Controversial development City council postpones final vote on Bluestone Town Center proposal

By GRETCHEN NAGLE contributing writer

A vote on the Bluestone Town Center (BTC) — a proposed development that would be a mix of multi-family buildings, townhouses, single-family detached housing, shops and businesses — has been postponed by Harrisonburg City Council until its next meeting on Feb. 28 following an almost eight-hour meeting and public comment section.

Harrisonburg community members voiced their concerns about the development, an 84-acre site in the vicinity of Harrisonburg’s intersection of Garbers Church Road and Erickson Avenue, the Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority plans to construct nearly 900 mixedincome manufactured housing units. Attorney Jordan Bowman wrote on behalf of the proposal that the development would feature apartments and a variety of energy-efficient homes, as well as mixed-use development and amenities such as pocket parks, playgrounds, bus stops and walking trails.

The idea of the town center has been contested for months by local residents, who said at the meeting that they were hopeful city council would reject the proposal.

Residents have even started petitions opposing the town center. One petition on change.org that was started by JMU health professor Jeremy Akers in hopes of preventing the development currently has 931 signatures out of its goal of 1,000.

“Friendly city residents and surrounding communities, you have a voice,” the petition states. “With your help, we can protect our beautiful landscape from ‘big city-like’ complexes that threaten our roadways, schools, health and taxes.”

Council member Monica Robinson said she sees there may be some problems with the proposal, particularly the manufactured homes, but she also sees some of the pros.

“If we ever need to move toward the type of development that’s needed here in this city, then we have to start somewhere and we can’t have perfection,” Robinson said. “At this particular time, we are so in desperate need of a change in how we develop and we have to begin thinking beyond what we have done in the past.”

After the public opinion began, numerous individuals from organizations in the community including Mercy House, United Way and Our Community Place spoke out in support of the plan, arguing that it would benefit the community and residents as a whole rather than negatively affect it.

On the contrary, many of the residents who were hesitant about the proposal voiced their concerns about the surrounding area of the building site, stating that there are health implications due to the close vicinity to a commercial poultry farm, excessive new traffic income and school density, tax increase, sinkholes and flooding on the property and whether or not these homes will meet building standards.

Donna Crompton, a Harrisonburg resident, went before the council and said research is still being done in the longevity of these houses.

“Is this what we need in our community?” Crompton asked.

Mike Roads, another resident of the community and insurance counselor, voiced his concern that these manufactured homes come in on a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) title, meaning that the homes will always be a “trailer” in the eyes of an insurance carrier. He also said the houses aren’t built to modular home standards.

The Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority paired up with the company, EquityPlus — a company that’s developed housing in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. using the LowIncome Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program — in proposing the project. The Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority stepped in during the meeting and presented the plan to the council with hopes to authorize aspects of the proposal, asserting that Harrisonburg is in “dire need” for more housing. Michael Wong, executive director of the Redevelopment and Housing Authority, acknowledged that certain aspects of the proposals didn’t align with Harrisonburg’s ideas but were willing to hear the voiced concerns of Harrisonburg residents.

Mayor Deanna Reed ended the meeting by asking to table the proposal.

“The biggest thing is that we wanted to hear you, and we did that until 2:41 a.m.,” Reed said. “We owe it to our people to have a clear mind when we make this decision.”

The next formal meeting to discuss the Bluestone Town Center proposal at city council is scheduled for Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.