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Catlett Farm LLC Comprehensive Plan Change and Rezoning Proposal
Catlett Farms application scheduled for Board of Supervisors at Public Hearing on 8 December 2011. CFFC continues to recognize significant concerns. This Public Hearing starts at 6:30 P.M. in the Warren Green Building, 10 Hotel Street, Warrenton.
CFFC analysis of 8 December 2011 application:
Catlett Farm LLC is coming up for the 7th public hearing after almost two years of consideration.The developers, Monday Properties, are proposing 225 single-family houses and 45 multi-family apartments as well as 85,000 square feet of commercial floor space at build-out on 800 acres. The developer is not proposing any cash proffers to offset fiscal impacts to schools, parks, playgrounds and recreation areas as well as other county services, as generally expected by the County.
They are offering a sewer treatment plant on 191 acres on land presently zoned agriculture that would require the County to provide connection lines costing approximately $3 million to $3.7 million BEFORE the sewer treatment plant is built.
The people of Catlett and Calverton would be charged about $18,000 to $25,000 a household to hook-up to the sewer, plus a plumber's fee of about $2,200, and monthly fees of anywhere from $60 a month to over $100 month.
Area schools are at capacity.According to County school statistics the cost to taxpayers for 225 houses, determined before the 45 apartments were added, would be approximately $6.4 million capital cost plus $1.7 million in annual costs. The County expects developers to mitigate the impacts of their development on public facilities with cash proffers.
A cash proffer for 225 single-family houses and 45 apartments, using the County's Proffer Policy as a guide, would amount to over $7 million.
The Staff Report Fiscal Analysis notes a "net fiscal impact (negative) of the proposal at interim build-out is estimated to total $1.1 million annually, while the negative impact of final build-out is estimated to total $0.8 million, annually." A copy of the Staff Report and other documents can be downloaded from links in the right hand column of this page.
The developers propose a sewer treatment system on 191 acres of land that has been labeled "poor" and "very poor" for building the system by the County soil scientist, the Virginia Tech soil scientist consultant, and even the developer's own soil scientist. The developers admit they have never taken on this type of system on this large scale or on this type of soil.Fauquier would be their guinea pig, and responsible if the system fails.
The traffic impacts could force busy Rt. 28 to become a four-lane highway.The developer proposes transportation improvements for which they will proffer $1,710,000.Any additional costs beyond that amount would be the responsibility of the County or VDOT.
The developer has moved only some of their houses away from the two giant transcontinental gas lines -- but just 100 feet away, which would hardly protect them if one of the lines erupted, as happened in l974.
The developer proposes a large portion of the site to be rezoned from RA to PRD density, they do not provide a plan for development on this land, which should require separate rezoning approval.
While retail space brings in more taxes to the County than residential, only 8,500 square feet, of the 85,000 square feet proffered, is guaranteed to be built by the 200th single-family house.
The Zoning Office criticizes the project for not having the variety of housing types, heights, massing and lot types required to meet the PRD standards.
While this ill-conceived proposal continues to lumber along with so little to recommend it, the County has new and very promising technology available to quickly and directly remediate the long-standing concerns of Catlett/Calverton for proper sanitation. These options cannot be pursued while this proposal remains on the table. Urge the Board of Supervisors to move in the right direction!
The Supervisors full information packet for this application can be found at http://agenda.fauquiercounty.gov/ in the 12/08/11 BOS Regular Meeting html file.
Catlett Farms application returns to Board of Supervisors Public Hearing Agenda on 8 September 2011.
The revised application requests: 1) Comprehensive Plan Amendment a) expand the Catlett Village Service District by approximately 191 acres b) change approximately 62 acres from Office to Mixed Use c) change text and maps 2) A Rezoning to allow for up to 225 single-family residential units, up to 85,000 square feet of commercial uses, and multi-family units in the mixed-use area, including a) Rezoning of 434.32 acres from Rural Agriculture (RA) to Planned Residential Development (PRD) b) Rezoning of 51.84 acres from Residential-1 (R-1) to Planned Residential Development (PRD) c) Rezoning of 307.31 acres from Rural Agriculture (RA) to Rural Agriculture (RA) with Proffers 3) A Category 20 Special Exception to allow for a public sewage facility and disposal site
September 2011 update - CFFC continues to recognize significant concerns.
1. Our fundamental objection to the new proposal remains the same as before: Its approval would involve a significant health and financial gamble for Fauquier County by permitting drain fields on soils that Virginia Tech and County soil scientists have studied and found to be unsuitable for that purpose.
2. The Applicant’s plan to site houses on both sides of and between two major gas pipelines (Colonial and Transcontinental) would create a risk of horrific damage to life and property.
3. The Applicant does not state how many apartments are proposed in the mixed use area in addition to the 225 single-family and attached houses proposed.
4. The Proffers state that the County must pay for the collection system of the proposed sewage treatment plant serving the current residents of Catlett and Calverton.
5. The County has an ordinance requiring Service District residents to hook up to sewer systems when such are available in Service Districts. Currently, the Catlett/Calverton Service District is exempt from this ordinance because there is no sewer system in place there. How would the County reconcile this situation equitably going forward under the Applicant’s plan?
6. The Applicant plans to drill wells to supplement existing Catlett water supplies, yet no hydrological study has been undertaken to determine if sufficient water is available to service all the development units proposed.
7. The Applicant offers no monetary proffers for the impacts of the development on County services. Local schools are already at, or over, capacity.
8. We appreciate the Applicant’s efforts to propose context-sensitive solutions to possible transportation problems in the development area, particularly those that would substitute roundabouts for two signalized intersections along Route 28.
The Board of Supervisors Public Hearing on March 10, 2011 resulted in this application being deferred for up to 90 days.
The Catlett Farm LLC revised application described in the March 10, 2001 Hearing package included a 300-350 house subdivision and 64,000 sq. feet of commercial development proposed for the little village of Catlett.
-It spells nothing but higher taxes for County taxpayers. No monetary proffers to offset the impact on schools and county services. School Administration estimates capital and operating cost impact of $8,880,744 The County calculates an ANNUAL fiscal impact of $3.2 million. -Developer has eliminated most proffers, including: Previously proffered school site, community park and, Most importantly, sewer connections to the present residents of Catlett -Sewer treatment plant adjacent to the Cedar Run flood plain Shallow surface sewer lines on soil declared questionable for affluent disposal. Click on this line to read Soil Scientist Report -Due to floodplain and wetlands the 300 to 350 houses are placed next to two gas lines, One gas line exploded in l974, Both transcontinental lines have deteriorated through the years. -Development will add 5,900 trips a day to Rt. 28 and Old Dumfries Rd., Will trigger need to widen Rt. 28 to four lanes Adds dangerous traffic to a narrow farm road. -Threatens heavy County investment in PDR's to protect and encourage this critical dairy farm country Catlett Farm LLC is surrounded by PDR easements. -The impacts to historic sites have never been considered Land figured importantly in the Civil War Known colonial sites Known Native American prehistoric sites
The Catlett Farm LLC property consists of approximately 800 acres of land in the Village of Catlett. The developer has revised their Comprehensive Plan Amendment and Rezoning application and will present a revised proposal to the Board of Supervisors at some future public hearing will likely include: 950645 ??? residential units 95,000 64,500 square feet of commercial uses 307 acre wastewater treatment system with drip irrigation dispersal 15 acre school site Mixed Use development located between two pipelines
CFFC's evaluation of this proposal to date is:
Catlett Farm LLC's proposal details still do not add up, seems to be all smoke and mirrors with no magic sewer.
In late November, while the Board of Supervisors and County staff still wrestled with the Catlett Farms LLC rezoning for 645 houses and 64,500 sq. ft. of commercial sites, in preparation for the 9 December 2010 Public Hearing, the developer pulled one more sad rabbit out of its fraying top hat. They reduced their request to 450 houses and reduced the size and service capacity of their sewer treatment facility. The fundamental problems with this proposal don’t change with the number of houses. It is unacceptable at any size. The only perceived advantage the proposal has ever had is the possibility that the developer will bring needed sewer service to the village of Catlett. This latest iteration of the developer's application makes it far less likely that all the areas of Catlett that need sewer service will get it from this source. Other locally generated options are under consideration and should be allowed to move forward.
Behind all the “what ifs?” is the Catlett Service District’s Revised Comprehensive Plan. It was approved by the Planning Commission over a year ago. Supervisors have yet to vote on it. We hope they will so do, and then deny approval of the Catlett Farm LLC proposal.You can read the reasons why in our analysis below.While fewer houses would make all the negative impact numbers a little smaller, it all end up as a big negative for Catlett area residents, users of Route 28, and County tax payers.
14 October 2010 Proposal Map
CFFC's analysis of the October 2010 revised proposal includes.
The number of dwellings is excessive: Currently Catlett has 121 dwellings based on 2009 tax assessment records This proposal would result in a more than 500% increase of dwellings in this Village
The Fiscal impact is excessive: 645 units, 540 with up to $28,613 each for infrastructure, a $17+ Million tax bill County staff estimates a negative annual $3 Millon cost to provide services It looks like we tax payers would be stuck with another giant tax bill! (see our Fiscal Matters and Cost of Growth pages for proffers explanation).
The traffic impact is excessive: 645 units would generate 6,450 additional vehicle trips, most traveling on Rt. 28 Applicant's traffic impact analysis states Rt. 28 "needs to be four-lane roadway" Current Comprehensive Plan proposals call for Rt. 28 as two-lane roadway Developer proposes no road improvements other than at intersections with Rt. 28 Our current proffer guidelines do not include transportation costs Any transportation improvements should NOT be counted toward $ 17+ Million All Rt. 28 users will be significantly impacted Does the developer expect the tax payers to pay for solving this problem also?
Sewer drip irrigation dispersal area questionable: Area for dispersal (red in graphic) rated unsuited, poor, marginal for drainfields Virginia Tech Soil Scientist Report identifies this as "very risky and adventurous proposition" Area proposed for development (yellow and brown) rated unsuited for drainfields Sewer system required for this development Sewer is not supported by County General Fund but is a WSA responsibility Contributions for sewer capacity is not a proffer guideline item Any sewer made available to WSA should NOT be counted toward $ 17+ Million bill No funds specifically proffered to pay for access to sewer for other properties
We will update this page as more information on this proposal is made available.
The staff report published for the announced 9 December Public Hearing can be down loaded by clicking on this link 2010-12-09-Catlett-Farm-Staff-Report. This report has been compressed from 33 Mega bytes to 4 Megabytes, down load time will depend on you connection speed.
