COURTHOUSE — The Virginia Beach Agricultural Advisory Commission opposes a proposal to build a dense apartment complex on what used to be farmland along Princess Anne Road near the municipal center.
The commission, which advises the City Council on policy related to the farming industry, voted to oppose the project on Monday, Oct. 9.
The commission’s acting chairperson, farmer Billy Vaughan, on Tuesday, Oct. 10, wrote a letter to the Planning Commission listing reasons to deny a rezoning request that would clear the way for what the developer bills as a second phase of its earlier Southern Pine apartment project.
The Planning Commission is scheduled to vote on whether to recommend approval of the project today, and the City Council would hear it next week after the request by developer Franklin Johnston Group was fast tracked by Mayor Bobby Dyer.
Freddie Fletcher, senior development manager of the Franklin Johnston Group, recently told The Independent News the project will fill “a critical need” for workforce housing. The developer has a track record of creating needed affordable housing, he said, and it has changed its plans to address concerns about the project, including reducing the height of one planned apartment building from four to three stories.
As The Independent News reported this past weekend, this would be the second time the Planning Commission has heard a version of the project. The body in August supported an earlier iteration of the plan to build 176 multifamily units on 6.26 acres, including workforce housing, but it never went to City Council.
After the Planning Commission heard the first version of the proposal, concerns emerged that part of the land is in the Interfacility Traffic Area between Naval Air Station Oceana and Naval Auxiliary Landing Field Fentress. Such development is not allowed in the ITA. The developer moved planned apartment buildings to the part of the property that is not within it and resubmitted its conditional rezoning request.
The Navy had never offered its take on the first version of the project, as required under an agreement between the sea service and city meant to avoid encroachment on the jet base. But now the Navy has been consulted about the revised plan and does not oppose it, according to a summary prepared by the city.
Still, Vaughan wrote that the Agricultural Advisory Commission “strongly opposes” the rezoning application because the project area is below the city’s Green Line between suburban and rural areas of the city and the plan proposes transferring development rights between the original Southern Pine development and the new one.
Additionally, the commission expressed concern about the amount of density sought on the property, the amount of open space in the proposal and its stormwater drainage plan.
“We have major concerns about unintended consequences and impacts of this project,” Vaughan wrote. “For these reasons, we strongly oppose and urge you to deny this application.”
Ed. — Read Vaughan’s letter at this link.
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