The Town of Round Hill conducted a public hearing Wednesday regarding Richmond American Homes' revised application for rezoning of 47 acres just north of Town. Approximately 25 people gathered at Town Hall to review and discuss the new plan, which calls for the construction of 95 homes on the site.

Mayor Frank Etro began the meeting by explaining that the new concept plan was the result of a meeting held between the developer, the County, and a group representing the Town of Round Hill. The Town delegation was comprised of Mayor Etro, Town Council member Meg Nash, Planning Commissioner Lisa Cammarota, and a member of the public, Lisa Zimmer-Chu. Nash and Zimmer-Chu both own homes that are adjacent to the property in question.

Each member of the Town delegation spoke in turn about their suspicions of the developer going into the project and their personal goals for the workshop. Each expressed satisfaction with the level of cooperation that existed throughout the design session and their belief that the second plan addresses many of their, and the Town's, concerns.

Mark Trossle, vice president for development for Richmond American Homes, then addressed the pubic input session, reiterating his company's willingness to accommodate the Town's needs, as long as the project remains profitable.

Mayor Etro, with help from the workshop team, then turned to specifics of the plan and how they address concerns stated at the Town's prior public input session in March. These included:

• Affordable housing
  The prior plan included no "affordable housing." The revised plan calls for 12 units that meet the County definition of Affordable Dwelling Units (ADUs). Sale of these homes will be restricted to individuals earning between 30 and 70 percent of the median income level for the Metropolitan Washington area. These homes will be situated among clusters of "patio-homes," which are four two-story detached homes with minimal yards that all face a common driveway area. The plan proposes 44 of these patio homes.
• Senior housing
  In addition to the patio homes, which may be attractive to seniors due to their small yards, Richmond American will also offer a single-story ranch-style home option.
• Mixture of house and lot sizes and respect for the character of the existing Town
  Several changes have been made to the plan to help maintain the character of Round Hill, including:
  • A 50-foot easement buffer along the perimeter of the property.
  • The lots along the perimeter mimic the size of the adjacent lots in the Villages.
  • The floodplain is protected and turned into a creekside preserve.
  • Streetscape elements such as streetlights and trees will be utilized along the main boulevard.
  • Lot sizes and shapes are varied.
  • The setback of homes off the street will be varied.
  • A 1.75 acre "village green" will provide pedestrian space.
  • Sidewalks will be built on both sides of the streets.
  • Many homes, especially those fronting Rt. 719, will have front porches.
  • Homes are arranged in blocks, not cul-de-sacs.
• Environmental concerns
  The road alignment has been pulled further away from the floodplain and no homes will be built on the floodplain side of the road. The entire 8-acre area of the floodplain will be preserved as open space, which will be conveyed to the Town at the Town's discretion.
  The plan also calls for using the natural terrain in drainage plans and will create three wet ponds on the property to use as stormwater management features.
  While the village green will be graded, the bulk of the floodplain area will maintain its natural topography. The exception will be grading for any active recreation space; the plan calls for three youth soccer fields to be created close to the road in this area.
  In response to questioning, Trossle remarked that the overall topography will be maintained more toward the perimeter of the property where lots will follow the natural grade.
• Traffic calming along Rt. 719
  The construction of additional homes along 719 will signal to drivers that they are entering a Town. In addition, the intersection of the new Greenwood Drive and Rt. 719 will be built with crosswalks or similar traffic calming features. A more northern entrance to this development will also help mitigate traffic concerns along Rt. 719 closer to Town. Richmond American will also construct an off-road asphalt trail on Rt. 719 along the length of its property, and will provide an additional trail through the northeast corner of the development to connect with the Villages.
• Financial obligations to offset utility/facility strain
  The developer has promised to continue discussions with town about financial contributions.
• Community facilities
  The developer has set aside a 2-acre site that will be dedicated to the Town for civic use. The Town sees it as a potential site for a new volunteer fire department building or sheriff department substation. In addition, the developer has promised the County a per-home cash contribution to offset additional use of public facilities. Mayor Etro asked that citizens contact the County Board of Supervisors and ask that these contributions be directed toward use in the Round Hill area.
• Adherence to Town and County planning documents
  Increased density as a result of rezoning is allowed under Round Hill's planning documents, but require a contribution of permanent open space, either through purchase of property or the development rights on properties. The developer has asked the Town to identify priority properties for consideration. Mayor Etro is seeking public input on the issue.

At this point in the meeting, Mayor Etro turned to a second plan submitted to the County for the same piece of property -- the by-right subdivision plan. This plan calls for only 49 homes, at a density of 1 home per acre. Since this plan develops the property under the current zoning, the only requirements it must meet are under the subdivision ordinance. It provides a connecting road from Rt. 719 to Evening Star Drive, but includes no proffers of open or civic space, trails, or financial contributions.

According to RAH's Trossle, the by-right plan was submitted to "protect the company's interests in this project" and will serve as a backup plan should the proposed rezoning encounter difficulties that delay the project significantly. He said he believes, however, that in the long run the workshop rezoning plan will prove to be "more profitable for everyone" and that as long as the rezoning moves forward the company will not use the by-right plan.

The two plans will follow different approval paths through the County administration. The by-right plan is on a shorter timeline because it involves fewer approvals and does not have to go through a public process. The rezoning will take longer, but Trossle said the company is willing to see the process through. The second response for referrals is due August 10. The Round Hill Town Council and Planning Commission will be asked to provide input at their next meetings. After the second referrals are collected, the application goes before the County Planning Commission, which then makes its recommendations to the Board of Supervisors, which ultimately decides the fate of the rezoning.

After presenting both plans, Mayor Etro, the workshop committee and Trossle fielded specific questions about the project. Some questions concerned tax implications, others revolved around whether or not the development would have a homeowners association. Citizens asked what factors would drive the choice of homes available at any given time and questioned the minimum lot sizes and setbacks. Overall, the mood of the questions indicated that while there were still specifics that needed to be worked through, the revised plan was a step in the right direction.

Close to the end of the discussion, Councilwoman Nash noticed the bottom of the plan rendering. The development been renamed "Creekside at Round Hill" -- a change made at the request of the Town in order not to detract from the historical Woodgrove village that predated Round Hill.