Some Stafford County leaders say the area near the Brooke commuter rail station is no place for new construction.
The Brooke Virginia Railway Express station, at 1721 Brooke Road in the eastern section of the county, is in a largely rural area. Both Virginia Railway Express and Amtrak trains pass through the station, serving riders traveling between Richmond, Washington, New York City, and Boston.
In December 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, about 60% of the nearly 800 parking spaces were being used at the station, making it the third busiest station on the Fredericksburg line at that time. Ridership numbers plummeted on VRE trains during the pandemic, and the commuter rail service has just returned to full service as of June 1.
This month, the Stafford County Board of Supervisors received an update on the county's comprehensive five-year plan, which serves as a general guide on how the county's land will be developed. The plan details "targeted growth areas" or TGAs, noting where new development should occur.
Now, leaders want to remove from the plan the area around the commenter rail station. And that left Aquia District Supervisor Cindy Shelton scratching her head.
"Other stations have ripped out [single-family] housing in order to create higher-density neighborhoods to live and ride the train into D.C. [The station] was put there to allow growth in the future," said Shelton. "Removal makes no sense to me since it's such an amazing opportunity."
The county's Planning Commission has been holding virtual meetings to discuss and decide on aspects of the plan, which is reviewed by the commission every five years in case anything needs to be amended. The last time this was done was in August 2016.
According to information county documents, the reason that the commission wants to eliminate the Brooke TGA is because of how difficult it would be to get public sewer utilities in the area necessary for new growth. Most, if not all of the county's growth areas are located both along major roadways, such as Routes 1, 17, and 610, and near public water and sewer lines.
Other potential options for sewer services such as constructing a treatment plant or a gravity sewer nearby are considered problematic because the amount of housing development needed to justify these options goes far beyond what is currently planned for that area.
However, Aquia Supervisor Cindy Shelton questions the data that the commission is using to come to this conclusion. Shelton contends that the Brooke Station has massive potential for growth since it's the only station in the Virginia Railway Express system that hasn't been built out.
Other TGAs such as Leeland Station, Courthouse Road, Centerport Parkway, and Warrenton Road (Route 17) are all under consideration for either elimination or modification under the comprehensive plan.
The review of the comprehensive plan is scheduled to be completed by August 17.
