Two proposed commercial developments across the street from Wilderness Battlefield jeopardize Orange County's rural landscape. The Wal-Mart Supercenter and Wilderness Crossing retail development would sprawl out over 1,000 acres. Urge the Orange County Government to oppose this development and help protect Orange County's rural historic character.

• See Map of Proposed Development
• See Map of Resources Impacted
  See Map of Increase in Impervious Surfaces
• See NBC 29 News Story
• See Wal-Mart's Application
• Email the Board of Supervisors

NEXT MEETING: TUESDAY, JULY 27, 2009

UPDATE ON THE MEETINGS:

May 21st Meeting: The May 21st Planning Commission public hearing on Wal-Mart was well attended, with over 70 people speaking at the meeting. Speakers were 2.5 to 1 in favor of relocating Wal-Mart or denying the Special Use Permit application. The Planning Commission did not vote on Walmart's Special Use Permit application at the May 21st meeting.

June 11th Meeting: The May 21st meeting was recessed until Thursday, June 11th. The Planning Commission met with Walmart to address questions left over from the last meeting. No decision was made at this meeting, and a follow-up meeting was planned for June 25th.

June 25th Meeting: The Planning Commission voted 5-4 in favor of Wal-Mart's application, and recommended approval to the Board of Supervisors. Even some of those in favor of the application recognized that this was not the best site and would not equate to a win-win situation. The application is expected to go to the Board of Supervisors in late July. More details on the meetings can be found in the news articles listed below.

July 27th Meeting: The Board of Supervisors is expected to review Wal-Mart's application at a specially scheduled BOS Meeting planned for Tuesday, July 27th at 7pm in the high school auditorium.

Background

Two major projects are being discussed for the eastern end of Orange County. Combined they represent the largest commercial development proposal ever to come before the county. Currently, only the Wal-Mart application has been formally submitted. As presented, neither proposal is supported by the guidance found within Orange County's Comprehensive Plan (a twenty-year vision for the county). Due to the recently passed Large Retail Ordinance by the County, the applicants will be required to obtain a special use permit which would include public hearings before the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors.

Wal-Mart

The application for Wal-Mart includes a 133,481 square foot Supercenter directly across from the intersection of Route 3 and Route 20 on a roughly 52 acre commercially zoned site. Walmart would use 20 acres of the site with another 16 acres set aside for additional future retail. It has been suggested that this additional retail may be chain restaurants.

The County recently received a revised application in April which included a "mega-entrance" designed to accommodate both the Wal-Mart and any future development for the King property at Wilderness Crossing. This entrance has always been linked to a future realignment of Route 20 though the heart of the Wilderness Battlefield.

The Board of Supervisors has already given the large retail chain indication of majority approval. This comes in advance of any public hearing and has led to a stale site plan that does little to mitigate the impacts to Route 3, Route 20 and the Wilderness Battlefield National Park. In their rush to render a decision, the County has ignored calls for a battlefield preservation plan and has taken a position that this development is "not a part of the battlefield" and that this level of development would not negatively impact the resource or the gateway entrance to the eastern end of the county.

The first public hearing before the Planning Commission is scheduled for May 21st and the County Board of Supervisors seems poised to approve the development sometime in late June or early July. The public hearing was held on Thursday, May 21st at 7pm, at Prospect Heights Middle School, 202 Dailey Drive, Orange, VA 22960.

Wilderness Crossing

On roughly 1,030 acres (behind and surrounding the proposed Wal-Mart site), Wilderness Crossing would include such uses as 3-4 large retail chains, small retail, offices and limited residential. While no application has been filed, some rough schematics have been presented to the Board of Supervisors. An application is expected soon and the County has shown some preliminary support for the project. From what has been disclosed, it appears to represent development above and beyond what is described in the comprehensive plan and is not in accord with the guiding principles for Economic Development. This proposal would be linked to the Walmart site by the previous mentioned mega-entrance.

What You Can Do

Urge the Orange County Government to oppose this development and help protect Orange County's rural historic character. Send an email to the Board today.