Town Demands Oaks III Developer Fix Watershed Problems

By Stephanie Tipple

Occoquan, Va. –– Occoquan officials have made their next move to slow construction of an office building just outside their town limits.

The Occoquan Town Council on Tuesday passed a resolution stating Ken Thompson, the developer of the much debated Oaks III office building to be located at the intersection of Old Bridge and Tanyard Hill roads in Lake Ridge, must first repair the water run-off issues at his adjacent Oaks II office development.

Thompson last month petitioned the Prince William County Board of Supervisors to rezone an 18-acre parcel of undeveloped land that will accommodate the planned 32,500 square foot, low-rise Oaks III office building. The rezoning passed despite outcries from Occoquan residents and members of the Prince William Board, clearing the way for the building’s construction.

According to Prince William County documents, Thompson promised to leave just over 13 acres of the property untouched as a conservation area. But Occoquan’s resolution comes as documents show that the National Rifle Association, not Thompson, owns the land.

Thompson did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.

Occoquan officials point to water runoff from the Oaks II property as one of the major culprits that contributed to a flood of the Ballywhack Creek that inundated the town last fall.

The town has compiled a list of possible fixes for the flooding – one of the proposed solutions costing nearly $23,000.

Thompson offered to do these repairs in the course of developing the site of Oaks III, but did not proffer a reasonable time estimate, town officials said. Instead, he stating that market conditions would dictate the timing of the repairs, officials said.

The resolution would the developer accountable for fixing the run-off and erosion issues, stating, “…the developer, Ken Thompson, to promptly and with all possible speed, perform the run-off and stream remediation steps proffered under the rezoning, without regard to the timing of the construction of the Oaks III project.”

Occoquan Mayor Earnie Porta also weighed in on the matter Thursday night and said if the erosion is not fixed, “the result will be continued deterioration of the watershed and even higher future costs to the taxpayer.”