Stafford County leaders will crack at reversing course on its downtown development project.
During the Stafford County Board of Supervisors meeting at 3 p.m. Tuesday, September 6, three elected leaders — Crystal Vanuch of Rockhill, Meg Bohmke of Falmouth, and Darrell English of Hartwood — aim to repeal a zoning decision Supervisors made during a 4-3 vote in June 2021 to allow more than 5,400 homes in Downtown Stafford, an area stretching between the county courthouse and Stafford Hospital.
To get there, Supervisors had to amend the county’s comprehensive development plan to allow 50 apartment homes per acre, the highest of anywhere permitted in the county, in buildings up to five stories tall — also the tallest permitted anywhere in the county.
“This is about the apartments,” Bohmke told Potomac Local News. “Our schools are overcrowded right now, and it would be irresponsible of us to approve new homes at this point.”
This year, Stafford County Public Schools projected to receive 600 new students, adding to the more than 30,000 already enrolled in the school division. Instead, the schools received 900, about the number of children that could fit into one elementary school.
To boot, the Board of Supervisors and School Board are at odds over the funding for the schools’ Capital Improvement Plan. In February, the schools presented to the Board of Supervisors, the funding body, a long laundry list of needs than expected, including two new elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school.
Supervisors said they were blindsided by the list and say much of the wishlist is out of reach based on current tax rates. Meanwhile, School Board members will hold the final in a series of town hall meetings on Thursday, September 8, designed to rally the public to advocate for additional school funding.
Since 2017, Stafford leaders have mulled creating a Downtown Stafford mixed-use district with homes, retail shops, and restaurants that would serve as a central gathering place for the community, rivaling nearby Downtown Fredericksburg.
Additionally, the region lacks affordable housing for many, a problem Gov. Glenn Youngkin told Potomac Local News his administration would soon look to solve during his visit to Colonial Forge High School on Thursday, September 1, 2022.
The prospect of creating a downtown from scratch was something that lured Stafford Economic Development Director John Holden from Maine to work here in 2018. It wasn’t long afterward that Stafford officials toured Rockville, Md., about 60 miles north of the county, and decided to model its vision for a walkable downtown from that city.
Stafford officials have always been pro-business and just last year inked deals for two Amazon warehouses. However, it’s regularly shied away from adding more housing, as new homes mean increased costs for county services and more children in public schools.
Over the past 20 years, retailers have chosen to locate stores in Woodbridge, Fredericksburg, and Spotsylvania because of the higher number of homes in those areas. Former County Administrator Tom Foley told Supervisors in 2018 that the housing component was necessary to attract businesses to Downtown Stafford.
It’s now 2022, and Stafford has a new County Administrator, Randal Vosberg, the second to hold the job since Foley. It also has fresh blood on the Board of Supervisors, with three new members who took their seats in January.
Mark Dudenhefer and Cindy Shelton, two of Downtown Stafford’s strongest proponents, no longer sit on the Board of Supervisors. Dudenehfer retired, and Shelton lost a Primary Election challenger in a bid to keep her seat.
George Washington District Supervisor Tom Coen, who voted in favor of the rezoning, remains on the Board. Garrisonville District Supervisor Tinesha Allen, absent from the vote in June 2021, also remains.
Bohmke told Potomac Local News the pulse on the Board of Supervisors has changed. Given the strains on the school system, now is the time to amend the zoning for Downtown Stafford before developers commit to building in the area, she adds.
Other concerns from opponents of the project were the additional cars the new homes would bring to the county, adding to the region’s traffic woes.
Aquia District Supervisor Monica Gary, who replaced Shelton, campaigned on the need for the Downtown Stafford development.
Supervisors will meet at the county government center, 1300 Courthouse Road. The meeting is open for all to attend.
