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Lull in fight may forge compromise on Spotsylvania's 'new town'

In battle over proposed Town of Chancellorsville, a little time could heal wounds.

Date published: 11/25/2002

By LARRY EVANS

PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES of the hot debate over the proposed Town of Chancellorsville now have more than a month to cool off.

The Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors has decided to wait until early next year before talking about the fate of the development, which would cover almost 800 acres just west of Chancellorsville Elementary School and on the north side of State Route 3.

Who knows, with a little luck and a lot of effort in coming months, a satisfactory compromise could be worked out by the developer, land-owner, slow-growth advocates, public officials, historic preservationists, National Park Service officials and concerned taxpayers.

At a public hearing held early this month by the Planning Commission, citizens voiced opinions that crackled like kindling in a campfire. Then, implausibly, gasoline was thrown on that fire by commission members--who are appointed by supervisors from each of the voting districts, and who act only in an advisory capacity. With a quick, 5-2 vote the commission recommended that the board grant the rezoning requested by the Dogwood Development Group.

No one expected the commission to vote that night. When they did, it appeared to many opponents that the fix was in--that the Board of Supervisors would hold a required public hearing in early December and then rush to embrace the company's request to rezone the 800 acres for a "new town" that would include 1,995 homes and up to 2.2 million square feet of stores and offices.

Subsequently, a more deliberate course of events was set by Courtland District Supervisor Jerry Marcus, who will leave his judicially appointed post within the next few weeks. Marcus has spent the past year on the Board of Supervisors, filling in for Mark Cole, who was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.

On Nov. 5, Courtland District voters elected Bob Hagan to a four-year term that starts in January.

Marcus said--and Board Chairman Ben Pitts agreed--that the proper thing would be to let Hagan participate in the discussion and help make the decision. Pitts canceled a public hearing set for early December. No new date has been announced.

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Date published: 11/25/2002