Williamsburg planning commission denies Strawberry Plains rezoning request for townhouse development

Dozens of Williamsburg residents showed up to speak out against a proposed rezoning on Strawberry Plains Road that would pave the way for a 120-townhouse development, citing concerns with traffic, safety and the environment.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the city’s planning commission voted 5-0 to deny a request by Cale Development LLC to rezone the property at 180 Strawberry Plains Road. The lot, which is currently zoned RS-2 and allows for only single-family dwellings, would need to be rezoned to allow townhouses under the proposal.

One selling point of the potential rezoning and subsequent sale of the land was the inclusion of several units to be used for affordable housing, something that residents said was not enough to outweigh the potential harm.

“You can tell me all day long how great things look on paper,” Williamsburg resident Debbie Burcham said during the public forum. “That’s not how it is in the real world.”

According to a city staff report, which recommended approval of the proposal, the impact of the development on traffic and the environment would be negligible. It would include up to 15 townhouses to be used for affordable housing, which the city of Williamsburg has been focused on in recent years.

Under the proposal, Cale Development, headed by planning commission member John Cale, would sell 15 townhomes at a reduced rate — $100,000 off of the market-rate value of $325,000 — with the intention of providing affordable housing for Williamsburg area workers. The city, which purchased the land for $1.1 million in 1988, would sell the land to the company for $650,000 in return for the inclusion of the affordable housing units.

However, both residents and members of the planning commission pointed to the fact that, should the townhomes not sell at the reduced rate, they would be sold at market rate, with $100,000 per unit given back to the city.

Speakers included several people who live and work near the proposed development, as well as a handful of William & Mary professors. The common consensus among them was that the potential harm of the development outweighed any purported benefits.

The vast majority of public comments included concerns about the traffic, which residents said is already reaching crisis levels even without a potential new addition adding 120 homes. In addition to several small businesses and neighborhood roads, Strawberry Plains Road is also home to Berkeley Middle School.

Danny Schmidt, who formerly sat on the James City County Planning Commission, said that safety concerns would prompt him to deny the proposal.

W&M herbarium curator Beth Chambers said she was “appalled” by the lack of environmental analysis done on the land, which abuts the College Woods.

W&M biology professor Helen Murphy explained the significance of College Woods, describing its more than 160-year-old trees. She said she worried that the Strawberry Plains development would cause severe erosion similar to what has been seen with W&M’s “grand canyon,” a massive hole into the gently sloping landscape through which Strawberry Creek, a tributary of Lake Matoaka, flows.

“This is a five-alarm fire for us,” she said.

City council member Ted Maslin, whose term is up at the end of December, prompted the city to do more than just what is legally required when it comes to traffic and environmental studies.

During their discussion, members of the planning commission agreed that more work needed to be done to make the proposal work. Member Marcia Liebel expressed concern about the traffic while Bill Hamilton said that the development might not be “complementary” to the existing neighborhood.

“Maybe we need to look at alternatives to what’s been offered,” he said.

Chairman James Boswell remarked that his overarching goal is making Williamsburg a better place but that he didn’t see that the project would accomplish that goal as it stands.

“We could end up with increased capacity with zero impact on the goal of affordable housing,” he said.

In a statement after the meeting, Cale Construction said it heard and appreciated the neighbors’ concerns and would take everything into consideration when deciding how to move forward. The company said it maintains that the Strawberry Plains development would be a great asset to Williamsburg, “just like the many other communities we have developed over the years.”

“However, it is critical to understand that this project is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and helps accomplish the city’s goals and initiatives regarding affordable and workforce housing,” the statement said. “No one project will accomplish those goals on its own, but Landmark Village embodies inclusive zoning and is a purposeful and deliberate approach to providing housing for our city’s teachers, nurses, firemen, social workers and first responders.”

Sian Wilkerson, 757-342-6616, sian.wilkerson@pilotonline.com