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Wilderness Project Is Likely To Fail Orange Public Hearings Tomorrow
Public hearing set on Wilderness Crossing proposal, but county approval unlikely
BY ROBIN KNEPPER
Free Lance-Star [Fredericksburg, Va.]
July 18, 2007
The public will get a chance to comment tomorrow on a a controversial rezoning request that would permit a commercial development on land in the Wilderness battlefield in Orange County.
But the proposal for Wilderness Crossing already appears dead in the water, based on interviews with several county officials and others involved in the plan.
Instead, at least 63 of the 177 acres involved may soon be added to the Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania National Military Park.
Several county officials and others familiar with the project agreed to discuss the situation with Wilderness Crossing and other possible development in the area. But they asked not to be identified because the public has not yet had a chance to comment on the proposal, and some aspects are still in negotiation.
They said they expect the Planning Commission to take the first official step toward killing the development plan tomorrow night after its public hearing on the rezoning request. Supervisors are likely to finish it off when it comes before them later.
Charles "Chip" King, who owns three of the four parcels of land in the proposed commercial development, has tried to persuade the county to approve the project so he can get the right of way for a road he wants to build. King proposes his new road to be the new alignment for State Route 20.
The road would be four lanes, divided, and would start about a mile southwest of the present intersection of Route 20 with State Route 3. The new Route 20 would intersect at the south side of Route 3 about a third of a mile west of the present intersection, just beyond Sheetz and McDonald's.
It would provide a direct connection with a road being discussed as a possibility for the north side of Route 3. That road would be an entrance into a possible development on 1,900 acres King owns running north to the Rapidan River and east to Spotsylvania County.
Orange County has designated that property as a "mega-site," ripe for development into a business, commercial and/or industrial center. But several hundred acres are also seen as possible sites for a county reservoir and future water and sewer plants.
The primary reason the Wilderness Crossing rezoning appears doomed is that King's proposed four-lane road would run through land designated by Congress as part of the Wilderness battlefield.
Although the land is privately owned, it is considered historically significant and the National Park Service would like to acquire it.
The Park Service has opposed Route 20 expansion plans in the past because they involved battlefield land. Orange County supervisors have conceded that they are not going to tangle with the agency over that subject any more.
Locust Grove businessman Ken Dotson owns the fourth parcel in the Wilderness Crossing site and serves as agent for the proposed rezoning.
The Park Service has offered Dotson $1.1 million for his 63 acres, but he is asking $1.6 million. The Civil War Preservation Trust has stepped in and is expected to cover the full price.
"We're very interested in buying the property," said CWPT spokesman Jim Campi. "It's most important to us to acquire this land and set it aside for preservation.
"When it's appropriate, we'll turn it over to the park service. It makes sense for the park service to own it, but we can move faster [on real estate deals] and we can often pay more."
Eric
Public hearing set on Wilderness Crossing proposal, but county approval unlikely
BY ROBIN KNEPPER
Free Lance-Star [Fredericksburg, Va.]
July 18, 2007
The public will get a chance to comment tomorrow on a a controversial rezoning request that would permit a commercial development on land in the Wilderness battlefield in Orange County.
But the proposal for Wilderness Crossing already appears dead in the water, based on interviews with several county officials and others involved in the plan.
Instead, at least 63 of the 177 acres involved may soon be added to the Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania National Military Park.
Several county officials and others familiar with the project agreed to discuss the situation with Wilderness Crossing and other possible development in the area. But they asked not to be identified because the public has not yet had a chance to comment on the proposal, and some aspects are still in negotiation.
They said they expect the Planning Commission to take the first official step toward killing the development plan tomorrow night after its public hearing on the rezoning request. Supervisors are likely to finish it off when it comes before them later.
Charles "Chip" King, who owns three of the four parcels of land in the proposed commercial development, has tried to persuade the county to approve the project so he can get the right of way for a road he wants to build. King proposes his new road to be the new alignment for State Route 20.
The road would be four lanes, divided, and would start about a mile southwest of the present intersection of Route 20 with State Route 3. The new Route 20 would intersect at the south side of Route 3 about a third of a mile west of the present intersection, just beyond Sheetz and McDonald's.
It would provide a direct connection with a road being discussed as a possibility for the north side of Route 3. That road would be an entrance into a possible development on 1,900 acres King owns running north to the Rapidan River and east to Spotsylvania County.
Orange County has designated that property as a "mega-site," ripe for development into a business, commercial and/or industrial center. But several hundred acres are also seen as possible sites for a county reservoir and future water and sewer plants.
The primary reason the Wilderness Crossing rezoning appears doomed is that King's proposed four-lane road would run through land designated by Congress as part of the Wilderness battlefield.
Although the land is privately owned, it is considered historically significant and the National Park Service would like to acquire it.
The Park Service has opposed Route 20 expansion plans in the past because they involved battlefield land. Orange County supervisors have conceded that they are not going to tangle with the agency over that subject any more.
Locust Grove businessman Ken Dotson owns the fourth parcel in the Wilderness Crossing site and serves as agent for the proposed rezoning.
The Park Service has offered Dotson $1.1 million for his 63 acres, but he is asking $1.6 million. The Civil War Preservation Trust has stepped in and is expected to cover the full price.
"We're very interested in buying the property," said CWPT spokesman Jim Campi. "It's most important to us to acquire this land and set it aside for preservation.
"When it's appropriate, we'll turn it over to the park service. It makes sense for the park service to own it, but we can move faster [on real estate deals] and we can often pay more."
Eric
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