A Comprehensive Plan Amendment has been submitted for Mintbrook Farm -- a 675 home development proposed in the Bealeton Service District. Bealeton Gateway, LLC is proposing to add 125 acres into the Service District and change the land use designation of 224 acres to Mixed Use.

The Comprehensive Plan Amendment is Missing a Few Important Details
The Comprehensive Plan Amendment does not say: why expansion of the service district is needed, how 675 new homes will impact Bealeton, what the impact on the County's growth rate would be, and what costs this development would impose on Fauquier County taxpayers.

Concerns Worth Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors Consideration
According to the County Soil Scientist almost 50% of the land is rated as poor for development. The proposal would add strip development along Route 17, destroy the existing hard edge of the service district, and compromise the Village of Liberty across the street. The impact on schools would be substantial and the amendment would also deprive Opal, Remington, and other parts of Bealeton of potential sewer capacity. Stormwater management is a serious issue and the expansion appears dependant upon a regional stormwater management system of a speculative nature.

According to County Zoning Ordinance, the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors should examine such factors as: a) the justification for the proposed expansion of the community; b) the availability of water and sewer and other infrastructure such as fire and rescue facilities, schools, and roads; c) the fiscal and community wide impacts of the addition; and d) the consistency of the proposed expansion with the orderly development of the service district. As noted in the staff report, the applicant produced inadequate information to satisfy these standards. Furthermore, data provided indicates that the proposal violates these standards.

Meeting Details
The application is available for review at the Fauquier County Planning Office and will be addressed at a Board of Supervisors Public Hearing on Thursday, July 9, 2009 at 6:30pm in the Warren Green Building, 10 Hotel Street, Warrenton.

For more information, please see the Fauquier County Public Hearing Agenda Request or contact Chris Miller, PEC President at 540-347-2334.