Applicant for Rezoning on Happy Creek Road Makes Point-By-Point Response to Concerns of Town Council and the Public

Marshall’s Glen, a property at 1321 Happy Creek Road, in the vicinity of the intersection of Leach Run Parkway and Happy Creek Road, is currently the site of a proposed rezoning from R-S Suburban Residential to R-1 Residential District. This rezoning would allow the owner, Rappahannock HC, LLC, to develop residential lots at higher density on this forty-three-acre property. On the evening of Monday, June 8, as the Front Royal Town Council came in and out of multiple closed sessions beginning at 6 p.m. in the Front Royal Town Hall at 102 East Main Street, this item was heard and discussed.

Town Council conducts a work session on the evening of Monday, July 8. Royal Examiner Photo Credits: Brenden McHugh.

In a letter that was transmitted earlier on the day of the meeting and which served as the basis for discussion, developer Chris Hornung addressed to the planning and zoning department his answers to several concerns that were generated at the public hearing of the Town planning commission on June 26 and at the town council work session on July 1. Among the concerns raised is whether the fiscal impact analysis of this project, conducted by S. Patz & Associates, overestimates the sales revenue that will be generated by these new homes. In other words, will these homes be purchased by commuters who do their shopping in other localities? Hornung’s answer to this question is no. Because of the onset of COVID-19, these homes are more likely to attract homeowners who work remotely and therefore do their shopping locally at venues like Target, Wal-Mart, Lowes, and Martins. Furthermore, the sales tax for on-site as well as remote, online purchases made within Warren County will benefit the Town, as the County collects the sales tax on those purchases, and distributes a percentile to the Town based on student enrollment. “For example,” Hornung writes, “if 50% of Warren County students reside within Town limits, the Town receives 50% of County sales tax revenues. The Town receives a share of sales taxes generated within the County, whether inside Town limits, in Warren County, or remote purchases delivered to Warren County addresses.”

Deputy Zoning Administrator John Ware presents Rappahannock Development Group’s response to concerns about the proposed rezoning on Happy Creek Road.

Without proffers, Rappahannock could realistically build sixty-one units by right in the current R-S zone. But the one hundred four single-family detached dwelling units they would like to be able to build in the R-1 zone are being proposed with proffers totaling $669,370. This boils down to a per unit cash proffer of $6,436 which will be delivered for each unit built. Instead of paying the money over time as the units are built, Hornung expressed that he and his team would be willing to deliver the total proffer as a “lump sum” within the next twelve months, not to be returned even if the one hundred four maximum is not met, if that would assist the Town as it goes forward with its various projects. The Marshall’s Glen project going forward could potentially set the Town up to receive a better score on VDOT’s SmartScale and receive some of the funding needed for the road improvements.

Chief Development Officer of Rappahannock Development Group Chris Hornung is invited by Mayor Lori Cockrell to answer questions.

In his letter, Hornung also addressed the capacity of Oden Street, leading to the Marshall’s Glen project, to sustain the increase in traffic, pointing to all the ways in which VDOT standards are met; he addressed the pre-existing drainage issue of the neighboring Oden Ridge subdivision, assuring that the construction on Marshall’s Glen will not exacerbate it; and he underscored the $407,620 annual surplus in revenue to the Town predicted by the fiscal impact analysis, over and above any cost to the Town incurred by the development, illustrating that increased property taxes will not be a concern. The Public Works department and the town manager have confirmed that the Town does indeed have the utility capacity to serve the project. Finally, the owner is willing to dedicate the right-of-way needed by the Town for widening Happy Creek Road, if none of the dwelling units are negatively affected.