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The watery edge of the undeveloped Crow's Nest peninsula in eastern Stafford is a haven for wildlife. The landowner wants to develop part A great blue heron perches in its nest on the Crow's Nest peninsula in eastern Stafford. Ospreys and bald eagles also thrive on the pristine 3,800-acre tract between Potomac and Accokeek creeks. |
Cluster project eyed at Crow's Nest in Stafford
The owner of Crow's Nest is exploring development options for the eastern Stafford County peninsula now that plans to sell the tract to the state for a nature preserve have fallen through.
K&M Properties of McLean will meet tomorrow with several county officials to present preliminary development plans for 3,800 acres between Potomac and Accokeek creeks.
Among those meeting with K&M Properties attorney Clark Leming will be Pete Fields, chairman of the Stafford Board of Supervisors, Aquia District Supervisor Kandy Hilliard, and Jeff Harvey, the county planning director.
"They wanted the opportunity to present some ideas," Hilliard said, "but that doesn't change anything in my mind." She has been an ardent advocate of preserving the land.
Leming declined to discuss details of the company's plans yesterday, saying he did not want to pre-empt county supervisors. But he was willing to talk in general terms about what the company has in mind.
"We want to see if there is a way to develop a portion of the property while preserving the most environmentally sensitive areas," Leming said, "and placing those in a conservation easement."
Streets, homes and other components would be clustered in certain areas to have the least impact on the rest of the property, which has been described by preservationists as an environmental jewel.
Leming said a clustering plan would require some rezoning--the land is now zoned for low-density rural residential use.
Any rezoning would probably require some hefty proffers on the part of the developer and might involve permits from state and federal agencies, if wetlands or historic sites are disturbed.
Named after a black 19th-century schooner moored at the property, Crow's Nest has one of the last remaining stands of virgin forest in the region and is home to rare plants and animals.
Another consideration is topography. Crow's Nest is no developer's dream: The land is rugged and cut with deep ravines, which is one reason the tract has been undeveloped to date.
"There are some pretty steep slopes, and I would include those as environmentally sensitive," Leming said.
"So the objective would be to determine from both a political and engineering standpoint [what] portion of the propertyis viable for development." He said that roughly half the acreage might fit in that category. The rest would go into a conservation easement.
Conservation easements set permanent, enforceable development restrictions on property. That option, Leming said, would not require a purchase of the land.
Thousands of acres are protected under such easements in the Fredericksburg area by entities such as the Virginia Outdoors Foundation and the Nature Conservancy. Fredericksburg City Council is considering such an easement on 5,000 acres it owns along the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers.
News that Crow's Nest was back on the market and again on developers' radar was a blow to preservation groups, which have been working for decades to preserve it.
The Free Lance-Star reported last week that an 18-month effort by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and the local Trust for Crow's Nest to purchase the land had ended and that K&M Properties was exploring development options.
Crow's Nest was considered such an important acquisition that Joseph H. Maroon, director of DCR, was personally involved in the negotiations. Efforts to preserve the property have gained momentum last year after $10 million in state and federal funds were pledged toward the purchase of the first 1,500 acres.
K&M bought the property in 1989 for $17.8 million and was asking more than $30 million by the time the deal collapsed, those involved in the discussions said. Buyers said K&M kept upping the price on the land, while landowners' representatives said the state was unable to come up with enough money within a reasonable time frame.
Kamel Tabarra, one of K&M's owners, said last week that the investors were disappointed that the deal with the state had fallen through and that the company has no immediate plans to develop the property. But he added that investors were looking at their options.
In a related matter, K&M Properties is awaiting a final ruling on whether Crow's Nest was vested for higher-density development. Leming sought a ruling from the county on whether a 1971 rezoning, later rescinded by the Board of Supervisors in 1978, could still be valid.
Stafford's zoning administrator determined last month that the land was not vested. Leming said he will appeal that decision to the Stafford Board of Zoning Appeals. Monday is the deadline for filing an appeal.
To reach RUSTY DENNEN: 540/374-5431 rdennen@freelancestar.com
