In the zone?

Rarely are local land use issues relevant beyond the county's borders, but as soon as Walmart announced plans to build in Orange County, a national discussion began. Some said the county would benefit from tax revenues and jobs the big-box store could bring to the county. But others said the store's intended location was all wrong, and suggested the store locate further west on Route 3 instead, further away from historic features.
Despite similarly zoned properties and offers from other property owners, Walmart spokespeople said available nearby sites weren't what they had in mind.
"The current proposed location is the only site in the general area that is both zoned for commercial use and meets Walmart's minimum site criteria for the store," Walmart Community Relations Manager Keith Morris explained. "The site criteria are the technical requirements for the store and include issues such as total acreage, configuration of the property, transportation access, and utility access."
In addition to meeting the big-box company's needs on a number of levels, the site Walmart likes is within the county's designated economic growth area.
The economic development designation was added to the Orange County Comprehensive Plan when it was revised in 2005-2006, interim planning director Debbie Kendall explained. Before a designated economic development area was identified on the county's future land use map, parcels were either zoned solely for agricultural, commercial, industrial or residential use-not for combinations of uses.
By adding a mixed-use classification, zoning could meet current planning trends, in which flexible, sustainable uses of different varieties could coexist, Kendall said. That means business parks with townhouses nearby along with retail space, instead of a miles-long swath of smokestacks ending abruptly on the property border of a residential subdivision.
"It allows uses to co-mingle, to co-locate," Kendall said, "and all of that is to allow for reducing entrances on Route 3."
According to the comprehensive plan, "the economic development land use category includes areas of the county that are planned for economic development (including commercial, office space, and industrial development). The intention of the economic development area is to identify areas available for location of businesses that will provide employment to the residents of Orange County and increase the business tax base while not detracting from the overall rural character of the county. The areas designated for economic development have good transportation connectivity to other businesses in the region. The areas of the county intended for economic development use are in the eastern section of the area north of Route 3, as well as the industrial park and other properties zoned for industrial use along Route 15 between the towns of Orange and Gordonsville."
The westernmost boundary of the designated economic development area on Route 3 is Flat Run Creek. From the creek onward to the Orange/Culpeper County line, properties are zoned for residential use, including Wilderness Shores and lots along Germanna Drive.
The 51-acre tract, owned by JDC Ventures, where Walmart hopes to construct its 138,000-supercenter is currently zoned for commercial use. Since the property already meets the required zoning for a large retailer, Walmart only needs a special use permit to meet the requirements of the county's big-box ordinance.
Zoning for the Walmart property and others along Route 3 has been on the books for quite some time.
The 22.3-acre parcel at Routes 3 and 20 that’s now home to Sheetz and McDonald’s was rezoned from agricultural to commercial back in 1990. Plans were approved for McDonald’s and for Sheetz were approved July and September 2001, respectively. Wilderness Corners Shopping Center strip mall behind the golden arches was approved by county officials in June 2003.
Across the highway on the north side of Route 3, plans for Wachovia bank were approved in 1997. Information on the rezoning which allowed the 7-Eleven to be built aren't available.
And JDC Ventures/Walmart site behind and to the north of 7-Eleven was rezoned for commercial use in February 1973.
But it's possible that the planning officials who gave the areas their designations and classifications in previous decades may have viewed the Route 3 corridor differently than some of today's county officials.
"Given that the current proposed area for Walmart has been zoned commercial for a long time and the county is stuck with that, there may be lessons for the future," Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Lee Frame said. "Currently the Route 3 corridor is fairly attractive, and would make a good tourist corridor for attracting visitors,” he added. "However with the currently zoned commercial areas, that could change without reasonable land use controls."
District 4 Supervisor Teri Pace said she's got a different vision for the site Walmart's planning to build on. And, she said, the area’s economic development designation should be smaller, and ideally, would be located closer to the Lake of the Woods population center.
"I think that identifying that much area is probably problematic," Pace said.
Instead of a big-box store and additional retail and restaurant space on the JDC Ventures site, Pace likes a convention center and resort development as an appropriate way to preserve and market nearby Wilderness Battlefield and other tourism assets.
Pace said there are better places for a Walmart than at the county's "gateway." Pace said any traffic problems and commercial sprawl would be minimized if the supercenter was located on a 19-plus acre commercially-zoned tract behind the Bloom, near Lake of the Woods. At that location, the Walmart would be geographically closer to the population center.
"We already have a commercial base opposite the entrance to Lake of the Woods. If you build on that, it just makes good sense. It keeps your quality of life high and keeps our traffic moving," Pace said.