Developers envision a mixed-use future

Looser rules needed to create walkable commercial-residential centers, county leaders are told

Walkable town center communities are the way to bring growth to Prince William County, entrepreneurs and developers say, but there needs to be less bureaucratic oversight if they are going to be a success.

On Oct. 21, more than 50 representatives from the business and development community addressed the Prince William Board of County Supervisors at a comprehensive plan town hall meeting. The goal, supervisors said, was to hear changes that need to be made to the transportation and land-use chapters of the plan to make developers and businesses choose Prince William as their home.

"I think this might be the beginning of a new Prince William in terms of economic growth," board Chairman Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large) said at the meeting. "The land-use and transportation chapters are pivotal to [our] economic success. We're not going to sit around and see what happens with the county. We are taking a proactive approach."

Meeting attendees said they support adding a mixed-use development designation to the county's comprehensive plan, the document that serves as a guide for growth. But, they said, county officials need to be flexible and let the market drive how that development is built.

"Flexibility is really a critical component," said Paul Weinschenk, vice president of the developer Peterson Cos. "As an industry, we are relatively smart, but we are not clairvoyant. Circumstances will change with the economy or with clients, and we need to be able to respond to those changes without going through a lengthy process with the county."

A couple of suggestions, made by county staff and a land-use advisory committee, are to create ratios for the commercial to residential space in the centers. One states that no more than 25 percent of the project can be used for retail and residential space, and the rest would have to be offices and other types of commercial development. The other plan says that no more than 40 percent of the "gross floor area" can include retail and residential space.

Weinschenk, whose company has created several developments in Northern Virginia, said it was government flexibility that allowed its Fairfax Corner project to be a success. The original plan called for more office space, but when the market wasn't there, Weinschenk said, his company was able to easily shift its efforts toward retail.

Others who attended the meeting at George Mason University's Prince William campus said the process to get a development approved in the county takes too long. County officials said they tried to address that concern this year when they revamped and streamlined the building and permitting process.

"This was a big step in the right direction, and I have heard positive feedback," said Pete Dolan, a land-use lawyer who also represents the commercial real estate development association NAIOP. "But we are all here to offer further comments and help as the comprehensive plan evolves."

Dolan said developers also want to eliminate a rule that allows comprehensive plan amendments to be submitted only once a year. If developers miss the deadline, they must hold off on a project until they can resubmit, he said.

Transportation and economic growth were also hot topics at the meeting. Meeting attendees said they wanted to see more mass transit options and direct access to Dulles International Airport.

They also voiced support for Stewart's plan to create an economic development task force consisting of community members, and for any measures to support small businesses, such as continued county support for the Flory Small Business Center. The center is a nonprofit organization that helps small businesses and entrepreneurs access capital.

Last week's meeting concluded a series of sessions seeking community input on the comprehensive plan that have held throughout the year, and Stewart said the board will reflect on everything it has heard. Once the board drafts a final version of the plan, it will go before a public hearing before it can be adopted.