The larger of the two proposed development projects in the Goose Creek area received support from the Planning Commission last week on Tuesday night, while the other was sent back to committee and will be the subject of a work session May 3.
The proposed Goose Creek Village South project raised many questions among county staff and the commissioners namely in the areas of transportation, environmental impact, noise and basic overall design. The proposal called for 100 townhouses to be constructed on 14 of a total of 32 acres located on Sycolin Road adjacent to the south side of the Dulles Greenway. The remaining 18 acres are part of a Virginia Outdoor Foundation easement and cannot be developed.
"The density I have no problem with, if it had a more creative design," said Commissioner Nancy Hsu (Blue Ridge).
By contrast, the proposed Goose Creek Preserve, which would bring up to 500 housing units to the same area, was forwarded to the county Board of Supervisors with the recommendation for approval even though three out of the nine commissioners were against the project. Goose Creek Preserve is located on the west side of Belmont Ridge Road immediately south of the Dulles Greenway. Commissioners Hsu, John Herbert (Catoctin) and Christeen Tolle (At large) were the dissenting votes.
Both proposals also drew criticism from neighbors — a total of three speakers opposed the two projects, with no one speaking in support of either development.
GOOSE CREEK VILLAGE SOUTH was proposed to be built in a cluster style on the eastern portion of the property because of the easement, which has been in place since the 1980s, said Randy Minchew, the attorney representing the developer, Centex Homes.
"There are 100 townhouses, of which seven are ADUs [affordable dwelling units]. It's 100 percent townhouses," Minchew said. "The amount of green space is 80 percent."
The green space is primarily the easement area, which is the portion of the property located closest to Goose Creek.
The plan also includes active recreation areas and tot lots throughout the residential portion. However, the design clusters all of the houses centrally, with the recreation areas, trails and tot lots located toward the outside of the property. The design was not well received among the commissioners.
"There's nothing centralized, no tot lot, no community center. Everything has been pushed off," said Tolle. "It does not make for an attractive project."
The developer was also seeking a modification, which would permit a reduced setback from Sycolin Road. John Merrithew, chief of the land-use division of the Planning Department, said this was strictly to allow for more density and could not be supported by staff. In addition, the developer is looking for other modifications, including the removal a 4-foot earthen berm, which currently acts a buffer between the property and the Greenway; and authorization for 37-foot tall structures instead of the code-enforced 35-foot height limit.
"Our issues with this project are most with the design," Merrithew said. "We think the land use is appropriate, but the design needs work, the water-quality protection needs work."
BILL HENNESSY, who owns a neighboring property, also raised concerns over the developer's plans to construct a trail through the easement-protected portion of the tract, so that hikers could reach Goose Creek.
"This parcel is left open to trails, it's not part of this community. … It will basically permit a public park in our backyard."
Hennessy said another close-by access point to Goose Creek, which he said was patrolled by police and was fenced, was closed after the terrorist attacks September 2001, presumably for safety reasons. He said opening this area to the public would be counterproductive. There is no access for emergency or police vehicles, no way to secure the area in the evenings and no clear-cut idea as to who would be responsible for the area.
"Who is liable if something happens, if someone gets hurt back there?" Hennessy asked. "Then there is the cleanup of the parcel and the crime. There will be vandalism and drug use and who, as a neighbor, do I call when there are kids down there at night?"
BY CONTRAST, the commissioners found little fault with the proposed Goose Creek Preserve. The developer, U.S. Homes, is looking to construct up to 500 units — roughly 202 single-family detached homes, 128 townhouses, and 170 duplexes, of which 32 are designated as ADUs.
Packie Crown, the attorney representing the developer, said the plan calls for a child-care center, a recreational center complete with a pool and meeting rooms, and numerous community parks, the dedication of four acres for a public park, and trails. In addition, the developer is proffering road improvements, which could eventually widen Belmont Ridge Road from Broadlands Boulevard to Truro Parish Drive, in part due to a so-called "road club," in which all the developers with projects underway along Belmont Ridge Road pool their money.
"On the whole scope of things, we're very upset with [this project]. It looks like a town center," said M.L. Herrmann, the property manager for a neighboring development. "We will lose many, many trees. There will be runoff into Goose Creek."
Belmont Ridge resident Shirell Ashwell expressed concerns about widening the road into essentially a six-lane highway.
"The road is highly traveled by school buses and families. This is a neighborhood road, not a highway," Ashwell said.
She also raised concerns over the impact the development with have on the schools, which are already either at or over capacity.
"The middle school had to extend the school day by 15 minutes because they couldn't get kids to school in a timely fashion with all the traffic," she said.