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Wildflowers bloom along the shore of Potomac River at Aquia Landing in Stafford.
A bulldozer sits idle on Friday afternoon at a construction site |
New luxury-home developments going up along the road to Aquia Landing have the area's supervisor worried about damage to some of the county's most picturesque land.
Aquia District Supervisor Kandy Hilliard said she and others on the Board of Supervisors are concerned that unchecked construction will increase runoff into Accokeek Creek, which would harm wildlife and cause erosion in that area.
One new subdivision, Poplar Hills, is already in place along Brooke Road, and two more subdivisions are planned for Brooke and Andrew Chapel roads.
"That area is one of the most beautiful spots in Stafford County," Hilliard said. "If we fall asleep at the wheel it'll be gone forever. It's heartbreaking."
Earlier this month, a landslide of red clay toppled down from Poplar Hills onto Brooke Road and into Accokeek Creek.
"I suspect it will damage the wetland area," Hilliard said. "I don't ever want to see that happen again."
Al Loy is the sales manager of SYG Associates, which has sold all its homes in Poplar Hills and is planning to open a new luxury-home development this fall. He said the landslide was a "freak thing" that occurred during a rainstorm.
A fence holding back the clay mud apparently gave way. Crews were sent in and the mud was cleared from the road before the next morning's rush hour, Loy said.
"We responded immediately," he said. "We jumped right in there, and I think we did a pretty good job."
But Hilliard said efforts are under way to find out whether the mudslide caused damage to the creek that needs to be cleaned up.
She said the county needs to make sure environmental regulations are in place to protect the area before and after construction. The board is likely to codify a requirement for builders to reinforce silt fences to ensure that dirt and mud don't tumble onto streets or into waterways--and set fines for failing to do so.
Loy said Poplar Hills has 175 homes situated on one-acre lots. Home prices range from $350,000 to about $500,000.
SYG plans to start another development this fall called Brooks Mills. That subdivision, just down Brooke Road from Poplar Hills, will have 42 homes. "It will all be upper-end Colonial-style or ramblers," Loy said.
Not far away, on Andrew Chapel Road, 50 similar luxury homes are already on sale and even more are planned in a development by Classic Homes called Meadowbrook Estates. Terrie Timney, sales manager of Classic Homes, said all the houses in Meadowbrook will be on three- to 15-acre lots.
Back in the 1800s, Aquia Landing was a transportation center for both ships and trains. It was also the major supply base for Union troops from 1862 to 1864.
Today, the area near Aquia Landing is a mainly a bedroom community for Washington commuters.
Both Timney and Loy said efforts have been made to change as little as possible to the area during construction of their projects. They said they have tried not to cut down too many trees.
But Hilliard says efforts to protect the environment have not been sufficient. "It is not enough to offset the damage and the cost [to the county]," she said. "I think the developers have done what we've asked them to do, but we haven't asked them to do enough."
She said there's not much the board can do to change existing zoning laws to slow development without being sued. But she thinks the county can strengthen environmental regulations to protect Accokeek Creek and other streams and wetlands from development.
The board's staff is working on getting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to conduct what is known as a watershed plan. The plan, Hilliard said, would forecast what damage, if any, the construction of hundreds of new homes would do to the area.
That study should be done within about 18 months. At that point, the county will have a better idea how much development the area can withstand, Hilliard said.
She said the county may be able to rely on the Chesapeake Bay Act to stop further construction in the area.
"Maybe instead of building 200 homes, we could have them build 100 homes," she said.
The biggest concern is Crow's Nest, a peninsula bounded by Accokeek and Potomac creeks that is home to endangered and rare plants and wildlife. The state is set to take over hundreds of acres for protection, and other nature groups are looking into protecting more of the area, Hilliard said.
Tourists and residents visit the area today, but Hilliard worries that the beauty that attracts them may soon be gone.
The thick woods that create a tunnel effect as one drives down Brooke Road to Aquia Landing Park may one day be gone as more and more of the trees are cut down to make way for subdivisions, she said.
"Now it's something everybody can enjoy," she said.
To reach JODI BIZAR: 374-5000, ext. 5627 jbizar@freelancestar.com
