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  Development of the Cherry Hill Peninsula

Request to Designate the Cherry Hill Peninsula as an Environmental Resource on the Comprehensive Plan Long-Range Land Use Map


Presented to the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, October 2000

Within Prince William County, the Cherry Hill Peninsula is an area that is unique. It is the last major undeveloped area along the Potomac. Its relatively undisturbed condition would put its preservation and protection at the very top of any list of natural resources within the county, and possibly anywhere along the Potomac River north of Quantico. The following paragraphs describe this resource and make an incontestable case for the designation of the Cherry Hill Peninsula as an “environmental resource” in the sense described in the 1998 Comprehensive Plan.

The Cherry Hill Peninsula consists of approximately 2,280 acres; VMIF/Anden Southbridge Venture (also known as Legend Properties) owns approximately 1,780 acres (78% of the total) and the remainder of the acreage (22%) is under multiple ownership . Powell’s Creek borders the north of this peninsula, Quantico Creek borders the south and the Potomac river borders the east. The peninsula is bordered to the north by land with large amounts of impervious surfaces and highly urbanized conditions.

The location of this site within an heavily urbanized watershed establishes its importance to maintaining the integrity of the terrestrial environment, protecting both PW waterways and the Potomac River from impacts associated with urban development. This Cherry Hill Peninsula, identified by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation as one of ten key lands at risk within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, is characterized by conditions that comprise an extremely sensitive natural environment.

With approximately 1,800 acres of contiguous forest cover, the Cherry Hill Peninsula represents the largest riparian forest in Northern Virginia along the Potomac River. This site is one of a very small number of lands in Prince William County with habitat characteristics appropriate for several rare plants, including small whorled pogonia and hard-stemmed bullrush. In addition, one active eagle nest lies at the northern border, along Powell’s Creek. “A significant amount (>40%) of the 1,780 Cherry Hill site [proposed for development] contains steeply sloping terrain of 25% or greater. Sloped areas of 15% or more account for more than 75% of the site. This site also contains a prevalence of environmentally sensitive features including the steeply sloping terrain and highly erosive soils, which are found throughout the site and marine clay soils present along the eastern portion of the site.”

The Cherry Hill Sector Plan was created as a landowner initiative in 1991. The Introductory Statements included in the Sector Plan refer to compliance with the PWC 1990 Comprehensive Plan and 1992 Strategic Plan; there are no references to current documents. This outdated Sector Plan, developed at a time when a bridge across the Potomac River near the site was being proposed, is in conflict with sustainable growth standards set forth in the 1998 Comprehensive Plan, is inconsistent with the both the Long-Range Use Plan and Environment Plan included in the 1998 PWC Comprehensive Plan, and fails to support the overall vision established as policy by this document.

The 1998 Comprehensive Plan, Long-Range Land Use Plan, sets forth policies and criteria regarding Environmental Resources as follows:

Environmental Resources include all 100-year floodplains as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Act (FEMA) Flood Hazard Use Maps or natural 100-year floodplains as defined in the Design and Construction Standards Manual (DCSM) and Resource Protection Areas as defined by the Chesapeake Bay Act. In addition, areas with 25% or greater slopes, areas with 15% or greater slopes in conjunction with soils that have severe limitations, soils with a predominance of marine clays, public water supply sources, and critically erodible shorelines and stream banks are considered environmental resources. While the Long-Range Land Use Plan Map ER designation does not currently depict all of these sensitive environmental resource areas, resource areas shall be added to the Long-Range Land Use Plan Map where studies have shown such addition to be appropriate.

The 1998 Comprehensive Plan, Environment Plan, establishes the following policies:

  • EN-POLICY 1: Consider environmental concerns at all levels of land use-related decision making.
    • Action Strategy 5 -- County staff should study and recommend the addition to the Long-Range Use Plan Map of areas of highly erodible and highly permeable soils and areas of shoreline and streambank erosion. Such areas, where added, should be identified as Environmental Resource (ER) on that map.

The Cherry Hill Peninsula has been studied extensively and it has been determined that more than 75% of the area is characterized as having 15% or greater slopes and highly erodible soils. These erodible soils are in direct proximity to two streams and the Potomac River. Disturbance of this area poses a severe erosion hazard that would have an unacceptable negative impact on the streambanks of Powell’s Creek, Quantico Creek and the Potomac River.

  • EN-Policy 5: Maintain or enhance the integrity of surface bodies of water (lakes, ponds, rivers and streams) and Watersheds.
    • Action Strategy 14 -- Create an Environmental Resource (ER) zoning district that will include the land areas, development intensities, and development restrictions discussed in AS-13 and in EN-Policy 1, AS-5.

The Cherry Hill Peninsula is in the watersheds for Powell’s Creek and Quantico Creek, both of which would be adversely impacted if the Peninsula were to be significantly disturbed. It would be impossible to maintain the integrity of the lakes, the two bordering creeks and the Potomac River that are integral to the Peninsula if the area is significantly disturbed. The large area of contiguous forests is an essential part of conditions that maintain the environmental integrity of the Peninsula. Protection of this watershed area is critical to the waterways within the Peninsula, the creeks and river that border it, the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay.

The Cherry Hill Peninsula can be characterized as follows:

1. Large areas of unstable marine clay soils;
2. Large areas of highly erodible soils;
3. Nearly half of the total area characterized as having 25% or greater slopes;
4. More than 75% of the area characterized as having 15% or greater slopes;
5. Bounded on the north and south by the sensitive waterways, Powell’s Creek and Quantico Creek;
6. Bordering on the Potomac River;
7. Large areas of contiguous forest;
8. An essentially unique animal and plant habitat and ecological treasure within the County;

The 1998 Comprehensive Plan states the County’s position regarding existing sector plans as follows:

Where land use classifications or action strategies within individual sector plans are inconsistent with the 1998 Comprehensive plan, the 1998 Comprehensive Plan will apply.

The Cherry Hill Sector Plan clearly falls within the category of being inconsistent with the 1998 Comprehensive plan. The existing sector plan does not recognize the importance of the steep slopes, does not consider the erodible nature of the soils, does not consider the problems of protecting streams and the Potomac River and the development restrictions that should apply to any area in which these conditions are prevalent.

Based on the 1998 Comprehensive Plan, Long-Range Land Use Plan, the Resource Protection Areas of the Chesapeake Bay Act, and the data that demonstrate beyond question that the majority of the Cherry Hill Peninsula is an Environmental Resource, there is abundant evidence that the it should be so designated. At a minimum the more than 40% of the area with greater than 25% slopes should be immediately so designated. Additionally, the more than 75% of the area with slopes of 15% or greater in conjunction with highly erodible soils immediately qualifies as an Environmental Resource. Additionally there are large areas of the peninsula are characterized by soils that have severe limitations and/or soils that have a predominance of marine clays. These also qualify for immediate designation as Environmental Resource.

For all the above reasons not only is the Cherry Hill Peninsula a highly sensitive and unable to withstand the stress of intensive development. It is also a significant natural asset. The preservation of this site would be of great benefit to the county, including contricutions to the economic stability and long-term sustainability of Prince William county. Its preservation would demonstrate that the County is sensitive to the need to address environmental issues, that the Long-Range Land Use Plan is a substantive part of the 1998 Comprehensive Plan and that the County regards its action strategies with regard to environmental resources as valid and appropriate and lastly that it values such unique treasures as the Cherry Hill Peninsula.

Therefore, in accordance with the 1998 Comprehensive Plan, Long-Range Land Use Chapter, the Environment Plan Chapter’s EN-POLICY 1 Action Strategy 5 and EN-POLICY 5 Action Strategy 14, and based on the facts regarding the nature of the topography, soil characteristics, flood plains, lakes, watershed, and surrounding streams and river, and the incontrovertible fact that the Cherry Hill Peninsula meets and greatly exceeds any reasonable criteria, and in particular the criteria spelled out in the 1998 Comprehensive Plan, for qualification for designation as an Environmental Resource, we hereby formally request that the entirety of the Cherry Hill Peninsula receive the appropriate designation as an Environmental Resource and be added to the Long-Range Land Use Plan Map.