The New Kent Board of Supervisors recently voted to deny zoning requests related to Liberty Landing, a proposed mixed-use development. (screenshot)
A proposal for a large mixed-use development by a Virginia Beach-based company was rejected this week by the New Kent County Board of Supervisors.
The board on Monday voted against a rezoning request for Boyd Homes' Liberty Landing project, which features 60,000 square feet of commercial space and 290 residential units.
The project is proposed for a 118-acre site located on Route 60 in the western part of the county, across from the Five Lakes neighborhood.
The majority of board members did not publicly explain the reasons for their opposition to the latest version of the project at the meeting, and unanimously rejected the proposal.
However, newly elected coach John Moyer gave some legitimacy to his vote. Citing community opposition to the proposal, Moyer, who supported the project in his previous role as a planning commissioner, said the intense competition for board seats was the reason for his turning point. .
“Elections have consequences. I won by 20 votes. My opponent (Donald Westblock) was very opposed to this project, but what I've heard since my election is that this is me. There was just an agreement that it wasn't a project that we should do,” Moyer said.
Boyd Holmes did not respond to a phone message seeking comment.
New Kent State's five-member board is made up mostly of newcomers following elections last November. Incumbents Thomas Evelyn and Ron Steers will remain on the board, along with newcomers Moyer, Jordan Stewart and Amy Pearson.
Mr. Pearson is an interim appointee, taking over from Patricia Page. Page won re-election in November, but died later that month. Pearson is also a former planning commissioner, and he was an opponent when the commission voted this spring to recommend final approval of Liberty Landing.
The only community member who took to the stage during the public hearing before the board's vote voiced opposition to the project.
Boyd Homes had requested a rezoning to a planned unit development (PUD), which combines business and agriculture, in preparation for Liberty Landing.
Liberty Landing was planned to feature single-family homes, condominiums, and 60,000 square feet of commercial space. The project's rezoning request was denied Monday by the New Kent Board of Supervisors. (BizSense file)
The project's commercial development was to take shape on 16-acre parcels throughout the site. The parcels that make up the project area are owned by Bridgewater Crossing, which is affiliated with Boyd Homes. The gathering is located at 2495 Pocahontas Trail, near New Kent-based VCU Health's emergency center.
Boyd Homes acquired 10 parcels of project land from 2006 to 2011 in deals totaling $3 million, according to online New Kent land records. Ten years ago, the company had a similar project in mind that would feature rental units on the same site.
According to a staff memo, the Liberty Landing residential lots would be divided into 145 for-sale townhomes and 145 single-family residential lots.
The proposal included a phased requirement to complete at least 10,000 square feet of commercial construction within four years of site plan approval.
The proposed terms included paying the county $4,000 for each townhome and $8,000 for each single-family home built on the development. According to meeting documents, Boyd Homes had offered $250,000 to purchase the land for the fire station and $500,000 to build the traffic lights.
The traffic analysis recommended installing a new right-turn lane on Route 60 to accommodate the traffic generated by the project.
