[JYO] Council Approves Oaklawn Changes ... 326 residential units near (JYO airport)

from Leesburg2day...

http://www.leesburg2day.com/current.cfm?newsid=7282

Jun 13, 2003 -- Despite a continuing recommendation of denial by the town 
staff, the Leesburg Town Council approved a development application Tuesday 
night 
to permit the construction of about 1.54 million square feet of commercial 
development and 326 residential units near Leesburg Executive Airport. 
Although some Town Council members and Oaklawn representative Brian Cullen of 
Keane Enterprises agreed that it was not the “perfect” development 
application, they felt it was good for a large number of people—specifically 
commuters 
in the southeast quadrant—because of $9.6 million in transportation proffers. 
About $6.4 million of the funding will be used to build two lanes of 
Battlefield Parkway from Sycolin Road to ramps connecting the Dulles Greenway 
before 
any development is built, a key point for Mayor Kristen C. Umstattd. 
“Transportation improvements are the key element in my decision to approve 
this,” she said. If the application were rejected, Leesburg would either have 
growing gridlock or citizens would have to pay higher tax bills to pay for the 
improvements, she said. 
The 6-1 vote, with Councilman Fernando J. Martinez opposed, marks the end of 
a development application process that lasted about two and a half years, with 
the town staff opposed throughout because of concerns about moving 
residential development near the airport. But Planning Director Susan Swift 
noted the 
application was significantly improved from some previous submittals, and some 
last-minute maneuvering in the late hours Tuesday night by Councilman Frank 
Buttery ensured that a two-acre fire and rescue site will be reserved at the 
development. 
Cullen argued that the residential units are necessary to help fund the 
transportation improvements based on current market conditions. He pointed out 
that 
the 326 residences were shifted from an unused portion of the original 
Stratford plan and the Loudoun County school system has already accounted for 
them 
in its projection of the future school needs. 
Oaklawn at Stratford is a 168-acre tract owned by the Stowers family and 
located east of the Dulles Greenway, south of the Leesburg Bypass and north of 
the 
airport. It is part of the 448-acre Stratford property that was rezoned in 
1988 for a mixed-use development including a county government center. The Town 
Council approved a Town Plan amendment, a rezoning and a special exception for 
the development. 
Councilman David B. Schmidt said the Oaklawn application was an “unfair 
situation,” because a plan for the entire Stratford property approved in 1990 
is 
now obsolete. The town staff did a good job raising concerns about the 
application, leading to agreements on many points, and “now it is time for 
the council 
to do its job,” he said. 
Schmidt pointed out that the Town Council is facing a similar situation at 
the Leesburg Commons site with Barber & Ross, where the council will likely 
have 
to be flexible to ensure that business development continues despite 
previously-approved transportation plans. 
No one on the council would like to see new residential development in the 
area around the airport, but “it is well worth the trade off for Battlefield 
Parkway,” Schmidt said. He noted that the council has not heard opposition 
from 
surrounding residents, who have supported the application. Four town residents 
spoke in favor of approving the development Tuesday. 
If the council denied the Oaklawn application, there is no realistic solution 
“and we’ll become part of the problem,” Schmidt said, because the town 
would 
have to pay for the transportation improvements later. He called the 
development the only hope for any commercial development. “Without this, 
nothing will 
happen for 10 years or longer.” 
Schmidt also pointed out that Keane Enterprises agreed to adhere to H-2 
historic district standards and undergo a review by the town’s Board of 
Architectural Review, which could “attract even higher quality commercial 
development,” 
he said. 
“Instead of leaving this to future councils, you have the power tonight to do 
this right,” Schmidt told his colleagues. 
Martinez, the lone opposition, said based on all the research he’s done, he 
sees several pluses to the application, “but I am still concerned about the 
residential.” 
“[This is] the most difficult vote I will have to make,” Martinez said. 
Cullen said Keane Enterprises tried to think about what was needed at the 
site and “build a plan around that.” He pointed to the economic development 
potential at the site and the transportation improvements as reasons the 
application should be approved. 
“We’ve got to be working together,” Cullen said. The development “was a 
good solution to some of our problems,” Umstattd said, because commuters in 
the 
southeast quadrant will have another option for getting home faster. 
“This is the only solution to what’s becoming a growing transportation 
crisis in the southeast quadrant. ... I think this application will have major 
benefits to the town,” she said.

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