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Interested in saving the spot where Hancock earned his title, "The Superb?" Where the 5th NC lost their flag? Where Jubal Early was wounded?
York County Virginia is working through their Comprehensive Planning process now which they are set to vote on by September 3rd. Being a county in the "Historic Triangle" this is one of those rare moments were comments by perspective tourists, preservationists and interested parties matter. We have ample time to voice our collection appreciation for two lots where Early and Hancock struggled late in the day on May 5th 1862.
Still with me? Ok hear goes. Two lots which are defined by the American Battlefield Protection Program as within the "Core Battlefield Boundaries" for the Battle of Williamsburg are owned by two entities- the Egger family and Anheuser Busch. The Egger parcel is 251 acres and features the Custis Family Barn where Custer met up with previous classmate Lea of the 5th NC, the original road bed and an intact and well preserved earthwork where Waud made this drawing (http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoun...lliamsburg.jpg). The Anhuser Busch parcels are adjacent and are both the access point to the Egger tract as well as had considerable troop movement throughout the day on May 5th 1862. They are bounded by I64, the Colonial Parkway and a Naval base. As you will read in the following article the NPS and the Navy are interested in seeing the rezoning defeated as well as having the property as a buffer for their parcels. Besides a few small earthworks, this is the last substantial piece of undeveloped property left over from the Battle of Williamsburg. Its adjacent to federal land and could be made accessible to the public.
Defeating the mixed use overlay zone on both the Egger and Busch properties is the main objective as it would clear the way for regional and nation groups like the Civil War Trust to work in concert to purchase the property. Defeating the mixed use overlay and convincing the York County Board of Supervisors to rezone the properties as conservation in the new Comprehensive Plan would be prime. A municipalities comprehensive plan is a guidelines for the future of the county or city- by stemming this tide early in the process we as preservationists set a tone which can be easily followed up by groups like the Civil War Trust, the Navy or National Park Service. It also shows York County that as a tourist destination they are being watched by historians and tourists. By writing into the York County Board of Supervisors and appealing to them we are able to get a head start on saving the property. More importantly since Egger's property is already zoned EO- 'Economic Opportunity' which involves a tourist based business, he isnt loosing any perspective value on the resale to a preservation group- preserving his private property rights. Its a win-win. Ive attached the most recent article below. The next public meeting is August 20th. Rally round Hancock and lets get this done. We lost over 200 acres in Williamsburg to mixed use development recently (see my old posts) lets not let our guard down this time. If you are interested in writing the York County Board of Supervisors you can find their emails below.
All you simply need to do is ID who you are and where you are from. Tell them you value the preservation of the Egger and Busch tracts for their historic value as irreplaceable parts of our Nations History. (You can comment they were denoted inside the "Core Battlefield Boundaries" by the NPS and even go into the Hancock and 5th NC story if you want.) As a potential or repeat tourist to the 'Historic Triangle' and the region would like to see them say no to the mixed use overlay as well as to rezone the two lots as conservation space in their new Comprehensive Plan.
Planning Commission Preserves Mixed-Use Plan in Upper York County June 16th, 2013
The York County Planning Commission finished their discussion Wednesday of a draft update of the comprehensive plan — a document that serves as a guide to land use and similar issues facing the county — and sent it to the Board of Supervisors, who now have 90 days to review it.
Much of the discussion among the planners focused on parcels of land near the intersection of Interstate 64 and Route 199, where plans had called for a mixed-use overlay to be applied to parcels of land that contain the Marquis at Williamsburg and an undeveloped Anheuser Busch property.
The plans also asked to preserve an existing overlay on a 251-acre parcel of land owned by the Egger family. The mixed-use overlay would allow those property owners to apply to York County to develop both residential and commercial properties on the land.
The overlay simply allows for applications for mixed-use developments to come forward. It does not change the existing designation, which currently allows only for non-residential development. After almost an hour of debate, the commissioners decided to preserve the draft update as is, which keeps the mixed-use overlay on the Egger tract, and adds one to the Marquis at Williamsburg and the Anheuser Busch property.
Developer Mid-Atlantic Communities is interested in purchasing and developing the 144-acre Anheuser Busch property into a mixed-use development, according to Michael Taylor, the vice president of mergers, acquisitions and real estate for Anheuser Busch. He spoke at the meeting voicing his support for the mixed-use overlay to be applied to the Anheuser Busch property.
Lamont Meyers, a manager at Mid-Atlantic Communities, also spoke at the meeting.
“We believe very strongly as a York County business that we can be good neighbors,” he said. “We just want to be given the opportunity to make a proposal that will allow us to provide some economic benefit to the area.”
The supervisors were in agreement about the mixed-use overlays for the Anheuser Busch and Marquis at Williamsburg properties. The debate ultimately came down to the Egger tract. You can read more about that family’s desire to preserve the mixed-use overlay on their land by clicking here.
Capt. Lowell Crow, the commanding officer of the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station and Cheatham Annex, said at the meeting that training activities at Jones Pond, which abuts the Egger tract, are not compatible with residential development. He asked for a 2,500-foot buffer around the area and for any of the property that did not fall under the buffer to be zoned for industrial use.
“This type of training is sensitive to both electromagnetic and light interference and is therefore incompatible with building residences in the area,” Crow said. At a May 8 Planning Commission meeting, he said he was also concerned that residential development would lead to trespassing.
Dan Smith, the superintendent of Colonial National Historical Park, spoke at the May 8 meeting, where he expressed his discontent with the mixed-use overlay on the Egger tract. Like Crow, he was also concerned of trespassing onto the Colonial Parkway.
Commissioner Melissa Magowan sided with the U.S. Navy, saying she is concerned that any trouble in the relationship between the Navy and the surrounding land could cause the U.S. Navy to relocate the base during the next round of base closures and adjustments.
Chairman Richard Myer said he doesn’t support the mixed-use overlay on the Egger tract because the land is years away from being able to be developed: it lacks electricity, sewer or water.
Commissioners Timothy McCulloch and Todd Mathes joined Commissioner Christopher Abel in supporting the mixed-use overlay for the Egger tract.
“We’ve gone from concern about some development being OK and some not to wanting a half mile buffer around the property, which sounds an awful lot like they want to own the property outside the bounds of the [base],” Abel said. “There is a mechanism by which the government of the United States can solve that problem—one is to buy the property.”
Abel opposed Magowan’s position, saying the strategic importance of the location of the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station in addition to the sheer cost of relocating the facility — which would need to be moved somewhere close to its current location to continue to serve the massive naval presence in Hampton Roads — make such a move highly unlikely.
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York Property Owners, Federal Entities at Odds Over More Residential Development May 28th, 2013
When the Egger family bought the property in the 1950s, the hope was it would serve as a valuable investment as York County developed.
To the south and west of the property is Interstate 64. To the north is the Colonial Parkway. East is Cheatham Annex, and to the southeast is a parcel of land owned by Anheuser Busch. The Anheuser Busch parcel provides the only access to the land via a dirt road that’s accessible from Penniman Road, behind the Days Hotel on Route 199.
Now that parcel of land is at the center of a disagreement between property owners and the federal government. The property owners want the land to be zoned to allow residential and commercial development side-by-side, while the federal tenants of neighboring land are concerned about how any potential residential development could affect their land usage.
Matt Egger, a Maryland resident who grew up in the Historic Triangle, is a member of the family who originally bought the land. When his family acquired the land, Interstate 64 did not exist, nor did nearby Water Country USA or the Marquis at Williamsburg. In those days, the property featured six potential access points to the Colonial Parkway, which were lost within a few years of the acquisition when the federal government nullified those rights.
In the early 1960s, the construction of Interstate 64 cut the property off from Queens Creek Road, which before had led straight to it. Now there is only the dirt road.
The land has remained undeveloped as the parcels around it gave way to federal construction, to residential development on the other side of the interstate and to large-scale projects like the Marquis at Williamsburg and Water Country USA.
Egger said he hopes his family’s property can one day be developed. He thinks it is an ideal space for a planned community, a mixture of residential and commercial spaces, similar to New Town. That sort of project is known as mixed-use in the parlance of zoning officials.
In 2005, Egger’s property received what’s known as a mixed-use overlay, which indicates the land might make sense for just the sort of development Egger thinks would be ideal.
His land is currently zoned economic opportunity, which is a designation intended for commercial and tourism-related uses. It is a broad designation that even permits limited industrial development. It allows for very limited residential capabilities, though, such as a senior living community.
Egger’s land, as well as other parcels in the area that are zoned economic opportunity — including the parcel that contains the Marquis at Williamsburg — have been the subject of recent conversation among members of the York County Planning Commission. The planning staff has spent months assembling a draft of an update to York County’s comprehensive plan. They recommended installing mixed-use overlays at properties all around the intersection of I-64 and Route 199, including at the Marquis.
The current draft of the comprehensive plan suggests a mixed-use overlay that stretches from the border of Egger’s property and the Colonial Parkway all the way down to the far tip of the Marquis development.
The overlay would allow the owner of the Marquis to investigate the possibility of constructing residential properties at the development.
The application of a mixed-use overlay to this broad swath of land would mean potential mixed-use development could occur right up to the border shared by the Marquis and the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station, as well as the border between Egger’s property and the Colonial Parkway
U.S. Navy, National Park Service Oppose Mixed-Use Overlay
Capt. Lowell Crow, the commanding officer of the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station, voiced his opposition to the mixed-use designation at a May 8 Planning Commission meeting.
He said any mixed-use development near Jones Pond – which is adjacent to Egger’s property – or at the Marquis would be “incompatible” with the mission of the base. A section of the base near Marquis is used as an explosive ordnance demolition testing range and attracts EOD teams from the local, state and federal level. Crow said the weapons station EOD range is the only asset like it on the East Coast.
Daniel Smith, the superintendent of Colonial National Historical Park, also spoke at that meeting and shares Crow’s opposition to the designation. Smith is worried utility lines would need to go over or under the parkway. He is also concerned a residential presence could lead to trespassing, as park authorities must already contend with the presence of the Queens Lake development on the other side of the road.
The property owners, though, see the overlay as a way to further market their land to developers.
Will Holt, an attorney representing the Marquis, voiced support for the overlay at a February public hearing.
“We’re excited by the prospect of the property as the addition of a potential residential component could be the missing link,” he said.
That public hearing featured a number of citizens who spoke out in opposition to mixed-use development, citing increased usage of schools and other infrastructure that could ultimately lead to higher taxes. You can read about the hearing by clicking here.
In addition to covering the Marquis and remaining on Egger’s property, the overlay would cover the parcels between Penniman Road and Route 199, including Days Hotel and the now vacant Presidents Park site.
Members of the Planning Commission discussed the situation later in that meeting.
“I would argue against mixed use,” said Chairman Richard Myer Jr. The federal landholders in the area don’t have any problems with the land zoned for commercial use, he said.
“I cannot ever see mixed use actually being built in there,” Myer said of the land. “Access to Colonial Parkway is never going to happen. My opinion is that I no longer support a mixed-use overlay for those two properties given the new information that has come to light in the last week.”
Commissioner Melissa Magowan echoed Myer’s sentiment.
“I’ve never been in particular favor of the mixed-use overlay,” she said. “Usually when they say they don’t want residential, they have a pretty good reason.”
Commissioner Christopher Abel took a different position.
“The Navy is asking to take away the mixed use that is there right now, to limit the development of a private land owner adjacent to the Naval base for their own convenience,” Abel said.
The matter is now in the hands of the Planning Commission, who will make a recommendation on how the county should proceed, and the Board of Supervisors, who will make the final decision on the document.
The Planning Commission will next discuss the matter at its June 12 meeting, where they are expected to make a decision on the Comprehensive Plan draft update. If they vote to recommend its approval, the document will be sent to the Board of Supervisors who have 90 days to make a decision on the document. They will also hold a public hearing before voting on the draft.
You can read WYDaily’s coverage of proposed changes to the comprehensive plan for the county by clicking here. You can view the current draft of the comprehensive plan by clicking here.
Interested in saving the spot where Hancock earned his title, "The Superb?" Where the 5th NC lost their flag? Where Jubal Early was wounded?
York County Virginia is working through their Comprehensive Planning process now which they are set to vote on by September 3rd. Being a county in the "Historic Triangle" this is one of those rare moments were comments by perspective tourists, preservationists and interested parties matter. We have ample time to voice our collection appreciation for two lots where Early and Hancock struggled late in the day on May 5th 1862.
Still with me? Ok hear goes. Two lots which are defined by the American Battlefield Protection Program as within the "Core Battlefield Boundaries" for the Battle of Williamsburg are owned by two entities- the Egger family and Anheuser Busch. The Egger parcel is 251 acres and features the Custis Family Barn where Custer met up with previous classmate Lea of the 5th NC, the original road bed and an intact and well preserved earthwork where Waud made this drawing (http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoun...lliamsburg.jpg). The Anhuser Busch parcels are adjacent and are both the access point to the Egger tract as well as had considerable troop movement throughout the day on May 5th 1862. They are bounded by I64, the Colonial Parkway and a Naval base. As you will read in the following article the NPS and the Navy are interested in seeing the rezoning defeated as well as having the property as a buffer for their parcels. Besides a few small earthworks, this is the last substantial piece of undeveloped property left over from the Battle of Williamsburg. Its adjacent to federal land and could be made accessible to the public.
Defeating the mixed use overlay zone on both the Egger and Busch properties is the main objective as it would clear the way for regional and nation groups like the Civil War Trust to work in concert to purchase the property. Defeating the mixed use overlay and convincing the York County Board of Supervisors to rezone the properties as conservation in the new Comprehensive Plan would be prime. A municipalities comprehensive plan is a guidelines for the future of the county or city- by stemming this tide early in the process we as preservationists set a tone which can be easily followed up by groups like the Civil War Trust, the Navy or National Park Service. It also shows York County that as a tourist destination they are being watched by historians and tourists. By writing into the York County Board of Supervisors and appealing to them we are able to get a head start on saving the property. More importantly since Egger's property is already zoned EO- 'Economic Opportunity' which involves a tourist based business, he isnt loosing any perspective value on the resale to a preservation group- preserving his private property rights. Its a win-win. Ive attached the most recent article below. The next public meeting is August 20th. Rally round Hancock and lets get this done. We lost over 200 acres in Williamsburg to mixed use development recently (see my old posts) lets not let our guard down this time. If you are interested in writing the York County Board of Supervisors you can find their emails below.
All you simply need to do is ID who you are and where you are from. Tell them you value the preservation of the Egger and Busch tracts for their historic value as irreplaceable parts of our Nations History. (You can comment they were denoted inside the "Core Battlefield Boundaries" by the NPS and even go into the Hancock and 5th NC story if you want.) As a potential or repeat tourist to the 'Historic Triangle' and the region would like to see them say no to the mixed use overlay as well as to rezone the two lots as conservation space in their new Comprehensive Plan.
Planning Commission Preserves Mixed-Use Plan in Upper York County June 16th, 2013
The York County Planning Commission finished their discussion Wednesday of a draft update of the comprehensive plan — a document that serves as a guide to land use and similar issues facing the county — and sent it to the Board of Supervisors, who now have 90 days to review it.
Much of the discussion among the planners focused on parcels of land near the intersection of Interstate 64 and Route 199, where plans had called for a mixed-use overlay to be applied to parcels of land that contain the Marquis at Williamsburg and an undeveloped Anheuser Busch property.
The plans also asked to preserve an existing overlay on a 251-acre parcel of land owned by the Egger family. The mixed-use overlay would allow those property owners to apply to York County to develop both residential and commercial properties on the land.
The overlay simply allows for applications for mixed-use developments to come forward. It does not change the existing designation, which currently allows only for non-residential development. After almost an hour of debate, the commissioners decided to preserve the draft update as is, which keeps the mixed-use overlay on the Egger tract, and adds one to the Marquis at Williamsburg and the Anheuser Busch property.
Developer Mid-Atlantic Communities is interested in purchasing and developing the 144-acre Anheuser Busch property into a mixed-use development, according to Michael Taylor, the vice president of mergers, acquisitions and real estate for Anheuser Busch. He spoke at the meeting voicing his support for the mixed-use overlay to be applied to the Anheuser Busch property.
Lamont Meyers, a manager at Mid-Atlantic Communities, also spoke at the meeting.
“We believe very strongly as a York County business that we can be good neighbors,” he said. “We just want to be given the opportunity to make a proposal that will allow us to provide some economic benefit to the area.”
The supervisors were in agreement about the mixed-use overlays for the Anheuser Busch and Marquis at Williamsburg properties. The debate ultimately came down to the Egger tract. You can read more about that family’s desire to preserve the mixed-use overlay on their land by clicking here.
Capt. Lowell Crow, the commanding officer of the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station and Cheatham Annex, said at the meeting that training activities at Jones Pond, which abuts the Egger tract, are not compatible with residential development. He asked for a 2,500-foot buffer around the area and for any of the property that did not fall under the buffer to be zoned for industrial use.
“This type of training is sensitive to both electromagnetic and light interference and is therefore incompatible with building residences in the area,” Crow said. At a May 8 Planning Commission meeting, he said he was also concerned that residential development would lead to trespassing.
Dan Smith, the superintendent of Colonial National Historical Park, spoke at the May 8 meeting, where he expressed his discontent with the mixed-use overlay on the Egger tract. Like Crow, he was also concerned of trespassing onto the Colonial Parkway.
Commissioner Melissa Magowan sided with the U.S. Navy, saying she is concerned that any trouble in the relationship between the Navy and the surrounding land could cause the U.S. Navy to relocate the base during the next round of base closures and adjustments.
Chairman Richard Myer said he doesn’t support the mixed-use overlay on the Egger tract because the land is years away from being able to be developed: it lacks electricity, sewer or water.
Commissioners Timothy McCulloch and Todd Mathes joined Commissioner Christopher Abel in supporting the mixed-use overlay for the Egger tract.
“We’ve gone from concern about some development being OK and some not to wanting a half mile buffer around the property, which sounds an awful lot like they want to own the property outside the bounds of the [base],” Abel said. “There is a mechanism by which the government of the United States can solve that problem—one is to buy the property.”
Abel opposed Magowan’s position, saying the strategic importance of the location of the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station in addition to the sheer cost of relocating the facility — which would need to be moved somewhere close to its current location to continue to serve the massive naval presence in Hampton Roads — make such a move highly unlikely.
York Property Owners, Federal Entities at Odds Over More Residential Development May 28th, 2013
When the Egger family bought the property in the 1950s, the hope was it would serve as a valuable investment as York County developed.
To the south and west of the property is Interstate 64. To the north is the Colonial Parkway. East is Cheatham Annex, and to the southeast is a parcel of land owned by Anheuser Busch. The Anheuser Busch parcel provides the only access to the land via a dirt road that’s accessible from Penniman Road, behind the Days Hotel on Route 199.
Now that parcel of land is at the center of a disagreement between property owners and the federal government. The property owners want the land to be zoned to allow residential and commercial development side-by-side, while the federal tenants of neighboring land are concerned about how any potential residential development could affect their land usage.
Matt Egger, a Maryland resident who grew up in the Historic Triangle, is a member of the family who originally bought the land. When his family acquired the land, Interstate 64 did not exist, nor did nearby Water Country USA or the Marquis at Williamsburg. In those days, the property featured six potential access points to the Colonial Parkway, which were lost within a few years of the acquisition when the federal government nullified those rights.
In the early 1960s, the construction of Interstate 64 cut the property off from Queens Creek Road, which before had led straight to it. Now there is only the dirt road.
The land has remained undeveloped as the parcels around it gave way to federal construction, to residential development on the other side of the interstate and to large-scale projects like the Marquis at Williamsburg and Water Country USA.
Egger said he hopes his family’s property can one day be developed. He thinks it is an ideal space for a planned community, a mixture of residential and commercial spaces, similar to New Town. That sort of project is known as mixed-use in the parlance of zoning officials.
In 2005, Egger’s property received what’s known as a mixed-use overlay, which indicates the land might make sense for just the sort of development Egger thinks would be ideal.
His land is currently zoned economic opportunity, which is a designation intended for commercial and tourism-related uses. It is a broad designation that even permits limited industrial development. It allows for very limited residential capabilities, though, such as a senior living community.
Egger’s land, as well as other parcels in the area that are zoned economic opportunity — including the parcel that contains the Marquis at Williamsburg — have been the subject of recent conversation among members of the York County Planning Commission. The planning staff has spent months assembling a draft of an update to York County’s comprehensive plan. They recommended installing mixed-use overlays at properties all around the intersection of I-64 and Route 199, including at the Marquis.
The current draft of the comprehensive plan suggests a mixed-use overlay that stretches from the border of Egger’s property and the Colonial Parkway all the way down to the far tip of the Marquis development.
The overlay would allow the owner of the Marquis to investigate the possibility of constructing residential properties at the development.
The application of a mixed-use overlay to this broad swath of land would mean potential mixed-use development could occur right up to the border shared by the Marquis and the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station, as well as the border between Egger’s property and the Colonial Parkway
U.S. Navy, National Park Service Oppose Mixed-Use Overlay
Capt. Lowell Crow, the commanding officer of the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station, voiced his opposition to the mixed-use designation at a May 8 Planning Commission meeting.
He said any mixed-use development near Jones Pond – which is adjacent to Egger’s property – or at the Marquis would be “incompatible” with the mission of the base. A section of the base near Marquis is used as an explosive ordnance demolition testing range and attracts EOD teams from the local, state and federal level. Crow said the weapons station EOD range is the only asset like it on the East Coast.
Daniel Smith, the superintendent of Colonial National Historical Park, also spoke at that meeting and shares Crow’s opposition to the designation. Smith is worried utility lines would need to go over or under the parkway. He is also concerned a residential presence could lead to trespassing, as park authorities must already contend with the presence of the Queens Lake development on the other side of the road.
The property owners, though, see the overlay as a way to further market their land to developers.
Will Holt, an attorney representing the Marquis, voiced support for the overlay at a February public hearing.
“We’re excited by the prospect of the property as the addition of a potential residential component could be the missing link,” he said.
That public hearing featured a number of citizens who spoke out in opposition to mixed-use development, citing increased usage of schools and other infrastructure that could ultimately lead to higher taxes. You can read about the hearing by clicking here.
In addition to covering the Marquis and remaining on Egger’s property, the overlay would cover the parcels between Penniman Road and Route 199, including Days Hotel and the now vacant Presidents Park site.
Members of the Planning Commission discussed the situation later in that meeting.
“I would argue against mixed use,” said Chairman Richard Myer Jr. The federal landholders in the area don’t have any problems with the land zoned for commercial use, he said.
“I cannot ever see mixed use actually being built in there,” Myer said of the land. “Access to Colonial Parkway is never going to happen. My opinion is that I no longer support a mixed-use overlay for those two properties given the new information that has come to light in the last week.”
Commissioner Melissa Magowan echoed Myer’s sentiment.
“I’ve never been in particular favor of the mixed-use overlay,” she said. “Usually when they say they don’t want residential, they have a pretty good reason.”
Commissioner Christopher Abel took a different position.
“The Navy is asking to take away the mixed use that is there right now, to limit the development of a private land owner adjacent to the Naval base for their own convenience,” Abel said.
The matter is now in the hands of the Planning Commission, who will make a recommendation on how the county should proceed, and the Board of Supervisors, who will make the final decision on the document.
The Planning Commission will next discuss the matter at its June 12 meeting, where they are expected to make a decision on the Comprehensive Plan draft update. If they vote to recommend its approval, the document will be sent to the Board of Supervisors who have 90 days to make a decision on the document. They will also hold a public hearing before voting on the draft.
You can read WYDaily’s coverage of proposed changes to the comprehensive plan for the county by clicking here. You can view the current draft of the comprehensive plan by clicking here.
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