by Rose Murphy, Bull Run Observer
19 May 2006, p 1
“Brookfield Washington, LLC, the applicant, postponed a public hearing at Prince William Board of County Supervisors May 16 on the Brentswood development of 6800 homes around Nissan Pavilion.
“At the end of the board’s afternoon session, Sean Connaughton, chairman and at-large member, told the audience that Brookfield wanted to make a number of changes to its plans and had pulled the proposal from the evening’s agenda. Since the changes will be significant, the matter will have to return to the planning commission for a hearing before coming back for a board of supervisors’ public hearing, Connaughton explained.
“Connaughton told his audience, ‘It could be several months before (the Brentswood project) comes back to the board of supervisors.’
“Prince William County’s Democratic Committee at its April 27 meeting passed a resolution asking the board of supervisors to turn down the Brentswood proposal. [Note: A similar resolution was passed by the Prince William County Republican Committee on April 1.]
“At back-to-back press conferences May 12 in Nokesville Volunteer Fire Department, both theDemocrats and the Republicans pointed out what they perceive to be significant problems with the Brentswood applications.
“At a public hearing April 12, the county’s planning commission voted against the Brookfield plan for homes, retail and office space, a commuter rail station, and two new interchanges on Linton Hall Road.
“Brookfield wants to change the land use from industrial and employment center to business and residential uses. It also wants a re-zoning of the acreage and special use permits (SUP) for Brentswsood Village Center and Prince William Station at Brentswood, two town centers. The applicant wants an amendment to the county’s comprehensive plan to change the area’s Thoroughfare Plan and the long-range land use plan.
“The Thoroughfare Plan includes two roads planned on the site. One is University Boulevard, or the East-West connector, which goes through the property south and west of Nissan Pavilion and connects with the University Boulevard ramp over I-66 and up to Rt. 29. The second road is an extension of realigned Glenkirk Road (Rollins Ford Road). Rollins Ford Road would join the East/West connector with a T-intersection south of Nissan Pavilion.
“The applicant seeks to realign University Boulevard from Devlin Road to join with Wellington Road, and to realign Rollins Ford Road westward to connect with the University Boulevard ramp over I-66 and to replace its planned realignment with Brentswood Parkway.
“Plans also call for extending what is planned as Rollins Ford Road to I-66, including an interchange. Brookfield also wants to realign Wellington Road northward to become New Wellington Road.
“Changes to the long-range land use plan include dropping 606.3 acres of flexible use employment center to 34 acres, removing 376.3 acres of industrial employment, making 278 acres of regional employment center, and changing the environmental resource area from 184.1 acres to 116.5 acres.
“The rezoning proposal would remove 999.2 acres of agncultural land, 9.7 acres of light industrial property, 448.7 acres of heavy industrial land, and 42.3 acres of industrial land from the county. It would be replaced by 34 acres of planned mixed use district, 1146.1 acres of planned mixed residential.
“The county’s planning department recommended the planning commission deny the applications at the April meeting because of the demand for high-tech flex-type office space which would be cut and the fact the applicant proposes five times the maximum number of homes intended in the comprehensive plan. Planning staff also said there is a more than adequate supply of retail uses planned elsewhere in the county.
“Brentswood Village Center would be a 43-acre town center with up to 500,000 square feet of non-residential development and up to 312 homes. Prince William Station at Brentswood would be a 52-acre town center with up to 1.45 million square feet of non-residential development and up to 275 homes.
“Brookfield also wants to set up a Community Development Authority (CDA) to fund off-site infrastructure improvements.”