FRLP presents evolving development plan despite uncertain financial times

Some six years down the road from the friendly annexation into town of Front Royal Limited Partnership’s 604 acres earmarked for residential and mixed use development off Mary’s Shady Lane on the town’s east side, FRLP principal David Vazzana brought his evolving developmental plan back to the Front Royal Planning Commission Wednesday night, May 6.

After a power point presentation by the virtually present Vazzana, one commission member expressed gratitude for the detailed and graphically enhanced material.

“This is a wonderful presentation – I really learned a lot from this. And I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the work you put into the visuals, because it’ll be useful …” Cee Ann Davis told Vazzana of the path forward on his amended plans for the property.

A view of the portion of the FRLP 604-acre parcel now earmarked for a solar power field. It would be the town’s second, the first being the Town Energy Services Department’s 15-acre array to the FRLP property’s easy near Manassas Ave. FRLP would like to be able to place solar panels under the power lines visible on the property if you look closely. Royal Examiner Photos/Roger Bianchini

Those plans include 106 acres for a solar power farm and another 153 acres for a Data Center Campus, as well as 138 acres left as wooded and open space on the property’s more topographically challenged western area. Those changes leave 207 acres of the now Agriculturally-zoned land for rezoning to residential development. Vazzana estimated a Phase One of that development for 400 to 800 homes on 125 acres. FRLP owns another 150-acre parcel also earmarked for future development by the Town Comprehensive Plan, but that is another discussion for another planning district and day.

As things stand now Vazzana acknowledged myriad unknowns from financial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic emergency and response, particularly as they might impact the new housing market and banking options in residential investments.

“Obviously things have changed significantly since February (when the amended plan was first brought to the Town planners) and I appreciate your bearing with me on this as my thinking has also continued to evolve in light of present circumstances,” Vazzana told the commission.

Part of that evolution is delaying a public hearing on his proposed Comprehensive Plan Amendments for his project to avoid multiple hearings on what could be a constantly changing endgame in the current fluid economic environment.

Everything is connected – the economy, the future, our health, our plans …

So following completion of his presentation it was agreed to table the FRLP Comp Plan Amendment requests until the economic landscape becomes clearer and FRLP might be able to consolidate its three proposals into a more finalized, perhaps single developmental and amendment request.

The FRLP 604-acre property has been given its own “Marshall Planning District” designation for the Marshall family connections to property around Mary’s Shady Lane. That includes some crumbling remains of one structure and a cemetery of the family that produced the fourth, and some consider the most important, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Marshall. Those historical sites would be preserved in the FRLP plans.

Vazzana addressed one long-time sticking point for FRLP’s development plan, transportation infrastructure providing egress and ingress to what was originally envisioned as a primarily residential development once discussed by a regional developer – Centex if I recall – at as many as 1862 homes. Presenting graphics on three potential access roads into the property, a fourth might potentially be added it was noted, Vazzana said a goal for him from the start was to give the residential development a “neighborhood feel”.

To achieve that “feel” the use of multiple access roads are now planned. That would avoid potential bottlenecks at a single primary entrance point into an originally Town-requested East-West connector road funded by FRLP. However, Vazzana’s presentation noted that existing road improvements would be necessary tied to all three access points – how much at what expense, and would those costs be shared, remain at issue.

Vazzana observed cutting back the total number of homes and thus traffic could reduce necessary improvements to existing roads saving millions in road infrastructure costs.

“The Town has historically been unwilling to fund any infrastructure to improve the safety or capacity of its transportation network serving the Happy Creek Technology Park and Northeast Planning Area,” one page of the FRLP power point observed.

An Eastern Access would be at Shenandoah Shores Road; Central Access at Mary’s Shady Lane; and Eastern Access into Manassas Avenue and/or Eighth Street.

Of transportation and solar field planning, Vazzana addressed discussions with Southern Railroad regarding the Mary’s Shady Lane crossing onto Happy Creek Road and Dominion Power line right of way running across a portion of the property. He said he hoped to receive permission to install solar panels under the power lines, which would increase the acreage of the solar array. However, pointing to historical difficulties in negotiating with either railroad or power companies, he noted his assumptions on desired outcomes with both were that they would most likely not be achieved.
Planning Commissioner Darryl Merchant called the proposal timely and observed that the potential tax revenue generated to the Town by the Data Center would likely more than compensate for the relatively low tax generation from the solar field.

And next door
Following the FRLP presentation the planning commission reviewed a request from the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority for the rezoning of two of its properties adjacent to the Marshall Planning District-FRLP parcel.

Merchant told his fellow commissioners that the EDA wanted to return the parcels to their original Industrial-2 zoning, from R-1.

Merchant said the agenda item was not up for immediate movement toward approval, but rather was included as a “heads up” as it might impact the FRLP-Marshall District proposal or vice versa.
Commission Chairman Doug Jones noted the surrounding Progress Drive area commercial zoning at the EDA’s Happy Creek Technology Park, observing, “To me that’s a very logical reason to approve that rezoning.”

The two red outlined parcels are the ones the EDA is seeking re-zoning back to the original Industrial-2 between the Happy Creek Technology Park to the right (east) and the FRLP/Marshall Planning District to the left (west).

“What is the story going on here – hadn’t we made some changes there a while ago when this was going to be the police academy or something?” one commissioner asked, drawing some laughter concerning the aborted police academy project. As readers will recall the EDA police academy project is now one target of the EDA forensic audit and consequent civil litigation that linked the names of former EDA Executive Director Jennifer McDonald, late Sheriff Daniel McEathron and ITFederal principal Truc “Curt” Tran.

But that too, is another story for another day – eventually in court more than likely.
For today, Acting Town Planning Director Chris Brock explained the zoning change involved the EDA’s attempt to improve its properties’ “Tier” rankings with the State Economic Development Partnership to make its properties more marketable.

See that brief discussion and the lengthy but informative FRLP presentation in the virtual recording: