Three of the five Orange County supervisors have said they will support a proposal to build a Wal-Mart Supercenter near the Wilderness battlefield.
Now the county staff has recommended that the Planning Commission do the same.
Community Development Director David Grover told commissioners in his report that the application from JDC Ventures for a special-use permit to build the Wal-Mart meets all relevant county requirements for a large retail structure.
In addition to the 138,000-square-foot Supercenter, the special-use-permit application includes three other parcels with a total of 98,750 square feet of retail, service and restaurant space.
The Wal-Mart would occupy 19.5 acres a quarter-mile north of State Route 3. The three other parcels would occupy 14.5 acres closer to Route 3. The balance of the 51.6-acre property, to the east and bordered by Wilderness Run, is largely in a floodplain and not proposed for development.
Planning commissioners received the 13-page staff report at the end of their meeting Thursday night and did not comment on it. They will take public input on the special-use-permit application at a hearing May 21.
Historic preservationists oppose the plan, saying a Supercenter and the traffic it would bring would destroy the ambiance of the nearby Civil War battlefield park. They are urging Wal-Mart to find a new site farther from the battlefield where Union and Confederate forces suffered 29,000 casualties in May 1864.
In his staff report, Grover notes that the property is zoned C-2, general commercial, which is the appropriate district for intense retail uses. The future-land-use map of the county's comprehensive plan designates the land for economic development.
The proposed Wal-Mart retail store and garden center is expected to bring 300 jobs and $500,000 in annual tax revenue to the county.
Because the property is near the Wilderness battlefield, the developer contracted for cultural-resource studies that were filed with the state Department of Historic Resources.
The Phase I and II studies found no significant historic or cultural resources on the property. Minor resources were identified, but are on portions of the property that will be placed in a conservation easement.
Because of potential visual impacts of the development, a viewshed analysis was conducted in midwinter when trees were bare. The study found "no visual connection between Ellwood and the subject property." Ellwood is a historic home on the Wilderness battlefield.
Grover also noted that there "would no doubt be some locations from which the subject property is visible along Route 3, including some that may be within the National Park Service property."
But the site design, existing vegetation, architectural design, landscape buffers and proposed conditions for the special-use permit would adequately mitigate visual impact, he wrote.
The Rapidan Service Authority has the capacity and infrastructure to provide water and sewer service to the area. The cost of extending water lines and upgrading pump stations for the new and existing commercial development would be paid by the users.
Because the county and the RSA have no plans for long-range development for the area, Wal-Mart would provide its own water-storage tower for fire suppression. The store would have a sprinkler system and would be located within two miles of the county's fire and rescue station at Lake of the Woods.
Grover notes increased demands on local law enforcement, and has recommended private roving security patrols both inside and outside the store.
Concerns raised by the Virginia Department of Transportation have been addressed with plans for three entrances and turn lanes into the property from Route 3 and an interior connector road roughly parallel to Route 3 that would be paid for by the developer.
Robin Knepper: 540/972-5701
Email: rknepper@earthlink.net
| The primary entrance for the Wal-Mart retail complex is proposed at the intersection of State Routes 3 and 20 between an existing 7-Eleven and Wachovia Bank, with a right-in/right-out turn 850 feet west on Route 3.
A shared-access road running through adjacent property owned by the King family is proposed farther west on Route 3. Other proposed road improvements include: A second left-turn lane on westbound Route 3 onto Route 20, with a second receiving lane on Route 20. Re-striping lanes to accommodate modified traffic configurations. A second left-turn lane on westbound Route 3 into Lake of the Woods. Synchronization of traffic signals at the intersections of Routes 3 and 20, Brock Road and Route 3, and Goodwin Drive (at the entrance to LOW) and Route 3. For a more detailed look at the proposed development, see the map at fredericksburg.com. |
The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the special-use-permit application for the Wal-Mart retail center Commissioners may vote on the application after the public hearing that night or may wait for a future meeting. Their recommendation goes to the Board of Supervisors for final action.
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