EXCLUSIVE: After the approval of Ray’s Regarde in Woodbridge, there’s not a ‘market for a TDR program’

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — A recently approved development in Woodbridge is having a ripple effect on future of development in western Prince William County.

Ray’s Regarde, a hotly debated 325-home development on Horner Road in the densely populated eastern side of the county, was approved in a rezoning by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in March. The new neighborhood will be built near the state’s largest commuter parking lot, on Interstate 95, which is the state’s only highway that includes every form of mass transit and ride-sharing available in Virginia.

The county’s comprehensive plan called for a more densely-populated neighborhood here, well more than the nearly 350 homes that had been originally proposed before the developer pared it down to 325. The reduction came after public outcry over the number of new students the neighborhood would generate for schools, and increased traffic congestion.

Last month, residents of western Prince William County gathered at the Hylton Performing Arts Center to learn more about proposals to develop and preserve what farmland is left. Multiple options were presented including a Transfer of Development Rights program (a developer purchases development rights from a rural landowner and uses them to build onto a future project, while the landowner keeps the land for farm use only), a Purchase of Development Rights program (the government buys land owners development rights from them and the property must then remain farmland), and an option to do nothing and leave the current policy in place — new homes built on 10-acre lots.

“Frankly, I feel duped,” said Prince William Board of County Supervisors Brentsville representative Supervisor Jeanine Lawson.

She voiced her displeasure over a newly proposed “transition ribbon,” an area along the boundary of the county’s defined rural area (The Rural Crescent) where, under a proposed Transfer of Development Rights program, rural landowners could potentially transfer their development rights to a developer who wants to build new homes. Those homes would be built inside the ribbon, stretching from Quantico Marine Corps Base to near Manassas National Battlefield Park, on land inside the Rural Crescent which conservationists have fought to protect since the area was created in 1998.

In the past, county officials have talked about TDR program that would have allowed rural landowners to sell their development rights to developers building projects not on a “transitional ribbon” but in eastern Prince William County, dubbed the county’s “development area.”

“This draft plan has development rights not going to urban centers like we once discussed, in Potomac Shores, or north Woodbridge,” added Lawson.

Under a TDR program, a landowner can sell their right to develop their land. Afterward, the owner can keep the property, can farm it, but can never sell it to a developer.

While TDR programs exist in neighboring Fauquier and Stafford counties, Prince William County doesn’t have one. The TDR program was one of five proposals presented at the Hylton in July. And, apparently, there’s not a lot of support for such a program.

“The feedback we received from developers and landowners was that they did not believe there was a market for a TDR program,” said Prince William County Planning Director Rebecca Horner. “We believe that was based on a few reasons, but primarily because residential rezonings within our activity centers [like north Woodbridge] in the development area often do not achieve the proposed density in the plan.

“An example of this is Rays Regarde. There was public opposition to high-density development within the activity center and subsequently, the Planning Commission and district supervisor requested density reductions. The Comprehensive Plan recommended a much higher density than what was ultimately approved by the Board.”

Based on the outcome of Ray’s Regarde last spring and its reduced number of homes, there’s no guarantee that if a developer pays to transfer development rights into an area like Woodbridge, there’s no guarantee they’ll actually be able to use them. Horner is also trying to determine the effect of a TDR on a proposed development with existing proffers, or restrictions, that could prevent the additional homes a TDR would bring.

“I do not believe a by-right TDR can supersede those types of proffers. We are trying to solve that issue,” adds Horner.

The Prince William County Planning Department is seeking public comments on the Rural Crescent, and which option to choose, through tomorrow, August 16. A  final recommendation for the county’s Planning Commission is expected at a September 24 meeting, said Horner.

The Board of County Supervisors will have the final say when it gets to them, most likely in the New Year.

Publisher’s note: Following the Ray’s Regarde decision in March, I wrote an op-ed post, a rarity on this site, praising the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in their decision to approve the rezoning for the development. 

Featured photo: A burnt-out house that sits on the property where Ray’s Regarde will be built.