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Quiet Sought for Future Dove’s Landing Park

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — Neighbors and officials are going back and forth over the future of a rural piece of property called “Dove’s’s Landing.”

A rural area about five miles outside Manassas, the nearly 240-acre wooded site sits along the Occoquan River, and boasts views of the Broad and Cedar runs creeks. With nothing more than a cell phone tower on the land leased by Prince William County to Verizon, it’s a quiet cove of nature in one of Virginia’s fastest-growing counties.

Prince William officials this year voted to change the designation of Dove’ss Landing from “government owned” to park land. The move ultimately means the creation of a new county park.

But the residents who live in the rural neighborhood near the would-be park just off Brentsville Road near Va. 234 say they know changes are coming, but they want to limit what activities are allowed inside the park.

Neighborhood input

On Saturday, about 20 residents gathered for a walking tour of Dove’s Landing. They were called there by Ryan Conklin, a planner with Prince William County’s Parks and Recreation Department, who showed the area where a parking lot that would hold up to 20 cars, possible entrances to the lot, and where a driveway to get to the lot could be located. As his department works to develop a master plan for the area, this public meeting is just another step in an effort to get feedback from the public. Before any decision is final, the Parks and Recreation Department and the Board of County Supervisors must still sign off on it, and that process is still very much ongoing, said Conklin.

Residents gathered for a walk around the "Dove's Landing" property in Prince William County, the site of a future park. [Uriah Kiser / Potomac Local News]
Residents gathered for a walk around the “Dove’s Landing” property in Prince William County, the site of a future park. [Uriah Kiser / Potomac Local News]

He’ll take the comments heard during Saturday’s gathering and present them to county officials who must ultimately approve the final project. Conklin got an earful.

“We don’t want Burke Lake Park here, we want the quieter side of things,” said Lisa Daniels, a nearby resident who referenced one of neighboring Fairfax County’s busiest public parks.

Daniels, and her husband Tom who has lived near the Dove’s Landing property for nearly 20 years, says the park should be used for “passive” functions hiking, tent camping, and horseback riding. She doesn’t like the idea of fishing tournaments, barbecuing picnics, or large group gatherings.

“You look at Leesylvania State Park [in Woodbridge] and it’s gotten too overcrowded there,” said Daniels. “We don’t any family reunions to be held out here, it doesn’t matter who you are.”

Roadway concerns 

There are also concerns about the the roads leading to the property, which are one-lane gravel and dirt thoroughfares. Residents fear they will have to be widened to accommodate increased traffic volumes, and that could mean the loss of portions of their front yards for homes that sit along the these gravel roads.

“The roads aren’t wide enough here, and we already have horses on the streets, and now they’re talking about a parking lot with space 20 cars and place for a bus turnaround, and horse trailers — where are those going to go?” said Doug Ramey.

The plan for a parking lot includes a place for buses to drop off passengers — potentially school children on field trips — and then later return to pick them up.

Horse riding popular at Dove’s Landing

The Nokesville Horse Society already rides horses on the Dove’ss Landing property. The 400-member group supports the creation of the park, and with the property’s extensive 30-acre floodplain, the terrain is usually free of debris and makes for great trails for beginning horse riders, as well as paths to help break in baby horses.

“Someone might want a long trail, and then someone might want a short trail to get acquainted with riding, and you can find either kind of trail here,” said Debbie Stansell, with the horse enthusiast group. She and fellow members also ride at Manassas Battlefield National Park — a model for what horse friendly parks should be, because of it’s ample parking and room for horse trailers, she adds.

Virginia Supreme Court steps in

Dove’s’s Landing wasn’t always going to be a park. In the late 1980s, land developer Omni Homes purchased land land for $436,000 and was going to develop more than 400 homesites here. But Prince William County objected when the developer requested a three-mile extension be built so homes could have access to water and service.

The developer sued, and eventually the Virginia Supreme Court sided with Prince William County which chose not to provide access to the sewer system. Later, the county paid $3.7 million to acquire the property and it’s been sitting dormant ever since, with the exception of a Verizon cell phone tower build about 20 years ago, neighbors said.

Historical site

The site also has historical significance, as old maps suggest areas where the river was forded and potential archaeological sites. And, before the Dove’s family purchased the site in 1914, a Civil War-era map showed the land once belonged to William E. Goodwin, a Prince William County Judge in the mid-1800s.

Prepared in 1862 at the division headquarters of General Irvin McDowell, the “McDowell Map” shows one possible farmstead belonging to Goodwin. Both tax lists and land deeds demonstrate that in August of 1847, William E. Goodwin acquired a 120 acre tract situated on the Broad and Occoquan Runs, which adjoined the lands of a Mr. John Molair and included the road leading from Brentsville to both runs.

Listed as Ivy Mill in subsequent tax rolls, he resided there with his wife, Anne, for a number of years. In July 1869, this tract was deeded to F. C. Rorabaugh, who is named on the 1901 William Brown Map of the area. For a sum of three thousand dollars, Rorabaugh then sold the tract in 1914 to Charles L. Dove’s.

The Dove’s family owned a majority of the 250 acres under investigation prior to selling many of their individual tracts to the Commonwealth of Virginia from 1930 through the 1970s.

-Prince William County documents

The park’s future

Whatever uses are planned for Dove’ss Landing Park, they will include only things like tent camping, canoeing, kayaking, and hiking, as not to make too much noise to disturb the relative peace. And, judging from where planners want to put a parking lot for the park, it’s a measure distance from where the water is — a potential deterrent for boaters, especially those with motorized craft.

“Someone is going to have to be very motivated to carry a 1,500 pound jet ski to the river,” quipped Prince William Coles District Supervisor Marty Nohe, who on Saturday answered concerns of residents who feared motorized fishing boats and other pleasure craft could be allowed at the park.

“There are many more rumors floating around here than what is really being discussed,” he added.

Hunting, or ATV riding is on a long list of things that would be prohibited at Dove’s Landing. Park Rangers would be hired to patrol the area and respond to complaints once it becomes a park.

“If hunting were allowed, the shots fired would only scare the horses on the trails,” said Tom Daniels, who said it’s only a matter of time before the park is created and visitors flock.

“It’s inevitable that this road is going to be paved, and it’s going to be hard to stop the growth, but many people out here have enjoyed a quiet seclusion,” added Daniels. “For us, less is better.”

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