|
- |
Stafford County's supervisors have upped their offer on the Crow's Nest peninsula by $2.7 million.
Board members made that decision late Tuesday night, after learning that an updated appraisal showed the tract is worth $33.2 million.
The updated appraisal, returned Aug. 21, was ordered to ensure the county's offer was fair market value. It authorizes the county attorney to file condemnation paperwork if it appears a deal cannot be reached.
Some see the new offer as an inconsequential move in the campaign to buy 2,887 of the tract's total 3,800 acres for a public park.
"What we see happening [Tuesday] night is simply a formality in the process of getting the offer in line with the appraisal," attorney Clark Leming, who represents K&M Properties--the owner of Crow's Nest, said yesterday.
His client wants to cash in on its long-term investment by building houses on the peninsula or getting fair compensation for not doing so, he has said previously. K&M has hired its own appraiser, and believes it can prove a $60 million land value.
But the supervisors' decision to increase their offer on Crow's Nest has raised questions about how ready the county is to pursue condemnation.
In May, officials asked K&M to sell its land for $30.5 million, $3.5 million more than the original appraisal. A month later supervisors voted to start the condemnation process because the McLean developer had responded only with questions, rather than an answer.
County officials have not yet petitioned the court to condemn the land. And financial options for buying the peninsula are still vague.
Officials have access to a $10 million low-interest loan. State agencies originally set aside another $10 million for the purchase, as well. But at least some of that money is unavailable if the land is obtained through condemnation.
Mike Nardolilli, president of the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, said the $500,000 state grant his organization secured would not be available under those circumstances. State agencies prefer to support voluntary purchase of land, he said.
He points out, however, that the money could be used to protect Crow's Nest land that's not a part of what the county plans to condemn. That includes an inland strip closest to the heron rookery, which his group owns.
"At the end of the day we would like to see the Crow's Nest peninsula protected," Nardolilli said. "How we go from A to B is up to the county and the state, not us."
Gary Waugh, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, said his agency also promised in a 2002 general obligation bond that the $5 million earmarked for the purchase of Crow's Nest would not be used for condemnation.
But Supervisor Paul Milde, whose Aquia District includes the peninsula, isn't concerned. He said the board's willingness to unanimously support two bona fide offers and condemnation in the past few months demonstrates supervisors' commitment to saving Crow's Nest.
The process may be slow and difficult, he said, but it will be worth it.
"We are crossing our T's and dotting our I's. We are making sure our offer is a fair offer," he said. "The painstaking way this is all happening is going to help us at the end of the day if this does end up in court."
Milde has said he'd like to see developers give money in exchange for permission to put more houses on less-sensitive county land.
One landowner, Rob Gollahon, filed a rezoning application in May for a mixed-use, 1,623-home community east of U.S. 1, between the new Interstate 95 interchange and Eskimo Hill Road. He said he would pay more than half his $50 million proffer package within one year of a rezoning.
The advance cash is not specific to the acquisition of Crow's Nest. But proffers--voluntary money, land or promises developers give in exchange for a rezoning--are typically used for county services, including park land.
Two county officials and another source familiar with Crow's Nest details also have said for months that Garrett Development Corp. has contracted to buy the land from K&M and plans to give it to the county in exchange for a rezoning of land Garrett owns in the Widewater area. The sources did not want to be identified because of fears that information about Garrett's plans could harm negotiations.
An official rezoning application is expected soon. Garrett Development officials declined to comment.
To reach MEGHANN COTTER:
Email: mcotter@freelancestar.com
