With $10 million in cash proffers at stake, and a plan to deal with bad dirt, Prince William Supervisors to vote on housing development to be built at old landfill

WOODBRIDGE — In 2008, a proposed development called Prince William Overlook failed to win the hearts and minds of county leaders, and they voted down a request to rezone 10 acres of the land for a new housing development.

On Tuesday, that same Prince William County Board of Supervisors will have before it an even larger housing project that would be built on the same site, an old debris landfill that sits at the end of Horner Road, abutting Interstate 95 in Woodbridge. In the early 1990s, before the construction of Prince William Parkway, this stretch of Horner Road was the main thoroughfare to cross the interstate highway.

Now, after more than four years in the works, Supervisors will have their say on Ray’s Regarde, a 56-acre development that would bring 175 new townhomes and 150 new apartments and condos to the area. The board must vote to rezone the land which, today, is a mix of zoned agriculture land, and a mix of suburban and urban residential land.

Ray’s Regarde would be built as a planned mixed-use development and needs final approval from Supervisors to proceed. The project has had several public hearing at the county’s Planning Commission, most recently on Dec. 19, 2018, and each time has recommended the project for approval.

The Board of Supervisors on Nov. 20, 2018, was supposed to hear the case, however, the due to an error in properly advertising the public hearing, the case was sent back to the Planning Commission, effectively starting the process to get the project to the Board of Supervisors all over again.

The project comes to the Supervisors under an old proffer system, before proffer laws were changed in 2016, that allows the county to ask developers for monetary contributions to offset the effects of development, and the residents will drive on county streets, use parks and other county services, and new children who will fill seats at public schools.

In addition to monies for public safety, stormwater management fees, and others, project developer 2016 Horner Road, LLC has agreed to give the county these cash proffers:

• $4.2 million for transportation improvements
• $4.5 million for schools
• $1.5 million for parks

When it comes to transportation, the developer has also agreed to construct:

• A new roundabout at Summerland Drive and Horner Road, replacing a signal light
• A new sidewalk on the northern side of Prince William Parkway
• A new bus shelter for use by OmniRide

The developer has also promised about $285,000 for new trailer classrooms at both Woodbridge Senior High, and Kilby Elementary schools. Both are expected to soon be operating at or over capacity.

Last year, a lawyer for the developer notes the school division has plans for new middle and high schools in 2020, and 2024, respectively, that will alleviate overcrowding.

Unstable soil concerns 

In April 2018, members of the planning commission cited concerns about the soil at the site. Since the new housing development would be built on an old debris landfill, the Commission ordered the developer to conduct a series of soil tests as part of an overall environmental study that would determine if the land was stable enough to build on.

The developer completed the study, according to a county report. It also entered a Voluntary Remediation Program with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality which requires the developer to remove unstable dirt and show proof the dirt has been removed prior to the start of construction, according to a county report.

The landfill is only a portion of land on which the homes would be built. It closed in 1985, according to a county report.

Doug Widener represents the Citizens Alliance of Prince William County, which is opposed to Rays Regarde due to the potential soil and groundwater hazards there.

In a letter to the Prince William County Attorney’s Office, Widener states, “the proposed development site includes a landfill that’s several acres in size and up to 40-feet deep. According to the development plan for this project, way more than half of that landfill will remain as “open space”, to be owned by the development’s homebuyers for the “recreational” use of their children and the public. If county officials allow this to happen, it will stretch the limits of shame.”

“The Prince William County Board of Supervisors will hear the case at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 18, 2019, at the McCoart Building on Prince William Parkway.