The Board of County Supervisors votes on the Rivergate Apartment proposal on October 14. This is the wrong type of development for Woodbridge.
This will open the floodgates for up to 10,000 apartments along the Route 1 corridor. Will these apartments bring economic prosperity? No. They will put additional pressure on our already crowded schools, put additional cars on our congested roads, and increase emergency response times of our police and fire personnel.
Who is going to pay for the additional county services needed? I am afraid to say that it will be up to taxpayers to foot the bill.
We know that the developers of Rivergate are not willing proffer what is needed to mitigate the negative impacts. The amount proffered by the developer to the school system is based on proffer guidelines written a decade ago. It is nearly $5.7 million less for the public school system than we would require a similar development project proposed under current guidelines.
I have asked them if they were willing to do more to mitigate the impact on area schools and they have refused. Why should taxpayers subsidize developers?
We need smart growth in North Woodbridge to attract businesses and provide good jobs. It should be another mixed-use town center like Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center, Belmont Bay, Neabsco Commons, or Potomac Shores. Then we can link these together through sidewalks, trails, bus, rail, and even a ferry so people can live in one development, work in another, and shop in a third.
Why would we continue to approve more and more residential developments that send our residents out of the County to work when we can build developments that attract good jobs? This will get cars off of Route 1 and Interstate 95. It will expand our tax base, and it will improve quality of life.
The public hearing has been set for the October 14 Board of County Supervisors meeting. I urge you to get involved in this effort and show up at the meeting to speak out against this. I cannot defeat this without the help of the residents of Woodbridge. I am only 1 vote out of 7 on the Board of County Supervisors.
If you do not want to see the floodgates open for 10,000 apartments on the Route 1 corridor, please call me at 703-792-4646 and commit to speak out against the wrong type of development at the Board of County Supervisors public hearing on October 14 at 7:30pm. This is our community, and we deserve better. Please visit NewWoodbridge.org for more information.
