Despite concerns that a proposed development on the cliffs of the Rappahannock River does not adequately protect nesting sites for American Bald Eagles, the Richmond County Board of Supervisors approved a 47-lot, conservation subdivision near Carter's Wharf.
The board's approval came shortly after Senators Mark Warner and Jim Webb drafted legislation to purchase the same 265-acre parcel, owned by Terrell Bowers, for purposes of conservation.
In a statement, Senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner announced the Senate's passage of a $500,000 appropriation to acquire the tract at Fones Cliff, what they called a critical habitat for bald eagles.
"The funding secured today will help enhance Virginia's diverse wildlife habitat while also facilitating tourism and promoting economic growth in the area," said Sen. Webb. "I am committed to future preservation efforts of wildlife refuges and will work to ensure federal support in the years to come."
"These funds will help protect nesting and roosting areas for the bald eagle, and promote greater opportunities for the public to view wildlife in its natural environment," Sen. Warner said.
When informed of the proposed rezoning, a spokesperson for Warner's office said that he expects talks to continue.
"The congressional appropriation was secured at the request of The Conservation Fund and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to demonstrate a serious and legitimate interest in purchasing property from Mr. Bowers," said Kevin Hall, Warner's communications director. "Both TCF and USFWS expect to continue their discussions with him no matter what the outcome of the rezoning request."
Hall did not say whether President Barack Obama had yet signed the bill into law.
Meeting on November 12, supervisors heard both sides of the contentious plan.
The first to speak against the project was Robin Markham, director of planning and zoning for Richmond County, who advised the board during a staff report not to approve the project because it is not in line with the county's land use plan.
"It does not conform to the goals, objectives and policies of the adopted Richmond County Comprehensive Plan," Markham said.
Despite Markham's stance, the county's planning commission gave the project its blessing with a 7-2 vote during its November meeting.
Bowers began his remarks to the board by referencing an earlier zoning request that was rejected just several years before.
"I was told to come back with a better thought-out plan, and it's taken almost three years to get back," Bowers said. "While I was disappointed with the results three years ago, I'm very pleased with the plan we have tonight."
The current plan was designed in consultation with Randall Arendt, environmental conceptual designer famous for leading the charge for conservation subdivisions.
"What I like about Mr. Arendt's process so much, is that it's very common sense," Bowers said.
He added that Arendt begins by identifying features worth preserving and then working around them. This amounted to approximately 190 acres of woodlands after he finished his analysis.
Bowers added that he hopes the project will appease two competing viewpoints on land use in Richmond County.
"You have one side that wants to protect property rights, and you have one side that wants to preserve the agrarian integrity of Richmond County," Bowers said.
He added that the proposed development would uphold development while allowing him to exercise his property rights, which he referred to as "a fundamental cornerstone of America."
Rob Smith, Bowers's attorney, reminded the board that his client has the right to proceed with a by-right plan that would allow Bowers to subdivide his land into 24 lots or to harvest timber on his property.
"Right now under existing zoning, he's got 750,004 feet of marketable hardwood on the property," Smith said. "He can clear-cut all of that down today."
Smith added that in Bowers's 24-lot, by-right plan, lot lines extend all the way to the river's edge and there is no designated open space.
"The plan we are asking you all to consider tonight is a plan in which he keeps three-quarters of the half-a-mile of wooded canopy along the Rappahannock in tact," Smith said.
He added that even though the property is being rezoned to residential use, it will really be a less intrusive use than if the tract remained agricultural land.
Smith also said that he respected those who opposed the project in favor of pure conservation of the area.
"Mr. Bowers cares about the environment too, which is why this plan has 190 acres of undisturbed land," Smith said. "But I would like to say, it's his land."
But for some in attendance at the hearing, Bowers's efforts still weren't enough.
Calling the Northern Neck a bird area of global significance, Frank Jewell, president of the Northern Neck Audubon Society, said that the NNAS aims to purchase Bowers's land to prevent its development.
"We will actively work with the refuge, with the friends of the refuge and any other organization to acquire this land for the refuge or to protect it in any other way," Jewell said. "Fundamentally, we think any development is a bad idea and we will do everything that we can to raise the money in association with the refuge to make it a part of the refuge or to protect it in some other way. And we will put part of our own money where our mouth is."
Joe McCauley, manager of the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge, spoke against the project, saying that despite the 75-percent open space agreement, the plan will impact nesting sites.
"It is clear that the bald eagle habitat will not be conserved under this plan," McCauley said.
He added that the area is important for conservation, because of its high concentration of migrant eagles in addition to the resident Chesapeake Bay population.
"That's what makes this area of the river so significant, is the concentration of eagles that are found there," McCauley said, adding that upwards of 300 birds were spotted in a single day.
Following suit, Margaret Gertz, or Northumberland, and Carter Welford, of Richmond County, expressed their disdain towards the project.
Welford asserted that the term "conservation development" is in itself a contradiction.
"If you're going to conserve something, you don't develop it," Welford said, adding that the plan itself is flawed due to a high concentration of homes on the cliffs, which he called the most sensitive area of the property.
Billy Walker, of Sharps, was the first to voice his support of the plan.
"I don't think that Mr. Bowers could have handled this any better than he has," Walker said to the board. "I think he's done it as well as it could be done."
Seconding Walker, Kennon Morris, a resident of Westmoreland County and a Richmond County land and business owner, alleged that Bowers was wronged by the county during the first rezoning attempt.
"I think the plan that he has presented is very well thought out," Morris said. "It goes to show that he's not a money-hungry developer-- he's invested in something."
Randy Phelps, District 2 supervisor, asked Bowers whether he would consider seeking an outside buyer to purchase the property.
"I would absolutely entertain that," Bowers responded.
He added that the National Fish and Wildlife Service has been interested in the property since 1995 as a potential acquisition.
"To this day, they still don't own it and the reason is money," Bowers said.
In addition to promising to maintain 75-percent open space, Bowers has also proffered to establish an organization for the perpetual ownership and maintenance of open space areas and recreational facilities and infrastructure.
Supervisors Courtney Sisson and Lee Sanders cast the only votes against the rezoning, in what turned out to be a victory for the property rights side of the land debate, driven in part by comments from Bowers's attorney.
"I think we get to a point where Mr. Bowers has bent over backwards and has done everything he can to placate you folks," Smith said. "He complies with the comprehensive plan. He complies with the zoning ordinance. And I think we're treading on 1776-dangerous territory when a guy who has bent over backwards, like he has, cannot use his property in a reasonable way."
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