Courtesy of Charlottesville Tomorrow – I recommend reading the entire post on what could have been (and may yet still) be a new business park in Crozet.
My primary question –
– What types of businesses and industries would they like to bring in? If they’re talking about seeking out high-value, low impact jobs – bio-tech, manufacturing, etc. wouldn’t that represent a possible net gain for Crozet?
On November 11, 2008, the Albemarle County Planning Commission held a work session on the proposed Yancey Mills Business Park in Crozet. The Commission came close to recommending that the development be reviewed as part of the upcoming Crozet Master Plan update, however, the discussion concluded with a 6-1 vote to end all further consideration of the matter. Linda Porterfield (Scottsville) was the only Commissioner who supported further study.
In an interview with Charlottesville Tomorrow the day after the decision, Will Yancey described what he had hoped to accomplish at the meeting.
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Charlottesville Tomorrow asked Will Yancey where he thought the family would go next with their business park proposal.
“The Yancey family is going to spend the next couple of weeks speaking with our advisors and the community. We will reach out to the Crozet community and try to reassure them that have been in the area for a long time, well over a hundred years, and we intend on keeping our word and to do what we say. The notion that we want to put in a shopping mall with a Stuckeys and a Cracker Barrel there is not what we have in mind at all. We will make a determination if we should go forward and bring this to the Board of Supervisors.â€
What about the imminent approval of a mega gas/diesel fuel station in the Brownsville-Yancey Mills area and its potential impacts on the western Albemarle community on Free State Lane? Some reports say it would be the largest of its type in Albemarle County! Marketing to I-64, perhaps open 24/7. Dramatically increased frequency of turn-arounds at that point on Rt.250 by vehicles coming from and returning to the interstate. It promises to be a safety issue in that neighborhood and also for the nearby school traffic. IMMINENT approval possible due to grandfathered zoning. What about the right — apparently NOT grandfathered in Albemarle County — to quality-of-life on Free State Lane? What about school traffic safety? Lots of questions. VERY LITTLE time — literally days — to seek public input or compromises. —- This should be no less a concern than the POLITICAL (i.e. Crozet Master Plan) issues of the Yancey proposal.
Jim,
Thanks for this great forum and the opportunity to weigh in here.
Allow me to begin by answering your question. Biotech and low-impact manufacturing are among the primary uses the Yancey family envisions for the proposed business park. As you may be aware, these jobs typically pay well – at least above average.
I’ll be happy to answer any questions put forth by you or others. If I don’t know the answer (highly likely!) then I’ll find someone who does. Please feel free to e-mail me anytime at [email protected] or call my cell M-F during business hours (434) 760-3812.
Thanks again.
Will Yancey
Why was the growth area stopped a few hundred feet short of the Interstate in the current master plan? Behind a sawmill and next to the interstate is a perfect place for this. Mr. Yancey’s proposal preserves (in-fact boosts) quality of life in that the development provides jobs and vital services while directing said growth (and traffic, etc) away from the residential and downtown areas of Crozet. Trucks and commuters to and from the development would mostly go directly to the interstate and avoid populated areas.
God speed to this. The “agricultural” designation is old zoning at this point as there is no bona-fide agricultural use for this land.