2004

2006

2008

Development Plan

May 13, 2009 -- The Cherry Hill Peninsula was nearly 2,000 acres of high quality hardwood forest overlooking the Potomac River, with a network of wetlands and streams that meandered through a rugged landscape. It was our Mason Neck Peninsula, our Crow’s Nest.

But conservation is a hard sale in Prince William County. Despite opposition from hundreds of people, Supervisors rezoned Cherry Hill in January 2001 for high-density mixed-use development and a golf course.

The recent announcement that the Cherry Hill/Harbor Station development project has gone bankrupt and is being foreclosed comes as no surprise to many – but don’t blame it on the recession. This development has struggled from the beginning. In 2002 the property was sold to Lee Carolina LLC. (KSI/Kettler, Sandler & Sons). Over the next several years, Kettler made a series of changes to the development plan that increased residential densities, relocated residential areas, changed the road network and modified proffered open space.

Funding for public infrastructure was also an issue. Located far from existing infrastructure, costs for transportation improvements were significant. Supervisors responded by approving a Community Development Authority for the development in 2006. This CDA allows the developer to issue more than $90 million in bonds to fund construction of the primary road through the development, improvements to the Route 234/Route 1 interchange and a VRE station.

But despite all this adjusting and incentivizing, there’s been little or no activity at the Harbor Station development site for well more than a year. Much of the land north of Cherry Hill Road has been cut-and-filled. Erosion controls are in a shambles, leaving acre upon acre of bare soil to erode into Powell’s Creek and the Potomac River.  Major roads left in various stages of construction spider across the landscape. Perimeter roads are blocked by old boats with graffiti or rusting pipes.

Eight years after the rezoning, the Cherry Hill Peninsula is a mess and has been for quite some time.

What’s the problem? Costs to develop are always a factor. Properties with significant conservation values, such as Cherry Hill, can be very expensive to develop, generally for the same reasons they are important to protect – unstable/fragile soils, steep slopes, streams and wetlands, presence of protected species, absence of public infrastructure.

In the end, as the realtors say, location seems to be the key. The Urban Land Institute pointed this out in their February 2002 report on Prince William’s Potomac Communities, saying:

"The largest town center currently being planned in the Potomac Communities is Southbridge Town Center on the Cherry Hill peninsula. The panel does not believe that this Town Center at Legend is likely to be built. To succeed, retail centers need high visibility and accessibility, and this site has neither. It is a dead-end location, away from the arterial road junctions, with no market on its eastern side."

The report goes on to say that “the Cherry Hill peninsula demands the urgent preparation of a new master plan,” recommends relocation of the town center from within Cherry Hill to a location near Route 1, and warns that failure to address these problems could impede efforts to attract the type of development needed to realize the County’s Potomac Communities vision.

What does the future hold for the Cherry Hill Peninsula? Although the economic downturn has perhaps dealt a fatal blow to at least one of the Harbor Station partners, the newspaper articles hint that Kettler is planning to stay the course, saying the project needs to be “rebooted and repackaged to match today’s economics…”

After the smoke clears, it seems likely that we will see yet more changes proposed for the development of the Cherry Hill Peninsula.  Will the changes reflect the advice provided by the Urban Land Institute or continue subsidies for a fundamentally flawed plan?

Changes to the County’s Comprehensive Plan could also play a role. If approved by the Board, the Planning Commission’s current proposal to establish “proffer free” zones for properties that are greater than 100 acres, planned for high-density mixed-use communities and in need of “revitalization” could be the perfect opportunity for yet another rezoning of the Cherry Hill Peninsula… this time with no proffers.

December 1 2004 -- Cherry Hill development plan is back for more changes. At their December1 regular meeting, the Prince Willialm County reconsidered their previous denial of the proposed site plan for the area north of old Cherry Hill Road, adjacent to Powell's Creek and the Potomac River. There was no public hearing or opportunity for citizen input. The Planning Commission approved the subdivision plan by a 6-2 vote. Voting to approve: Bryant (Woodbridge), Burgess (Brentsville), Fry (Dumfries), Holley (Neabsco), Gonzales (Coles) and May (At Large). Voting to deny: Hendley (Gainesville); Hosen (Occoquan).

Transparent government processes are at the heart of the controversy surrounding the Cherry Hill/Southbridge/Harbor Station development. Recent news highlighting site plan problems in Prince William, including Saratoga Hunt and the Horton development adjacent to Rippon Landing, have generated considerable rhetoric from public officials.

It's easy to see the similarities between current Cherry Hill issues and Saratoga Hunt, where County government approved a site plan that included 14 proffer violations. Developer Richmond American used that approved plan to secure permits from the Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for stream impacts (that violated proffered commitments) and begin construction.

At Saratoga Hunt, the County's site inspectors failed to catch the violations... they didn't have a copy of the proffers so how could they tell? Inspectors rely on the approved site plan. If there is an error in the site plan, apparently the only way to "catch" violations is by quick of fate or citizens who are paying attention. During the Saragota Hunt incident, Supervisors promised to fix the process so this couldn't happen again.

Now the County is faced with similar issues at Cherry Hill. The current site plan for the Cherry Hill/Southbridge/Harbor Station development deviates considerably from the proffered commitments. Regardless of lessons learned at Saratoga Hunt, no efforts to reform the process are apparent; it's like deja vu all over again.

Generally government response to concerns about changes at Cherry Hill have been minimal, they'd prefer to talk about something else such as a proposed 234-room hotel/conference center at Cherry Hill, which we simply must have.

But what about the 240-room hotel and conference center announced for the nearby Belmont Bay Town Center in March 2002 that's still waiting in the wings? A hotel at Belmont has been a long time coming... why compete against yourself at Cherry Hill? It has none of the advantages found at Belmont - close to I-95, an existing VRE station and the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Cherry Hill is far from an interstate highway, the VRE station is an unfunded dream.

Although every Supervisor ran on a "smart growth" platform in the last election, the Board decided a public hearing was not needed for changes to the Cherry Hill plan. Supervisors did, however, have considerable input from the public at the original rezoning. Hundreds of people attended the public hearing to oppose the development and the dialogue continued until nearly 4:00 a.m., when the Board overrode citizen opinion and voted to approve the developers plan.

When Supervisors rezoned Cherry Hill, they committed Prince William taxpayer dollars to construct schools, roads and other infrastructure needed to support the development. Now the developer is proposing significant changes to the plan, the public is excluded from decision making processes and it appears that all we can really count on is a clearcut at Cherry Hill.

Will we get what we expect? Recent history raises concerns. For example, although the development plans for Cherry Hill focused on high quality retail and not outlet retail such as K-Mart (Washington Business Journal, Feb. 16 2001), a Wal-Mart now sits at the entrance to the development.

November 3, 2004 -- The Planning Commission voted unanimously to reconsider their vote to deny the Cherry Hill/Southbridge/Harbor Station site plan and then voted to defer the application until the December 1 meeting. The Planning Commission requested Planning staff to provide additional information on deviations from the original proffers and Master Zoning Plan, including a matrix comparing land bay uses and phasing commitments.

October 20, 2004, the PWC Planning Commission voted to deny the 'new' Cherry Hill/Southbridge/Harbor Station site plan by a 6-1 vote. Voting to Deny: Bryant (Woodbridge), Burgess (Brentsville), Fry (Dumfries), Gonzales (Coles), Hendley (Gainesville), Hosen (Occoquan). Voting to Approve: Hefter (At Large). Absent from Meeting: Holley (Neabsco).

The Harbor Station site plan showed substantial deviations from the original proffers and approved Master Zoning Plan (MZP). Land bays and roads were substantially realigned, and the golf course was relocated. These changes were not approved through the proper procedure - the proffer amendment process - therefore the written set of rules and commitments approved by the Board of Supervisors do not match the current site plan. The Planning Commission affirmed that, in order to receive a favorable review, the proposed site plan should match the approved proffers and MZP, and not show significant deviations from the development package approved by the Board of Supervisors.

The Planning Commission denial of the proposed site plan means that the developer, KSI Services, must determine next steps. Options include: (1) Complete a proffer amendment and resubmit the site plan; (2) Submit a site plan that is consistent with the original proffers and MZP; or (3) Appeal the Planning Commission decision in Circuit Court, which must be filed within sixty days of the site plan denial.