Stop the Largest Rezoning in Orange County History

Update

Although the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 in favor of this devastating rezoning proposal, we believe that decision was fundamentally flawed, with failures in both substance and procedure. As such, the Trust, joined by other regional nonprofits and private citizens has filed a legal challenge in Orange County Circuit Court. Read our official announcement here.

The Background

A massive residential and commercial development has been proposed at the intersections of Route 3 and 20 – the gateway to Orange County, Virginia. At 2,602 acres, the “Wilderness Crossing” project would dramatically change development patterns in the eastern part of the county – transforming it from a wooded and relatively rural area into a sea of stoplights, traffic congestion, and cookie-cutter residential and commercial development.

This effort does not mark the first attempt to stave off development in this part of the county, considered the gateway to the historic Wilderness Battlefield. Beginning in 2009, alongside local residents and members of the Wilderness Battlefield Commission, the American Battlefield Trust opposed a development proposal that would have seen a Walmart Supercenter built at the intersection of Route 3 and 20 – near the same area threatened now. Ultimately a win-win scenario resulted in the retailer donating the site for conservation and building its store further west of Route 3.

Born out of that dispute, the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition sought to establish a vision for the future of that land through the Wilderness Gateway Study.  The 2012 report advocated for a model of development that would successfully preserve open space, allow for readjustments of intersections that would help preserve the rural lifestyle of Orange County residents while minimizing damage to the battlefield.  The study was embraced by residents, park advocates and county officials alike – and many of its recommendations were adopted by Orange County in its Germanna Wilderness Area Plan.

Unfortunately, the current proposal has abandoned the principles underpinning the Wilderness Gateway Study and the County’s Germanna Wilderness Area Plan. The rezoning could result in: more than 5,000 residential units, 200,000 square feet of mixed-use commercial development, 5 million square feet of data centers and distribution warehouses, plus spaces for additional light industrial use.

Development of this scale and type would hinder visitors’ experience and understanding of the May 1864 battle that saw the first confrontation between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee and began the bloody Overland Campaign. The 47,000 vehicle trips this mega-development stands to create locally each day will make residents suffer through traffic that chokes county roads and makes even trips to the grocery store or after school activities an exercise in frustration.

Instead, we ask Orange County officials to adhere to the standards put forward in the Wilderness Gateway Plan and that it embraced in the Germanna Wilderness Area Plan nearly a decade ago.  Learn more about the Wilderness Crossing proposal and the Wilderness Gateway Study.
 

How You Can Help 

Sign Letter  

Whether you are a county resident or a concerned preservation advocate, sign the appropriate letter so that your stance can be considered by local decision makers. While the initial approval has passed, large scale developments such as this routinely need additional consideration by elected officials.