Plan Would Transform Courthouse Area

By URIAH KISER

Stafford, Va. — The plan to give Stafford a new downtown will have to wait.

County officials this month voted to defer a measure until February that, in the end, would clear the way for future development of concentrated retail and housing in the heart of the county, at Stafford Hospital Center at U.S. 1 and Courthouse Road (Va. 630).

A comprehensive plan for the area, which the Virginia Department of Transportation provided a $200,000 grant for consulting services on how to best develop the courthouse area plan, is one of several identified urban development areas in Stafford County.

Work and approval of the Courthouse UDA plan must be completed by Feb. 29 or the county could be required to refund the money, said Stafford Administrator Anthony Romanello.

Board members and residents took issue with parts of the plan that call for placing up to eight single family homes per acre in area. They also took issue with an improved U.S. 1 that, according to county documents, would only marginally improve traffic flow in the area.

“We’re going to spend millions of dollars and end up where we are now?” asked Dean Fetterolf, who lives in the county’s Rockhill District.

Aquia District Supervisor Paul Milde assured residents that the Courthouse UDA plan is just that – a plan.

“This is a vision that will show developers what we will accept in this area. It’s not like we have 20 or 30 million dollars sitting around that we’re going to use to make this happen. This is going to happen over time,” said Milde.

The plan calls for the creation of three new neighborhoods near the county’s courthouse: “historic courthouse village,” “new downtown,” and “south courthouse commons” near the hospital. Touted as a walk able destination spots, these new areas would feature buildings three stories tall with mixed use of residential and commercial space.

According to the plan, Va. 630 will also be realigned to meet Hospital Center Boulevard, and an improved Interstate 95 interchange would also be built on Va. 630. With traffic rerouted to the newly realigned road, an area on what the plan identifies as future “Old Courthouse Road” would become a village-like setting with public space.

U.S. 1, a major north-south commuter route, would still traverse the area.

The plan comes after a series of meetings held last year to identify areas in the county where growth will occur over the next 15 to 20 years. State officials mandated Stafford identify these areas to plan for future growth, road, and utilities placement.