Highfield one more time

 

Latest proposed layout of Highfield

Developer Markel Eagle held yet another community meeting on January 28 to share its latest version of the proposed Highfield subdivision on 138 acres on Rockville Road just south of I64. The meeting drew a good crowd, including Supervisors Charlie Vaughters, District 4, Tom Winfree, District 3, Jonathan Lyle, District 5, and Curt Pituck, District 4 planning commissioner.

Eagle has been working to rezone the subject property from agricultural to residential planned unit development (RPUD) for almost three years, meeting with robust community opposition from the outset. The number of proposed single family detached dwelling units decreased from the initially proposed 200, per county records, to 138, which, on a gross basis, is a density of one unit per acre. Eagle contends that this number of homes adheres to guidelines of the Goochland County comprehensive land use plan. (https://www.goochlandva.us/250/2035-Comprehensive-Plan).

Highfield opponents raise many concerns about the proposed community, the two most prominent and significant being hazardous traffic conditions on Rockville Road, where crosses memorialize fatalities, and density.

Nathalie Croft, Director of Land Planning for Eagle, explained the latest proposal. Changes made since the last go round included two entrances on Rockville Road, up from the first single Rockville Road access point that piggybacked onto the stub road connecting Highfield to Tuckahoe Bridge North, the adjoining 49 lot subdivision. Thanks to VDOT mandates, the stub road will still connect Highfield with TBN, but a reworking of the Highfield internal roads will make using the stub less convenient. A stamped concrete threshold would delineate the boundary between the two subdivisions. Eagle would block connection via the stub road with concrete barriers until VDOT or Goochland County mandates removal.

Go to https://www.eagleofva.com/highfield/ for details.

Eagle also proffered to disclose the ad valorem tax levied on all properties in the Tuckahoe Creek Service District, which is a sore point with newcomers; inform buyers that land on the opposite side of Rockville Road is designated for economic development and that the site is in the county’s designated growth area.

Eagle will proffer—promise— that homes in Highfield will be “sprinklered” for fire suppression to mitigate concerns about the ability of fire apparatus to reach Highfield quickly should Rockville Road be blocked. This would force fire engines to use Echo Meadows Drive to access Rockville Road from the north.

Eagle also significantly increased the improvements to the Rockville Road frontage of the subject property, about a half mile, to transform the current roller coaster effect to a “smooth, gentle hill”. This would include widening its side of Rockville Road, filling and cutting the exiting grade and removing many trees to mitigate dangerous line of site issues. Should this go forward, it would require closure of lanes on Rockville Road for an estimated three to four months during construction.

As Croft pointed out, Eagle can only improve the road that adjoins Highfield. A more serious concern is the east end of Rockville Road at Ashland Road, a busy highway that will only get busier. There are no plans to improve this intersection. Both are state roads so improvements are governed by VDOT. For reference, the realignment of Hockett and Ashland Roads, which is moving towards final stages, and expected to be complete in 2029, was first put on the county transportation radar screen in 2013. Should the county decide to make the Rockville/Ashland intersection a priority, it might be years before the project even gets on the “to do” list, and decades before construction begins.

Croft said that Eagle would not apply for any Highfield building permits before 2027, hopefully after the road improvements along its frontage are complete.

Then there is the fiscal impact on the county. Croft said that Highfield would generate $9,810 per home in cash proffers, one-time payments to mitigate capital costs associated with new homes. Of that, $5,080 goes to schools. Goochland just built a new elementary school on land already owned by the school division for approximately $60 million, so the cash proffers from Highfield, which Croft said is expected to generate 38 school aged children, have little impact.

Attendees of the meeting were skeptical about that number. Predicting how many students will be generated by new dwelling units is tricky. Developers, however, seem to contend that their new residential projects will be populated by “active adults” sort of empty nesters too young to put much strain on the EMS system.

At full build out, based on the current tax rate, Croft estimated that Highfield would generate $603,405 annual real estate revenue. In previous meetings, Croft declined to mention price points for homes in Highfield, contending that it would be hard to accurately predict given inflation and other factors.

Highfield would offer a variety of lot sizes, some as large as three acres, and smaller ones, like those in Readers Branch. The minimum lot width would be 85 feet.

The rezoning application will not be heard by the planning commission before April, which could be followed by a final decision by the Board of Supervisors no earlier than June.

As proposed, Highfield is a very attractive community. Unfortunately, it’s in the wrong place. Until there are firm plans to fix the Ashland/Rockville Road intersection with either a roundabout or traffic signal, and the Company 7 Fire-Rescue station is under construction, building Highfield on Rockville Road does not seem to protect the health, safety, and welfare of Goodland citizens.