Hotel, Conference Center Planned for Rural Crescent

13 Land-Use Changes Proposed for County

A hotel and conference center and 650 houses in the Rural Crescent are among the 13 applications that Prince William County has received to amend its Comprehensive Plan, a long-range blueprint for zoning.

The Manassas National Battlefield Park is asking to be recognized as a "cultural resource" instead of open space, and some residents have banded together in an effort to reduce development from four housing units per acre to one per 2.5 acres.

Raymond E. Utz, the county's chief of long-range planning, said that the applications are the beginning of a long process, and that there is no guarantee any of the projects will be approved.

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors will vote in March on whether to allow the Office of Planning and Zoning to continue reviewing the proposals, Utz said.

All the requests for amendments had to be in by Jan. 6, and developers are already promoting their projects as good planning for the county.

Martin's Caterers, which specializes in "mini-convention centers," is a partner in the project to build the houses and hotel and conference center on Route 29, just north of Lake Manassas in Gainesville, said Martin Resnick, chairman of the Maryland company.

What started as a catering business has expanded into nine centers in Maryland. The Gainesville project would be the company's first venture in Virginia, Resnick said.

"It's one of those things where if you want to have a wedding or a graduation party or a debutante ball, they would do the catering and everything," Utz said.

The project includes 195 houses. If all the Comprehensive Plan amendments were approved, they would add 1,600 housing units in the county, Utz said.

The Manassas National Battlefield Park's application is the only one that does not involve housing. The 4,358 acres, dedicated to preserving the scene of two major Civil War battles, are identified as open space in the Comprehensive Plan. Although the county consults the National Park Service about developments within two miles of the historic park, the "cultural resource designation" would solidify that agreement, said Bob Sutton, the battlefield's superintendent.

"We can say we don't like [development within two miles], but there's nothing saying the county has to abide by what we would want," Sutton said.

Sutton and Utz said that although the county and Park Service have never had a problem working together, the designation would be a safeguard.