The public hearing about a controversy-ridden Spotsylvania County RV park proposal was held on Wednesday evening. After over four hours of presentations and responses, the hearing was postponed until next month.
After the presentation by staff and applicants, the Planning Commission listened to more than 40 residents who spoke against the plan during the hearing at Marshall Center, according to a report. What followed after was the reading of over 207 letters submitted for the hearing.
The commission was at a deadlock (3-3 with one member absent) on postponing reading letters until the December 1 meeting. Staff then read the letters into the minutes until 12:40 a.m., at which point the commission voted to end the discussion and continue next month.
The proposed site includes a special-use permit to create a “camp or recreational ground with 300 recreational vehicle sites and related amenities” on a 135-acre area near Lake Anna in the county’s Livingston District.
The 13,000-acre manmade lake helps cool the Dominion Virginia Energy North Anna nuclear power plant and is surrounded by Spotsylvania, Orange, and Louisa counties.
Greg Baker, president of the Lake Anna Civic Association, said the proposed park’s location is the “most impaired” area of the lake and might worsen once the park gets built.
During a staff presentation, County Planner Shannon Fennell also cited issues such as the need for hydrological and aquifer tests, traffic analysis, wetland and noise studies, and wastewater treatment plant designs.
The property is located on Days Bridge Road near U.S. 522. The Upper Pamunkey Branch of the lake extends along the southern portion of the property, surrounded by agricultural land and huge residential lots to the north and east of the property. The property’s west border extends on undeveloped land in Orange.
The RV park was proposed by Trey Wills, co-founder of Vienna-based Wills Companies, a real estate development firm. Torrey Williams represented the applicant at Wednesday’s public hearing.