We're gettiing grassed over
Bensblurb #568 Aug. 26, 2010
Stafford County getting grassed over
“We’re getting paved over!” But that was so yesterday, when some folks were trying to make it harder for builders to prosper here in Stafford.
In case you hadn’t looked around lately, we’ve been plum out of asphalt for quite a spell. And there are a lot more families wanting to sell their homes than others wanting to buy. My own home’s valuation has been cut nearly in half over the past three years although the property and my neighborhood remain quite nice.
It’s plain that the lengthy recession has done what our slow-growthers wanted. And it’s not likely to end anytime soon. So it’s prudent that Stafford’s current supervisors and planners are taking a second look at the county's comprehensive plan to see where it might have been too stingy.
Whatever, I suspect that homeowners in the recently developed Hills at Aquia nearby would like more new neighbors. The development, just north on U.S. 1 from Aquia Harbour, opened to great fanfare a few years back, just before the economic pinch started. Now it’s still lightly homesteaded--say 5 percent--although it’s seen a bit of welcome new construction lately.
Business owners would doubtless welcome that also. Customers have been lacking for too long now. Besides, is it my imagination or is Spotsylvania attracting a lot more taxpaying retailers nowadays? Things are whirring merrily in the Massaponax area while our pampered, rezoned Aquia Towne Center sits largely deserted, although the developer is claiming to have lots of plans. And have you seen the totally vacant Shoppes of North Stafford on 610?
Beyond immediate concerns, we should also note the county has placed more and more developable land permanently off limits. There was the acquisition of Crow’s Nest-- a "pristine" forest--together with the earlier setting aside of land for a state park in Widewater, Those, plus ever-hungry park and recreation expansionists, put the paving-over gripes in context.
My own view is that we aren’t in danger of getting too heavily populated. True, when I moved to Stafford over 30 years ago, there was only one high school for 40,000 residents. Now there are five for 125,000. And we're home to a lot of high-paid federal workers, with expanding Quantico nearby.
(Average household income in the county last year was nearly $100,000.)
Still, to get a perspective on the land beyond our built-up areas, let me suggest a drive down a couple of our lanes still pretty sparse and likely to stay that way for a good while. The tour covers country wonderfully diverse, but the roads are tricky and poorly marked. Take a map.
--Drive west on Garrisonville Road past Lake Arrowhead, then bend southward onto Hartwood Road, then come out on U.S. 17 close to the new Wal-Mart. Some 25 miles.
--Drive east on Route 3 from Ferry Farms, then hang a left at Caisson Road, then left again onto White Oak, then north on Brooke, up to the VRE station at Andrew Chapel--about 20 miles.
The latter trip especially reflects Stafford’s diversity, from the nice corn and soybean fields to the budding estate-size mansions with huge lawns alongside older hardscrapple communities and the stands of huge forests. Nowhere during those jaunts did I see a house under construction.
Even so, it’s reassuring to see that if anything, Stafford is being grassed over, not paved over.
Ben Blankenship is an Aquia Harbour resident and career journalist. Reach him at Benblanken@aol.com
Stafford County getting grassed over
“We’re getting paved over!” But that was so yesterday, when some folks were trying to make it harder for builders to prosper here in Stafford.
In case you hadn’t looked around lately, we’ve been plum out of asphalt for quite a spell. And there are a lot more families wanting to sell their homes than others wanting to buy. My own home’s valuation has been cut nearly in half over the past three years although the property and my neighborhood remain quite nice.
It’s plain that the lengthy recession has done what our slow-growthers wanted. And it’s not likely to end anytime soon. So it’s prudent that Stafford’s current supervisors and planners are taking a second look at the county's comprehensive plan to see where it might have been too stingy.
Whatever, I suspect that homeowners in the recently developed Hills at Aquia nearby would like more new neighbors. The development, just north on U.S. 1 from Aquia Harbour, opened to great fanfare a few years back, just before the economic pinch started. Now it’s still lightly homesteaded--say 5 percent--although it’s seen a bit of welcome new construction lately.
Business owners would doubtless welcome that also. Customers have been lacking for too long now. Besides, is it my imagination or is Spotsylvania attracting a lot more taxpaying retailers nowadays? Things are whirring merrily in the Massaponax area while our pampered, rezoned Aquia Towne Center sits largely deserted, although the developer is claiming to have lots of plans. And have you seen the totally vacant Shoppes of North Stafford on 610?
Beyond immediate concerns, we should also note the county has placed more and more developable land permanently off limits. There was the acquisition of Crow’s Nest-- a "pristine" forest--together with the earlier setting aside of land for a state park in Widewater, Those, plus ever-hungry park and recreation expansionists, put the paving-over gripes in context.
My own view is that we aren’t in danger of getting too heavily populated. True, when I moved to Stafford over 30 years ago, there was only one high school for 40,000 residents. Now there are five for 125,000. And we're home to a lot of high-paid federal workers, with expanding Quantico nearby.
(Average household income in the county last year was nearly $100,000.)
Still, to get a perspective on the land beyond our built-up areas, let me suggest a drive down a couple of our lanes still pretty sparse and likely to stay that way for a good while. The tour covers country wonderfully diverse, but the roads are tricky and poorly marked. Take a map.
--Drive west on Garrisonville Road past Lake Arrowhead, then bend southward onto Hartwood Road, then come out on U.S. 17 close to the new Wal-Mart. Some 25 miles.
--Drive east on Route 3 from Ferry Farms, then hang a left at Caisson Road, then left again onto White Oak, then north on Brooke, up to the VRE station at Andrew Chapel--about 20 miles.
The latter trip especially reflects Stafford’s diversity, from the nice corn and soybean fields to the budding estate-size mansions with huge lawns alongside older hardscrapple communities and the stands of huge forests. Nowhere during those jaunts did I see a house under construction.
Even so, it’s reassuring to see that if anything, Stafford is being grassed over, not paved over.
Ben Blankenship is an Aquia Harbour resident and career journalist. Reach him at Benblanken@aol.com
posted by Ben Blankenship at
12:00 PM
