NK Planning Commission rejects Liberty Landing
New Kent’s Planning Commission is recommending that the county’s Board of Supervisors turn thumbs down on a rezoning application that would pave the way for building 344 townhouses, 264 apartments, and 100,000 square feet of commercial space on Route 60 near Bottoms Bridge.
Commission members voted 9-0 with one abstention Monday night to forward an unfavorable recommendation to supervisors concerning the Liberty Landing project that is proposed for 113 acres on the south side of Route 60 across from the Five Lakes subdivision. Virginia Beach-based Boyd Homes (Bridgewater Crossing Inc.) is spearheading the project that was first introduced in 2006 but took a back seat when the bottom fell out of the economy.
Monday’s meeting marked the second installment of a public hearing on the proposal. Back in September following the initial hearing, commission members granted developers’ request to defer action for 60 days.
In between, developers met with Five Lakes residents and came back to the county with a revised proffer statement, upping an original $1,500 per housing unit for county schools to $4,500 along with another $500 dedicated for county emergency services. But neither the increased figures nor the developer’s claim of $20 million in net revenue for New Kent over the next 20 years impressed the public or commission members.
The entire process Monday night– initial presentations of the project by county staff and the developer, public hearing, and commission members’ comments followed by the vote– took less than 30 minutes and came across as almost anticlimactic.
Only four of the 18 people in the audience spoke, echoing comments from the September hearing in which speakers voiced concern over increased traffic on Route 60, burgeoning student numbers in county schools, and housing density seemingly too high. Commission members took all into account and added a few more reasons for their recommendation.
“I’ve been deluged with comments, and I don’t have a single supporter that wants this built,” said commission member Michael Lane.
Lane thanked developers for their interest in the county, but added, “Unfortunately, citizens don’t want what you’re presenting. In good faith, I can’t support this rezoning.”
Commission member Patti Townsend motioned for an unfavorable recommendation, noting increased traffic problems on Route 60, negative impact on emergency services, and the burden of additional students on county schools. Tommy Tiller, supervisors’ representative on the commission, abstained.
Now the rezoning proposal and accompanying project head to supervisors who have final say on the matter. A public hearing is expected to be scheduled for the board’s Dec. 10 meeting.