Public hearing cancelled in Mt. Crawford after developer withdraws townhome proposal

MT. CRAWFORD, Va. (WHSV) - A public hearing on 211 proposed townhomes in Mount Crawford originally scheduled for Monday, Nov.14 has been canceled after the developer withdrew its rezoning request for a property off of Parsons Court in the town.

According to the town, the developer withdrew the rezoning request because it couldn’t come to an agreement with VDOT on the extension of Parsons Court.

At a prior public hearing, many of the small town’s residents spoke out against the proposal.

“There’s always a need for housing in Mount Crawford and Rockingham County as well but just the abundance and amount that was proposed just seemed like a lot to the people of the town and way more than they were ready to accept at this time,” said Mt. Crawford Town Manager Libby Clark.

Clark said that the developer has indicated it would bring the proposal back before the town or make a different housing proposal on the property if the road extension can be worked out.

The same developer was already approved to build 54 townhomes on the other side of Parsons Court over a year ago but ground has still not been broken on that development.

“I think that the 54 townhomes are kind of on hold until we get the street situation situated with VDOT and the developer because without the street you can’t get to the development site to build the homes,” said Clark.

The town is in the process of creating its first-ever comprehensive plan and while it does need more housing Clark said the town has found residents want to see growth on a smaller scale.

“In the comprehensive plan with the public surveys that we’ve done and the public engagement most people said they would prefer to see single family or duplex as compared to a multi-unit townhouse development,” she said.

The town is nearing the completion of its comprehensive plan. Clark said that the draft of the plan will be presented to the planning commission in December, and to the public in January. The town council will hold a public hearing to finalize the plan in February if all goes well.

Clark said that one of the biggest things indicated by residents in the survey process has been their desire for the town to be made more walkable and bike able through sidewalk improvements.

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