Subdivision Plan Near CW Gets Planning Nod

By Amber Lester Tuesday, August 24, 2010

A preliminary plan for a new subdivision bordering Queens Creek was approved by the Williamsburg Planning Commission on Aug. 18.

The Mahone Family Partnership will subdivide three lots, totaling 28.16 acres, into 42 single family house lots. The property is located on the west side of Capitol Landing Road at Queens Creek, bordered to the south by Spring Arbor Assisted Living.

AES Consulting Engineers will build a cluster development on the property, which is located in the Architectural Preservation District. By constructing the homes in a cluster, the development will be able to maintain 13 acres of open space, along with an already identified greenbelt corridor facing the creek. The division will be accessed off Capitol Landing Road, with a left-turn lane constructed as part of the planned intersection improvements.

The plan for the subdivision is still in the early stages, but the Mahone Family Partnership has already worked with the Williamsburg Land Conservancy and Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to ensure the stretches of untouched trees along the creek will remain. The developer has also proposed adding a nature trail and a neighborhood dock along Queens Creek.

The largest portion of the site development will occur on an existing cleared field, allowing the wooded area off of Capitol Landing to be preserved. Tom McDaniel, representing the Mahone Family Limited Partnership, has offered a conservation easement of eight acres. The easement will be dedicated to the Williamsburg Land Conservancy when the subdivision’s final plan is recorded, McDaniel said in a letter to the commission. The easement will restrict the clearing of mature trees and vegetation.

During the meeting, representatives from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and Williamsburg Land Conservancy voiced their support for the plan. CW Director of Property Planning Victoria Gussman told the commission that the unspoiled views of Queens Creek as travelers enter the city on Rt. 132 are crucial for helping visitors feel “they are crossing into another time.” CW owns the property that faces the Mahone land on the other side of the creek.

Bill Williams, chairman of the Land Conservancy, echoed Gussman’s comments, saying the easement plan will protect the scenic integrity and value of the Rt. 132 community corridor. He noted the Land Conservancy may or may not be the ultimate holder of the easement, because the transfer would have to be approved by its board of directors.

Because the land is located in an Archaeological Preservation District, the developer commissioned archaeological investigations. Ten archaeological sites have been identified on the property, which is possibly lined with components of the Middle Plantation Palisade, a barrier built around the modern-day Williamsburg area in 1634. An Archaeological Management Plan asks that the Palisade remnants remain undisturbed as much as possible during construction.

Three homes currently sit on the lots. The owner requested approval to demolish two of the homes – bungalows built in 1919 and 1920 – but was denied. As such, the owner has the option to put the homes up for sale and if they are not sold within a year, can then demolish the homes.