Comprehensive plan amendment could pave the way for 130 new homes in Rural Crescent

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — A comprehensive plan amendment could lead to 130 new homes in the Rural Crescent.

The Prince William County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will hear a case for a comprehensive plan amendment, if approved, would allow for the conversion of 325 acres of preserved land in the Coles District into a semi-rural Mid-County Park and Estate Homes neighborhood of single-family homes, if built.

More than half of the space would be left untouched for parks and open area, according to county documents. It’s also recommended that sewer lines be added to the property.

If the amendment is approved and then the property is eventually rezoned at a later date, the land use is a far departure from what local leaders in 1998 envisioned for the area when they established the county’s Rural Crescent. The preserve stretches from Quantico Marine Corps Base to the Manassas Battlefield National Park aimed at preserving land for agricultural uses.

Only 12% of Mid-County Homes and Estates property has soils adequate for farming, as well as many steep slopes, according to county documents.

The case has prompted an outcry from conversation groups like the Prince William Conservation Alliance.

“The one question I have for members of the Board of Supervisors, and I can’t seem to get an answer from anyone on this, is how does this housing project help us get to their stated goal of 35% commercial development in the county?” asked Kim Hosen, of the Prince William Conservation Alliance.

Mid-County Park and Estate Homes are considered a cluster development, where the developer would get a density bonus (the ability to build more homes) based on the number of acres of property preserved for open space.

What is being preserved here is unbuildable land, said Hosen. But is also land that is not ideal for community park space that would be utilized by residents who would live outside the development, she added.

Without the cluster development status, the developer would only be allowed to build 31 homes on the property.

The Mid-County Park and Estate Homes development and the comprehensive plan amendment were discussed in 2012. Back then, the Board of Supervisors placed it on hold and initiated a study of the rural crescent to see if cluster developments like this one would be well suited for the land.

“I am inclined to initiate the comprehensive plan change,” said Coles District Supervisor Marty Nohe. “We have years worth of research on this project.”

Making the change doesn’t necessarily mean the neighborhood would be built. The developer would need to acquire a rezoning to move forward with the development project, adds Nohe.

The Board of Supervisors is expected to take up the matter at its 2 p.m. meeting on Tuesday, March 6.