning. We didn't want to go to Orange County with a plan that would conflict with where they want development to occur."
PROSPECTS AND PROBLEMS
The Orange Supercenter is proposed for 19.5 acres of a 51.5-acre site on the north side of Route 3 that has been zoned commercial since 1973.
Those who oppose the proposed location have suggested other possibilities, including 20 acres of commercially zoned land behind the Bloom supermarket across from the entrance to Lake of the Woods.
According to the property owner's representative, Wal-Mart rejected that site because of its long and narrow configuration and lack of direct access from Route 3.
Realtor Adrianna Cowan-Waddy has proposed three adjacent parcels north of StellarOne bank. They total 19 acres and adjacent land might come on the market, Waddy said, but the parcels are separately owned.
Several miles west on Route 3, A&K Development has a new commercial development between Wilderness Shores and Somerset Farm subdivisions. According to President Mansour Azimipour, up to six pad sites totaling 9 acres are planned closer to Route 3 and five more sites on the north side total 15 acres. The two sides of the property are bisected by A&K Boulevard.
"I asked a real estate agent to talk to Wal-Mart," Azimipour said recently. "He told me that Wal-Mart was only interested in the property they had and if it didn't work out, they were out of Orange."
There is plenty of land along the Route 3 corridor with agricultural, industrial and residential zoning, including several thousand acres owned by the King family in the area near the proposed Wal-Mart site. All would require rezoning for commercial development.
While Wal-Mart has to obtain a special-use permit to build on the proposed site, that process is faster than a rezoning.
Charles "Chip" King has been proposing projects for the 2,000 acres his family owns for more than 30 years, without success. His latest proposal is Wilderness Crossing, a 900-acre mixed-use development to the north and west of the Wal-Mart site. It has been sitting on the shelf for the past two years while the Board of Supervisors focuses on the Wal-Mart plan.
REZONING PROS AND CONS
Dan Holmes, Orange County land-use director for the Piedmont Environmental Council, said there are 2,600 acres of undeveloped agriculturally zoned land along the Route 3 corridor that the county's comprehensive plan suggests for economic development or mixed use. He doesn't think rezoning some of that for commercial development would be a problem.
"Three members of the Board of Supervisors have been supportive of this project at one of the most sensitive places in the county," Holmes said. "What makes Wal-Mart think those same supervisors wouldn't bend over backwards to accommodate it and help it find other locations, especially since the county is under pressure nationally on this issue?"
According to David Grover, the county's director of community development, the special-use permit process benefits the county more than a rezoning because the county can put conditions on the permit the developer must follow. In this case, the county has asked for detailed traffic plans, environmental studies, a layout and design of
PARK SERVICE CONCERNS
Supporters of the Wal-Mart proposal note that the battlefield park lies south of Route 3 and that land around it is already home to dozens of commercial enterprises and thousands of private homes.
But John Hennessy, chief historian of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, said the proposed Wal-Mart and King developments would bring the "prospect of a new urban center juxtaposed next to a national park."
Hennessy said such development would bring increased traffic to Routes 3 and 20 and pressure to expand those roads through the park.
"We are very cautious about blasting roads through national parks," Hennessy said.
Park Service officials have opposed widening State Route 20 to four lanes on its present alignment and have opposed a new four-lane road proposed several years ago by King that would parallel the present road but still cross parkland.
"We recognize that over time we'll have the challenge of moving more traffic through the battlefield," Hennessy said.
"Sooner or later, the problem has to be solved. But that won't happen until all political and legal criteria are met, our objectives identified and we engage with VDOT, Orange County and developers in an open and honest planning process that says the Wilderness battlefield is a national treasure and deserves special consideration."
--Staff Writer Clint Schemmer contributed to this report.
Robin Knepper: 540/972-5701
Email: rknepper@earthlink.net
| The Orange County Planning Commission meets at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the Gordon Building, 112 W. Main St., Orange, to discuss the application from JDC Ventures for a special-use permit to build a Wal-Mart in the Wilderness area. No comments will be taken from the public. |